Essays in Idleness

Today is Dominion Day. It was officially renamed “Canada Day” in some bigoted Act of Parliament around 1982, which should have been ignored. American readers can imagine what they would think of a Congress that had “Independence Day” officially redesignated “United States Day.” They would assume their country were under alien occupation, just as I assume, of Canada.

My annual rant against the desecration and destruction of the Dominion of Canada’s institutions and heritage — and their replacement with the vain, vile, and very cheap paraphernalia of this gliberal affront — will be found this year in Catholic Insight magazine, published at Toronto. I would republish that essay here, but fear copyright infractions whenever transcribing my own works. Meanwhile, readers are advised to find the website of “Catlick Incite” (as it is affectionately called, up here in the High Doganate), to obtain their lifetime and multiple gift subscriptions.

To my mind, “O Canada” should be included as a hymn in the Mass, today — in the original, unaltered, French, richly Catholic version. Then for the recessional, have the organist hit hard on “The Maple Leaf Forever.”

For all my dead ancestors, for all who fought on behalf of a much better Canada — so many of whom laid down their lives in France and other remote places — the consecration of my love in my prayers. History, generally, is a Lost Cause, which so long as we do live we must never cease from embracing:

For there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

God save our Queen, and Heaven bless … the Maple Leaf Forever!