FYI

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

In a nutshell / tombits... Fiddling with the anthem while the economy fizzles

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 03/6/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

PRIME Minister Stephen Harper dost not at first glance have much in common with the Roman Emperor Nero, although critics of Mr. Harper might suggests that the two share a certain imperial arrogance.

After Wednesday's speech from the throne, however, one comparison becomes inevitable. Just as Nero fiddled while Rome burned, the prime minister appears to have spent the period during which he prorogued Parliament plunking away on his piano as Canada collapses around him. A nation that needs bread -- metaphorically speaking -- is being offered circuses and songs instead.

The two go together, in an odd way. O Canada was played so often -- good for us -- at the Vancouver Olympics where this country set a record for gold medals in a winter Games that the song was heard around the world and millions of people who didn't even know the words, like many Canadians, actually liked it. Even American TV commentators thought it was quite "rousing."

Canadians are seldom accused of that and in a paroxysm of excitement someone in the Prime Minister's Office came up with the idea of making the anthem less rousing by changing the words, a move that would have the additional benefit of distracting attention from the fact that the throne speech offered no vision for the country and Thursday's budget few solutions to its problems.

The anthem has already been rewritten once -- too many "stand on guard for thees" apparently for a country that prided itself on its soft-power pacifism, with the result that people sing two different versions.

In the absence of fixing the economy, Prime Minister Harper suggests instead rendering the anthem "gender neutral." Gelding it would remove the words "In all thy sons command" -- sexist -- and replace them with "thou dost in us command." Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, who should know better, because he went to very good schools where he should have learned that in English the male pronoun is also the generic pronoun, agrees with Harper, although he vaguely suspects there are more important issues to deal with.

And what about the G-word. There is a clear reference to G-d in the anthem. Something should be done about that, but perhaps we can save that for another economic crisis. In the meantime, we'll belt out the national anthem in a four-version -- don't forget the French one, which really needs a lot of work -- cacophony of multicultural political correctness. Talk about rousing.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 6, 2010 H2

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

WFP Hockey

Download our new hockey app for the iPhone for Winnipeg Jets updates
Editor's Bulletin

Sign up for daily bulletins from editor Margo Goodhand
Winnipeg Jets

All things NHL on our Jets landing page
Twitter

Follow our reporters and our news feeds on Twitter
News Cafe

Check out the menu, read our blog posts or get info on coming events
Facebook Fanpage

Follow our Facebook Fanpage for story links, contests and special events