Responding to a comment

I usually respond to these in the comments section itself, but the questions raised are good enough that I think I'll share my answers here.

Guttergirl asked: "I want to hear your opinion about the lowering of the flag and ending speeches with God Bless Canada."

Glad you asked, guttergirl.

As for lowering the flag, I'll defer to the keepers of the traditions, the military people who know better. Lowering the flag on the Peace Tower (which I finally visited just over a month ago) was a partisan feel-good exercise started during the Chretien era. Tradition says that we should fly our flags (save possibly for the home base flags of the fallen soldiers) high during times of war--not to do so is tantamount to surrender. And believe me, we're in a time of war. The time to lower the flags, nationwide, for the fallen soldiers is on Remembrance Day.

On to "God bless Canada". I'm a Catholic, but want to look at this from as neutral point of view as I can.

It's an invocation, or a hope, or a greeting. Nothing more. Let me put it this way: when someone says to me at Christmas, "Merry Christmas", I don't get upset. Nor should I, as I celebrate Christmas. But what about the occasions when someone says "Happy Hanukkah" to me? Do I make like The Champ and lose it? Do I snap? Of course not. It's meant in a friendly way, as a gesture of goodwill. Does Harper say "God bless Canada" to infuriate people? No, he means "may good things come upon our great country".

Next time he says it, people, chill out. Don't say that he's being "too American". Don't say that he's blurring the lines between the famous "separation of church and state" (which was originally meant to protect the church from state persecution, as well as the opposite. And American, to boot). Remember that he's just wishing well upon Canada.