A reminder of what Canada stands for

On Nov. 12, there was a story about teenage girls in Afghanistan who had had acid thrown in their face on their way to school. It got me thinking and I recalled the stories about schools being burned in Afghanistan, even today, by elements of the Taliban.

On Nov. 10, one of my professors asked the class if they would take up arms and fight in Afghanistan and one of the students answered “No, that’s not what my nation is about.” I think the real questions that need to be asked are something like “Would you take up arms to prevent your daughter from having acid thrown in her face?” or “Would you take up arms to prevent someone else’s daughter from meeting the same fate?” or maybe “Would you take up arms to prevent someone from burning either yours or someone else’s school?” I humbly suggest that that is exactly what this nation is about.

On the Nov. 12, when a professor asked if anyone had attended a Remembrance Day celebration and I was the only one who responded, I was told that, as a member of the Canadian Forces, I needed to tell my superiors that Canadians don’t like war and that what we would prefer to do are things like sitting at home and listening to music. I don’t need to tell my superiors that. Everyone in uniform is also a Canadian who has the same likes and dislikes. I personally have absolutely no desire at all to be unloaded out of the bottom of an airplane in a box in front of my wife and children. Yes, I attended a solemn and dignified Remembrance Day service that was not a celebration of war, but an opportunity for my family and I to give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy while remembering those who tragically lost their lives fighting to give others the same basic freedoms. The act of remembrance in Canada is, in my view, no different than the Dutch schoolchildren who look after the graves of Canadian soldiers who died while liberating Holland from Nazi occupation in 1944 and 1945.

Our history shows us that Canadians do not turn our back on those in need, we reluctantly take up arms to defeat those who would oppress either their own or other people, and once so committed we act firmly to deliver peace and stability so that others may enjoy the same freedoms; most importantly, the freedom to choose how they should live. We respond with force against those who use it to prevent the people of Afghanistan from achieving the same freedoms you and I take for granted and who aided and abetted those who engage in international terrorism. It is about enforcing the Canadian-sponsored UN declaration of the “Responsibility to Protect.”

War is an aberration that should be avoided at all costs. Being one of the most prosperous and stable democracies in the world comes with certain responsibilities that mean we don’t send our regrets when others ask for help even though we’d all rather be at home listening to music. That is worth remembering.

Lieutenant-Colonel Colin Keiver is a third-year Arts student.