There are a lot of strong feelings around last week’s update to O Canada, which altered the line In all thy sons command to In all of us command.
Polls state that roughly half of Canadians opposed the change, though younger Canadians were more inclined to support it.
Our own MP, Arnold Viersen, said the legislation demonstrated how the Liberals were out of touch with mainstream Canada.
We have a few different thoughts on this matter. First, we should be glad that the most contentious issue in Canada last week revolved around changing two words in the anthem. It’s certainly preferable to, say, the release of a misleading memo designed to undermine a federal investigation into the President’s collusion with a foreign government.
Secondly, the national anthem is not sacrosanct. It’s not a holy artifact that will be defiled through contact with human hands.
The original anthem was sung by French-speaking Quebecers at the end of the 19th century. It was then adopted by English-speaking Canadians and altered several times before the lyrics written by poet Robert Stanley were adopted in 1908.
If it were truly important to protect the sanctity of the anthem, we’d not only be singing it in French, but we’d be using the original line True patriot love, thou dost in us command.
Yes, that’s right: the most popular version of the national anthem was originally more gender-neutral. We’re treating the anthem like a sacred cow without any consideration of its roots.
Thirdly, it’s the late 2010s. Language changes with time. Values change with time. And we happen to value inclusion a great deal more than they did a century ago, when the popular version of the anthem was adopted.
If switching out two words is going to make women and other Canadians who don’t conform to the two genders just a little more comfortable about singing the anthem, then isn’t that worthwhile?
“Oh, but if we let this slide, what change are these left-wing nuts going to demand next? Are they going to take God out of the anthem?”
Ah yes, the slippery slope argument.
Well, society didn’t crumble when we gave women the vote or allowed gays to marry, so Canada will probably survive this moral crisis as well.
