Most everyone has probably heard about the flap over a Belleisle elementary school principal who "banned" the daily singing of O Canada at his school. When I heard the initial reports I thought he was a fool and agreed with Rex Murphy that the word inclusive has been turned upside down. A little further investigation, thanks, sadly, to the fact that the principal in questioned has been demonized and threatened, we see that this was terribly overblown.
The "banning" actually took effect a year and half ago and was not actually a banning at all. As opposed to daily, it was to be played, and sung, monthly at school assemblies. The flap was raised by a concerned parent who lost a nephew in Afghanistan. She may have had her heart in the right place but she also states that we are losing all of our traditions "like the pledge of allegiance". We don't have a pledge of allegiance...but I digress. The firestorm she started got picked up by the media and kicked up by blowhards in Ottawa looking to use somebody to grandstand while the kids at that school lost someone who seemed a capable, caring principal.
I urge you to check out the interview from the CBC here. It should be noted that I LOVE our anthem and think the proudest moment of my life was getting to sing it while wearing a Canadian jersey with my teamates. It does not come close, though, to representing my patriotism.
So I didn't get a chance to post anything on Canada Day which, if you sit as close to Jackman as I do, is a mortal sin. I feel bad but I am comfortable enough in my patriotism to post a Canada Day post on Independence Day and to wear a pink shirt on Canada Day. I think I might be mixing metaphors but I'm lost.
I am currently wishing that my vacation was about a week longer and that I could hop in a car and hit the TCH and go on a cross Canada cannonball run. There is no better way to see the country then by ripping coast to coast in a semi road worthy vehicle. I've done it 3 times now and reccomend the trip to anyone who doesn't plan on doing it in a 15 year old convertible in January.
I hope everyone had a great day and got to enjoy this country. I was very impressed at the festive scene downtown on Sunday night but then again I was also wildly impressed with the poutine I ate so maybe my perception was askew.
I don't like that we Canadians often embrace our un-americanisms as our strongest features. I think America is a great country with most of the same problems we have just magnified They are kind of like our rich, drunken, gambling addict big brother who will lend you money when you need it but ask for it back with interest from you when he's in the hole. I think the Simpson's said it best:
I think the first time I saw this I actually got the chills....Moe has the voice of an Angel.
I caught the tail end of this when I turned the basketball game on last night. It's still not quite as good as Marvie Gaye's version but it is pretty sweet. Plus, since it's instrumental, we don't have to listen to those silly words ;)
Ben Harper didn't help; the Cavs lost and this series is as good as over.
This past week both Canada and the US celebrated their respective births as nations. In the spirit of these celebrations I give you my favourite versions of each of our National Anthems.
Big Sugar does a great version of O Canada but this one was really a no brainer. These days national anthems are most often seen preceeding a sporting event and the treatment that the song gets in Edmonton before a playoff game is urivalled. Having a star dress up the anthem is fine but what could possibly match 18 000 Canadians belting it out like their lives depended on it; which, not surprisingly, is how the Oilers tended to play after hearing it. Check it out:
Spine tingling...
As for the US, well, the Star Spangled Banner is actually a poem that was sung to the tune of an old British drinking song. Moreover it was written as the poet watched the aftermath of a battle in the War of 1812. That war was fought between the US and the British in North America. The British army was made up largely of Canadian militiamen and fought largely in the Great Lakes. The war ended in a stalemate with no land actually changing hands. The British (and therefore the Canadians) did indeed invade Washington and burn the White House though.
So the song truly is a fight song and that may explain, from the very depths of their national character, American foreign policy. Then again maybe that's a stretch. Anyways, given the background my (by far) favourite take on the song is Marvin Gaye's soul version that he did before the NBA All-Star game in 1983 just before his death. You decide for yourself:
Makes you want to groove and not much else. What a voice...
So as an aside to the anthem talk; I was told yesterday that 4 of my Loyalists teammates were selected to play in the NA4 tournament. The tourney is comprised of four teams; US East and West and Canada East and West. Jebb Sinclair, Adam McCluskey, JB Watson and Pemelika Fiaui were all selected for the Canada East team. They will be travelling to Ohio in a couple of weeks to play three games. They will get to wear a shirt with a maple leaf on it and stand arm in arm and sing O Canada on American soil. It will be a huge rush for all of them and I am envious. I have had the honour of being in that situation a couple of times and nothing in my athletic career comes close to matching that singular emotional moment of pride and respect.
Unless they got Robert Goulet to sing it...then I would have been laughing.
Most everyone has probably heard about the flap over a Belleisle elementary school principal who "banned" the daily singing of O Canada at his school. When I heard the initial reports I thought he was a fool and agreed with Rex Murphy that the word inclusive has been turned upside down. A little further investigation, thanks, sadly, to the fact that the principal in questioned has been demonized and threatened, we see that this was terribly overblown.
