Thursday, November 09, 2006

State Funeral for the Last Canadian WWI vet

There are 3 Canadians left alive who served in WWI. The Dominion Institute would like the last one to die to receive a state funeral. You can, should you choose, sign the petition here.

On balance, I decided to sign it, but not without a twinge of unease. I think it's an excellent idea to remind Canadians of our history, and a way to show pride in our soldiers.

That said, I have two major concerns. The first would apply universally - I'm not sure what it says to have the last soldier to die celebrated in a way that the previous soldiers were not. Not sure this is a big deal, really, but it makes me uneasy.

The second reality is that we have a Conservative government that, should it be in power when the last soldier dies, will absolutely, 100% guaranteed use it as a campaign prop. I can think of nothing worse, frankly.

Anyway, like I said sign the petition if you like, or not if not. Leave your reasons for both in the comments, if you like.

5 comments:

Mike said...

Better yet, lets do what New Zealand does - no State funeral, but on Remembrance Day, all of the WWI Vets are represented by a single child marching with a bouquet of flowers.

Eventually we do the same for WWII and Korea and even Afghanistan.

We shoot for the cay when its ONLY children marching on Remembrance Day.

Robert McClelland said...

The Dominion Institute would like the last one to die

I bet they would. I can't help but wonder what these last three veterans think of the country talking about their upcoming demise. While I think it's a worthy idea in principle, in practice it seems kind of ghoulish.

Lord Kitchener's Own said...

I'm pretty sure once you're past 100 you stop worrying about whether or not people are discussing your demise.

I signed the petition.

True, it's not ideal to give an extra honour to a WWI vet simply for being the last to pass away, but I think it would be worse to have the event pass unnoticed, and to me, this does seem to be an thoughtful way to honour all our WWI veterans (keep in mind, although the State Funeral would be personal, symbolically, I think it is clear that it is meant as an honour for all those who suffered through WWI, and that would be reflected in the event).

Also, keep in mind that the petition is not actually to give a State funeral, but to offer the option to the family. It is entirely the family's choice (as it should be) for any of you who may be worried about that. The petition is merely to get the government to offer the family the opportunity to take advantage of the honour, if THEY so choose.

Dan said...

It seems like a reasonable idea, just because I think many kids today assume that they are already all dead. You are absolutely right though about Harper probably drooling at the prospect of putting this into a campaign. As the great-grandson of a WWI vet, that really angers me too.

Allen Knutson said...

I'm not sure what it says to have the last soldier to die celebrated in a way that the previous soldiers were not.

Moreover, think of the unfortunate incentives this plan would raise.