![Canada's Flag A Search For A Country](../images/titlebar2.gif) PREAMBLE
Within these
covers is a study in flag history and symbolism
published
in 1980. This was
a rendering into book form, with American
spelling,
of a 1975 thesis
deposited with Canada's Library of Parliament. It
had
been discovered
there by a Boston publishing house. Through the
kindness of
Auguste Vachon and the Public Archives of Canada
a few
pictures have been
added. There is also one conclusive chapter by
way
of summation.
Questions continue
to arise respecting the origins and the rationale
of
Canada's flag. On
the occasion of a military ceremonial in Europe
in
1985 one senior
wartime veteran remarked: "I have nothing
against the
flag except its
lack of tradition."
He was astonished
to learn that Canada's flag had been developed
entirely from
tradition, that every decision in relation to the
flag derived
from precedent.
Probably nothing
worthwhile is completely new. We tend to build
upon the past. Our
innovations emerge from whatsoever has been
developed before.
Newness, indeed,
in a coat of arms or a flag might well constitute
a
form of self
denial. For who but the disaffected would choose
to set
themselves apart
from their heritage?
What will become
apparent in these pages is the profound impact of
the past upon
Canadian symbolism, and the persuasive influence
of
heraldic
enthusiasts long deceased upon critical aspects
of the decision
making process.
The flag
proclaimed in 1965 is a reworking, a restatement,
in music
we would call it a
reprise, of familiar themes which affirm the
individuality of
Canada. The flag is not a creation so much as it
is a
recovery of what
has been distinctly ours from earliest
beginnings.
It has been
remarked that Canadians are reluctant to proclaim
their
patriotism, that
they cherish reticence as a national virtue. Yet
on the
three occasions in
which action respecting a flag came before
Parliament all hell broke loose.
![Canada's Flag A Search For A Country](../images/titlebar2.gif)
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