My wife and I enjoy driving in the country on pretty fall days, and so on this particular nineteen-degree October Thursday we drove towards Sylvan Lake on Highway 11.
Actually, we had planned to do this drive because of what we knew we would see.
The flags of remembrance lined both sides of the Highway for quite a distance.
One hundred and twenty-eight flags in all. One flag for every 1,000 soldiers and RCMP officers who died while on active duty. They flew in the wind as a silent reminder of the price paid for the freedoms we enjoy in this beautiful Canada.
Just try to imagine that number. That’s Red Deer, with Blackfalds and Penhold thrown in, wiped out, just so the rest of this country could be free to work, play and believe without persecution.
I have always avoided demonstrations of this sort because I felt that by endorsing them, I was actually promoting war and the violence it represents to me.
Having been born in an occupied European country, two years after the Second World War, I was given plenty of reminders of the scourges that war hands out. I also know that annually, Holland still actively remembers and honours the Canadian Liberators seventy some years later, so it is no small thing in my eyes to pay homage to these people as well.
When I look around the kitchen during meal times, I see the freedoms and the caring and helping of people that these men and women died for. In large part it is to protect the most vulnerable members and citizens of our society; those that are unable and in some cases unwilling to fully look after themselves properly.
Plus it protects those of the world community that have entered Canada either as immigrants or refugees, imbuing them with the same freedoms and privileges that we incumbents enjoy.
If you compare the Canadian flag with others of the world, you soon realize that it is a totally unique flag, distinguishable like few others, and recognisable around the entire world. Its distinctively bold red and white with a large maple leaf sets it totally apart.
Whenever I see it and especially in a display like the stunning one on Highway 11, I am filled with pride for the great country we live in.
We live in a country where we have many freedoms; often they are taken for granted. Think about it.
We can travel from one end of this country to the other without being questioned why; we can go to any church, or not, without being watched; we can buy and sell anything and everything, even hurtful stuff.
I can write about almost everything, even critically, as long as I don’t hit one of society’s sacred cows. I can stand on a street corner if I so desire and rant about almost anything without being stopped.
Many other countries in the world would have you in a prison for these freedoms we enjoy; even Russia locks up its political dissenters. Here dissenting criticism is not only tolerated, but often the basis for the election of new leaders or ousting an unpopular one.
We don’t stop to think that this is an incredible freedom that we have.
I believe that as Nov. 11 approaches, we as “FREE” Canadians should really take the time to reflect on all that we have and can be grateful for. At the same time, we should think on the high number of men and women who have fallen so that we can live as we do.
Maybe, just maybe it is time for us all to jump in our vehicles, motor west on Hwy 11 and take — ‘A Drive to Remember.’
Chris Salomons is the kitchen co-ordinator of Potter’s Hands in Red Deer.