The Editor,
It’s Remembrance Day Friday — or Political Hypocrisy Day, as I like to refer to it.
You know what I mean: The day politicians try to outdo each other to show their patriotic duty to our veterans by being the first to wear a poppy on their lapel. I swear some of these politicians will be sporting them in September.
Or the spectacle of them tripping over each other to lay a wreath at a cenotaph — the perfect photo op to include in their newsletters to constituents.
And then on Nov. 12, the poppy gets thrown into a drawer and soon forgotten, as are any obligations or duty these politicians owe to the veterans who have served and died to keep Canada the great country it is.
This hypocrisy is exemplified by the disgusting decision on the part of the Legion in New Brunswick to deny a veteran of the Afghan war the right to lay a wreath on Nov. 11 to honour and commemorate the death of five of his comrades who were killed in action in this war. The explanation for this decision? This privilege of laying a wreath is given solely to politicians and “dignitaries.” So in other words, a veteran isn’t considered a dignitary at the very event honouring his contribution and sacrifice to his country?
At the risk of sounding totally un-PC and bigoted, if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau showed only half the amount of compassion to our veterans as he did the thousands of poor unfortunate Syrian immigrants he brought to Canada, the vets’ circumstances wouldn’t be so dire.
We have vets suffering from physical and mental health issues not getting proper care. We have veterans who are homeless and/or unemployed not getting any help from government agencies.
We, as a nation, are to blame for allowing our politicians to continue this generational abuse of our veterans. They are truly the “disposables” of our society — send them to war then ignore and scorn them when they are no longer needed or useful.
Neil Swanson, Coquitlam
