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Mark patriotism with an X

Edmonton-St. Albert member of Parliament Brent Rathgeber and fellow Conservative MP for Edmonton-Sherwood Park Tim Uppal would have us believe the riding that displays the most tiny Canadian flags qualifies as the most patriotic.

Edmonton-St. Albert member of Parliament Brent Rathgeber and fellow Conservative MP for Edmonton-Sherwood Park Tim Uppal would have us believe the riding that displays the most tiny Canadian flags qualifies as the most patriotic. It’s hard to believe two representatives of our government could define patriotism with such a shallow gesture.

Granted there’s money for charity and community service on the line for whoever wins, based on the percentage of households that actually do stick a flag in their windows. It’s all a lovely public relations stunt, culminating with the announcement of the most patriotic riding on Canada Day.

Love of country, however, has little to do with flying a flag, whether in your home, outside it or sewing a tiny patch on your backpack. True patriotism involves embracing the fundamental freedoms and principles of Canada, whether you like them or not, and acknowledging their worth.

There is, perhaps, no greater act of patriotism than participating in the democratic process on which our country is founded, and for their roles in the House of Commons, both Uppal and Rathgeber should be commended. Regardless of party interest, there may be no greater duty to one’s country than public service. Of course, Uppal’s own record is tarnished by the means with which he came to Ottawa — after two election losses to David Kilgour and one nomination loss in Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont, Uppal filed nomination papers at the last minute in Sherwood Park. While local councillor Jacquie Fenskie was expecting to win the nomination by acclamation, she ended up losing to Uppal in what her supporters described as an “immoral” campaign, claiming the Conservative Party of Canada stacked the deck in his favour and stealing the nomination from Fenskie. Two-thirds of the riding association board resigned over the fiasco.

Beyond public service, the greatest patriotic act is likely the simplest — voting. Yet how patriotic is a riding such as Edmonton-Sherwood Park where only 55.6 per cent of eligible electors bothered casting a vote in the last election? Or in Edmonton-St. Albert, where 54 per cent of qualified voters turned out at polling stations? Nationally, turnout was the lowest in history at 59.1 per cent, but still higher than either Rathgeber’s or Uppal’s constituency numbers.

Those who did vote are patriots. Those who volunteered to help a candidate in the 2008 election are patriots for giving Canadians the choice they rightly deserved to be able to cast a vote. Their interests may seem self-serving, but their inspiration is a love of a system that requires public participation in order for it to work.

So rather than mailing out tiny flags and asking constituents to let them know whether or not they bothered sticking them in their windows, both Uppal and Rathgeber should seize on this opportunity as a “teachable moment.” They should store the flags in the backroom until Canada Day and instead mail out cards soliciting promises to vote from each household in their ridings. There need be no mention of who each elector would vote for, simply a commitment that, the next time Canadians head to the polls, they do their democratic duty at the nearest polling station. The constituency that receives the most promises by Canada Day can then declare themselves the most patriotic … at least until the ballots are counted the next time we go to the polls.

The idea might seem simplistic, but the message would be authentic and true. Experts have been staring at dwindling voter turnout percentages for years, wondering what can be done to get Canadians back to the ballot boxes. A simple reminder of the love of country implicit with the act of voting might be one way to reverse that trend.

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