Are We Proving Ourselves Worthy Of Those Who Sacrificed Everything For Us?

By Spencer Fernando, Exclusive to the National Citizens Coalition

There is an ‘easy’ part of Remembrance Day:

Acknowledging the past, remembering those who gave their lives for our freedom, expressing our support for the men and women in uniform who defend us today. All of that is what is expected of us, and what we expect to do on November 11th.

But there’s also a hard part.

And the hard part is asking ourselves a simple question:

Are we proving ourselves worthy of those who sacrificed everything for us?

In previous eras, the answer to that question would have been a decisive ‘yes.’

But if we’re honest with ourselves, that is no longer the case.

In WW2, our ancestors fought to defeat the Axis powers. Once we learned of the true extent of Nazi crimes, once we learned about the horror of the Holocaust, we learned something important about what kind of people we wanted to be, and what kind of people we didn’t want to be.

We built our society around the idea of being a nation that values freedom, a nation that stands against antisemitism, a nation where all are welcome so long as they embrace our common values, a nation where we value and protect our citizens, and a nation where we keep our commitments to our allies.

Is any of that still the case today?

Since October 7th, antisemitism has surged out of control. Many Jewish Canadians are living in fear, while many of our elected representatives have chosen to be either complicit in the spread of antisemitism or ignore it entirely in what can only be seen as an act of cowardice.

We have welcomed many people into our country who have turned around and not only failed to show gratitude for the freedom they enjoy here but also actively undermined the freedom and safety of others. Our leaders often seem more worried about offending those who despise pluralistic values than the consequences of allowing those values to be eroded.

Meanwhile, our military is dangerously underfunded and in a state of near collapse (even the Defence Minister says recruitment is in a ‘death spiral’). We can’t defend our own territory, we can’t take care of our Veterans, we can’t hit recruitment targets, and we can’t procure new equipment.

As a result, we are also letting down our allies. We are one of NATO’s worst laggards when it comes to military spending, and our words on the world stage carry little weight since we have no hard power to back them up.

Canada in 2024 is a nation where antisemitism runs amuck, where those who despise our values are emboldened by the weakness of those in power, where our military has been allowed to wither away, and where our allies view us as unserious and increasingly unreliable.

What would those who gave their lives for our nation say about us today?

Would they feel we have honoured their legacy?

Would they feel we did the best with the blessings we were given?

Or would they see us as having fallen far short?

Would they see us as having given in to arrogance, ignorance, and complacency as our nation slipped away from its values and principles?

These are difficult questions to ask.

Nobody wants to feel that they are part of letting their forebearers down.

It’s easier to go along in a state of delusional optimism and pretend everything is fine.

But that only raises the odds of disaster.

If we really wish to turn our country around, we must acknowledge the fact that we haven’t measured up.

We must acknowledge the fact that we allowed ourselves to believe our values had permanently triumphed and believed there was no need for real military strength even as those hostile to everything we believed waited for the right moment to feast on our weakness and naivety.

Only by acknowledging these difficult truths can we start to become worthy of those who gave their lives for us, and only then can we turn easy-to-say Remembrance Day sentiments into tough but necessary actions.

Spencer Fernando is one of the most popular and prolific political voices in Canada. He is a writer and campaign fellow for the National Citizens Coalition. Join the mailing list to receive his exclusive weekly columns in your inbox.

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