1952 Magnet Yearbook

26 TUE ~IAGNET
Our
Heritage
BEVERLEY FISLASD. 5C
We are Ca nadians. We are citizens of a cou nt ry with customs and traditions
all it s own. Our way of life is not a ca rbon copy of Old Countr y
living. nor do we imi ta te every move made by our neighbours to the so uth.
There a re so me who look upon Canad ian s all "colonials", and ot hers who
regard Canadians on ly as potenti al Am erica ns. Those a re th e peo ple who
have come in contact with Canadians indifferent to t hei r heritage.
The lack of know ledge some Canadians show regarding th eir country
and its history for-ms pa rt of t he basis for t hese attit udes . Although we
crit icize man y America n customs and ideas. we mus t recognize that one
th ing they do. and do well is make su re all th ei r sc hool child re n are well
stee ped in American history. Ask any American school child about Patrfck
Hen ry or th e elg nl ng of t he Declaration of Independence and you will
receive a knowledgeable reply, In our schools Amer-ican history receives
alm ost as much emphasis as our own. For example. most Canadians can
give an acco unt of the work of Abraham Lincoln . which ill important. but
how many can give a compara ble account of the acco mplishments of Sir
J ohn A. ) t acdonald, our first Prime ) Iinister? If only man)' othe rwise
intelligent Canadian s would take the troubl e to familia rize themselves
with Ca nadian history. Ca nada would cease to be regarded as extension
of the U,S. A,
T he fogg inesl'l regarding the R.c.),I.P. ill a part icular case of this indifference,
T here a re Canadians. qu it e intelligent, who think of Mount lee
r es plen den t in t hei r dress sca rlet, continually ru sh ing about getti ng thei r
man, As for knowing the mott o, or ot her pertinen t detail s about th e Force,
only a few accom plish suc h a feat. "'1." must exe r t a n effor t to learn t he
facts about ou r ow n nationa l police force, one of th e most famo us in t he
world. fo r we ca nnot ex pect our neighbours to do the job for us.
Some say we are tied to t he ),Ioth er Country's apron st r-ings. That we
remain in th e Bri t ish Commonwealth. that we ha ve a Governor-general
to rep resent t he Crown. and ot her traditio ns se rve as basis for such a
statement. F rom the first agitation fo r se lf governmen t to Con fede ration.
eve ry step was taken peacefully and according to th e law. Th e F athers of
Confede ration deemed it best to stay within the E mpire rather than mak e a
zornplete break, In spi te of accusations of sent imentality t hei r decision has
sh ow n itself wise, Ca nada has profited from the yea r !'! of experience of
t he Rritis h lawmakers, while being able to vote down any Br itish Leg-islation.
concer ning t he Domi nio n. of which it does not approve. This arrangement
convinces even outsiders . not affected by ties of t radition. of its
Ines ti mable worth, Why t hen should we. Ca nadian s, belittle such a priceless
treasure.
We a re Canadian s. Being citizens of Canada entails more than profess.
lng loyalty to the government. If we are to be good citizens, we must
undertake th e responsibility of learning our count ry's background.