Red: A Canada 150 Reflection

Red.

It used to be my favourite colour.

I think it was because I saw it as a brave colour, a colour of adventure. Narnia's colour is red, after all. I always wished that I could climb into my favourite books and go on a real adventure.

I also liked red because it is Canada's colour.

I grew up with a lot of Canadian pride. At a very young age I was taught our national anthem, our geography, and our history.

When I was eleven my family went on a road trip across Canada, all the way from BC to Newfoundland. I have so many good memories from that trip. We got to see all sorts of interesting things - Niagara Falls, the Canadian Parliament, the Plains of Abraham, Green Gables, L'Anse aux Meadows, Cape Spear, and many other places. We got to appreciate the land and history of our country in a new way. Another year we drove north to the Yukon, and got to experience even more of our great country.

I always liked what I perceived to be Canada's reputation - a nice country, a peaceful country, but don't mess with us because we can take care of ourselves. It's a good country to be from. The Canadian stereotype is endearing, from saying "eh" and "sorry", to hockey, Tim Hortons, and poutine.

I love Canada.

But recently I have also begun to learn that we have a shadow side to our story too.

I've learned about residential schools, where Indigenous children were torn away from their families, abused, and forced to give up their own culture.

I've learned about the unfathomable number of missing and murdered Indigenous women without voices to advocate for them.

I've learned that there are whole Indigenous cultures and languages that are endangered or have become extinct.

I have witnessed a society where injustice continues to flourish, where the gap between the rich and the poor increases, where wealth is sought after and gained at the expense the poor here and across the world and through the careless destruction of the earth.

For those of us who are Christians, it is very important to think about where we belong in this narrative. Our place is not in the marching bands and the marching armies, in the voices that proclaim the glories of colonialism and would trample those who stand against it. We are called to have different values. We belong to a different Kingdom. Our place is with Jesus, among the poor and the outcast, telling the stories of the forgotten and crying out for justice for the oppressed.

Our story is not as simple as we would like to believe.

So as we celebrate Canada's 150th year, remember that this land was home to others long before colonialists from Europe arrived.

As we show pride for our country, remember that the true greatness of a country is shown not in its wealth, its policies, or its achievements in war, but in how it treats the weak, the vulnerable, and the forgotten.

As we look up at our beautiful flag of white and red, remember that there is also red on our hands.