their national pride, as Canadians, in
some manner. Indeed, in many cases,

it has been shown that those who

are not born in a country but come to
make it their home often identify very
strongly with that national identity.
According to the Alliance, “our national
anthem is an important way for
Canadians to show pride and respect
for their country.” Should individuals
and groups be excluded from

this because of their differing
beliefs?

According to the
Canadian Secular
Alliance, “Canada's
current national anthem
puts a sizeable fraction of
the population in a

position where showing f
love for their country

also entails invoking a

deity whose existence

they reject.” Therefore,
changing the lyrics would
result in the secularization of
national pride. It would allegedly allow
all Canadians, regardless of religious
views, the opportunity to express their
patriotism.

There have been many arguments
over the years for why the lyrics
should remain as they are. Many
believe that it is important to keep
that historical tie; to give respect to
both Canada’s Christian heritage and
the many Christian Canadians who
contributed to building our country.
Many also believe that it would be
unprecedented to change the lyrics.
However, since the lyrics were first

written in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir,

they have gone through numerous
alterations. These occurred before the
anthem was adopted into the 1980
National Anthem Act. Both Restore
Our Anthem and the

Alliance

Canadian Secular

advocate changing certain lines back
to the original lyrics, or changing them
to better reflect the original lyrics, as
they were before adoption into this Act.

Though the English lyrics may include

some religious mentions, the French

lyrics are much more overtly religious.
These can be seen in lyrics like: “as

in thy g

arm ready to

wield the sword, so also is it ready
to carry the cross”, and “thy valour
steeped in faith.” According fo the
Alliance website, it will take much more
to revise the French lyrics because
they cannot simply be reverted to the
original version, as the English version
can. They conclude that “this is a topic
for a separate national debate.”

The debate about whether to change
the lyrics of O Canada or not goes
beyond simply a debate of semantics,
and has very real social consequences.
At least, it does according to the
Canadian Secular Alliance. On their
website, they state
that “the mention

of God in the

anthem is often cited as evidence that
Canada is a “Christian nation’, and
used to argue for substantive public
policies that undermine church-state
separation..thus, seemingly “trivial”
issues of symbolism have a tendency
to become relevant to highly non-trivial
debates about government policy.”
They conclude that as a liberal
democracy and a pluralistic
country, Canada’s
government
should not

a

take an official
position on the
existence of

+ PEl

God, and
whether or

not organized religion

has the right or ability to soeak on that
God's behalf. They believe that all of
Canada's public institutions, including
the national anthem, should reflect this.

More information on this subject can
be found at: http://secularalliance.ca/
about/policies/god-and-canadas-
national-anthem/.

The very core of Canadian society is
transforming, has been since its
conception, and will continue

11

to do so in the future. The lyrics of

our national anthem have also been
altered in the past. However, there has
been no progress in this for over 30
years. We have seen a few initiatives
in this respect in recent decades but,
so far, they have not come to fruition.
Now we must ask ourselves: is it time
for a change and, if so, how should
we undertake this and what should be

included?

Diversity within Canada spans more
than issues of religion and gender,
though those have certainly been
among the most prominent. It may
not be possible to revise the lyrics of
our anthem to reflect the widespread
diversity at all levels of Canadian
society. This incredible range of
diversity and variation may
continue to expand and
grow in future years,
with no hope of any
revisions to the national
anthem ever catching up fo or
encompassing even a fraction

=NS of it, Whether or not this means

we should give up and not even
try is up to every Canadian citizen.
So the next time you are standing at a
hockey game, a national memorial, or
a school event, think about what you
are singing. It matters.

How would you change the lyrics
to our national anthem, if you are

in favour of changing them at all?
Let us know on Facebook: Over the
Edge Newspaper or on Iwitter: @
OvertheEdgeNewspaper