Had to Happen
Today I wrote my first letter to Stephen Harper, current Prime Minister of Canada. (Eh.)
It is in regard to his media ban on the returning bodies/coffins of Canadian soldiers killed overseas.
I'm starting slow.
Dear Mr. Harper,
I write to you today to express my disappointment in your decision to ban media presence at the return of the bodies of soldiers killed overseas in the line of duty. Per the CBC, you mention that your reason for this decision is to protect “the best interests of the families.” As a family member of a soldier currently serving in Afghanistan, I must make you aware of the fact that, when someone joins the Canadian Military and partakes in a dangerous assignment, they are doing so, not only as a child of their parents, but as a child of the entire country. In my experience, this country has routinely reciprocated that relationship by claiming soldiers, especially those who do not return home, as honourable family members.
Canadian soldiers stand up for this country. The least you can do, as this country’s symbolic figurehead, is allow this nation as a whole the opportunity to respect and grieve their loss. If my brother was killed in a role he undertook in the name of Canada, I would much prefer to know that the entire country stands behind what he was doing and the reasons why, than to see his return home hidden from the public like a dirty secret. I know I am not the only Canadian who feels this way.
Wars kill people, Mr. Harper; hiding the coffins of the dead is not going to make the loss any easier for Canada to swallow. I respectfully request that you lift your media ban in regard to fallen soldiers returning from overseas.
Sincerely,
You Know Who
It is in regard to his media ban on the returning bodies/coffins of Canadian soldiers killed overseas.
I'm starting slow.
Dear Mr. Harper,
I write to you today to express my disappointment in your decision to ban media presence at the return of the bodies of soldiers killed overseas in the line of duty. Per the CBC, you mention that your reason for this decision is to protect “the best interests of the families.” As a family member of a soldier currently serving in Afghanistan, I must make you aware of the fact that, when someone joins the Canadian Military and partakes in a dangerous assignment, they are doing so, not only as a child of their parents, but as a child of the entire country. In my experience, this country has routinely reciprocated that relationship by claiming soldiers, especially those who do not return home, as honourable family members.
Canadian soldiers stand up for this country. The least you can do, as this country’s symbolic figurehead, is allow this nation as a whole the opportunity to respect and grieve their loss. If my brother was killed in a role he undertook in the name of Canada, I would much prefer to know that the entire country stands behind what he was doing and the reasons why, than to see his return home hidden from the public like a dirty secret. I know I am not the only Canadian who feels this way.
Wars kill people, Mr. Harper; hiding the coffins of the dead is not going to make the loss any easier for Canada to swallow. I respectfully request that you lift your media ban in regard to fallen soldiers returning from overseas.
Sincerely,
You Know Who