“Any man who would trade liberty for security deserves neither, “ said Ben Franklin.
We have just been whacked upside our national head again by so-called, “martyrs.”
Things need to be done to make us, at least slightly, safer, but whatever is done must be measured against any impairment of our liberty, as expressed in our constitution and common law, or the impact of the nutballs will far outweigh their actual importance.
The act of shooting a soldier acting as honour guard to our national memories is outlandish, and was done for its shock value. We cannot allow the abhorrent nature of the act to push us away from the very attributes of the country that make it, generally speaking, great.
We should mourn with and for the affected families, celebrate our evident resilience, and perhaps, finally, recognize the world is caught up in a clash of cultures, and pick a side. Then we should move on as normally as possible - to do anything else would be to grant a, “victory,” to an odious ideology.
• Life is making it hard for me to celebrate in person with the Smokies, who have won five of six and set themselves on a path to the necessary post-season play.
Junior A hockey is about a game, of course, but we have to sympathize with a roster and coaching staff that has been told, repeatedly, that their efforts may impact the future of top level junior hockey in the, “Home of Champions.”
So far, so good, however, despite the pressure, and Trail is on the way to creating a Fortress Smoke Eaters at Cominco Arena. That would be a good thing in a couple of weeks, when the team plays five home games in eight days. Strong home ice efforts, enabled by strong conditioning work, could make all the difference to Trail’s playoff prospects, especially since by the end of next month Trail will have taken its last ferry ride and have only one more extra-divisional road trip remaining in the 2014/15 regular season.
One amazing fact about the recent scheduling is that, although the Nitehawks, too, have an extended home stand beginning in early November, only one conflict with the Smokies is on the list, meaning true hockey fans can truly get their fill at local rinks.
Beaver Valley plays eight of its next nine KIJHL games at the Hawks’ Nest, and only that Nov. 15 date presents the need for a choice for those who follow both of the area’s junior teams.
All good for the teams, and local fans, who can continue to show their support mostly without needing to go the either-or route.
As a local fan myself, I would love to say I will see you at the rink, and I am really hoping to do that in both rinks the next two weekends, but, as our lives seem to trend these days, the big home stands are happening during the only 12 day period in the past 20 months in which we will be away. C’est la vie, pour nous.
But not for you - so get out and gather memories to relay when I finally can devote more time and energy to the fortunes of my/our local teams.