the g word

Some American publications have seized upon the fact that the Conservative leader, Steven Harper, who looks all but set to win the upcoming federal elections, ends his stump speeches with the phrase "God bless Canada". As an agnostic, I actually find that phrase charming and fresh. It's a sort of throwback to older, more naive times, when politicians could say things like that and simply be seen as patriotic. Today, when everything is viewed through the prism of irony, "God bless Canada" sounds either pathetic or vaguely threatening to liberal ears. I don't think it's either. I think it's just the man affirming that this is one of the greatest countries in the world and we wish to continue being blessed with its riches and opportunities into the future ("going forward" as nauseating corporate-speak would have it)

I came to this country a quarter of a century ago and I'll admit that to this day, when I hear - or sing - the national anthem, specifically the phrase "God keep our land glorious and free", I get choked up. I come from a place where glorious freedom was stomped into the ground by successive waves of fascists and communists. The fabulous freedoms that we take for granted here are not a given. They were fought for very hard and with a great loss of life. And so when someone says "God bless Canada", it sounds grand and fine and affirming. Even to these jaded agnostic, completely non-religious ears...