Such foolishness. Quite apart from the fact that the freeway already has a name--and a good one--the idea that we need to do more to "support the troops" by renaming a freeway is facile and (red tory's words) trite.
First, I really doubt that most veterans consider themselves "heroes." My grandfather, who fought in the Second World War, lost most of his friends in the process, and served in the military for over a decade afterwards, would never think of himself as a hero.
Second, and more importantly, this is all part of that idiot idea that by naming things after "heroes" and by wearing yellow ribbons to "support the troops," we're actually doing something meaningful. It's a way for people to feel good about sending other people's kids to die.
So--all you who think that this is "doing something" to "support the troops," please provide the following:
- The names of any soldier who in any way feels that this is "supporting" him or her--not some unverifiable "oh it does make the soldiers feel better" based on speculation.
- What you SPECIFICALLY have done to support the troops, and by that I mean things like donated money/time to a veterans' organisation, sending money to charities for soldiers, sent care packages, donated money to any other organization, or in any way altered your behaviour/spending/consumption for their benefit.
Because otherwise it's all just nonsense.
6 comments:
McGuinty did come up with the idea - he responded to a petition signed by 18,000 people.
If he ignored him he'd be accused of ignoring the wishes of the people of Ontario and if he goes along with them he's being attacked.
Does this change anyone's life at all? No. The highway will still be there to travel on.
Time to move on.
Given that Rick Mercer was able to get millions of signatures on a petition to rename Stockwell Day as Doris Day, it hardly seems like petitions have any real value. They get tabled every day in parliament, and ignored.
Well, apparently 75% of the people wanted it - majority rules they say.
It's only a "section" of the highway - and the world won't come to an end.
Where do you get that number from? It must be fun, being an anonymous commenter where you can pull stats out of your ass and then remain nameless. Who are these 75%?
While I appreciate the debate over the name "Highway of Heroes" as opposed to something like "Veterans Highway", I find this post overly caustic to make a cheap point. Remembering and valuing the work of our armed forces is hardly "trite", even if you feel that displays of such appreciation (eg, yellow ribbons) are "facile".
Tar Heel: Okay. From now on, my car is a Veteranmobile. Currency is no longer the dollar, they're Hero Tokens (HT). From now on, any time you greet someone, you can't say "Hello" but instead "Honour to the Veterans."
And anyone who doesn't do this clearly doesn't support the troops.
See how silly it is?
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