Posted by Victor from ON Canada on May 19, 2021 at 09:56:11:
In Reply to: British Paras posted by Canadian Abroad on May 18, 2021 at 15:43:44:
At the instigation of the government, that seems to have changed. We'd all like to believe that Canadian soldiers are still the victors of Vimy and the liberators of Holland, but that is not the image the government wants to put out. Canadians are supposed to be "nice", and that applies to soldiers, too. In fact, it applies particularly to soldiers when they are stationed abroad and the world is watching them.
To this I say 'bullshit'. Canadians are not "nice", and we never we "nice". Were the British nice? The Americans? Even the French? Hell no. Canadians are "polite", and I believe that's a virtue that can apply to soldier and civilian alike without damaging either ones reputation. But this whole "nice" thing has gotten out of hand.
In the first half of this century, Canadians were seen as they should be. We had earned a reputation for dash and daring during the Boer War. We had brutally led the British armies against the Huns and the Italians in two world wars, savagely defeating them time and again. We were the roughest, the toughest, the men of the north, a cold, heartless foe that struck fear into their enemies at the mere sight of a shoulder flash that read CANADA. We weren't just soldiers, we were warriors!
Then the "nice" thing set in. The politically-correct revolution took hold of the government, who then told the Canadian people it was better to be "nice" than cruel and efficient, even if you job was to defend your country by killing your enemy. Sadly, the Canadian people have believed them, and everything has changed. In regards to defense, peacekeeping rather than soldiering took the highest priority. Although I'm not against peacekeeping (it is, after all, a Canadian concept born in the old days), I believe defense should be priority #1. DND may say it still is, but take a look around and you will see it is not.
But hey, that's just my opinion. I think we as Canadians trust the government too much, and this is the end result.