It looks like political correctness goes beyond our borders. A group of notable feminists from our northern neighbor are demanding a change to their country’s national anthem with the goal of making it more 'gender neutral.'
The Globe and Mail reports:
At issue is the line: “True patriot love in all thy sons command.” According to Restore Our Anthem, a group that includes writer Margaret Atwood and former prime minister Kim Campbell, these lyrics are exclusionary of women, and do not reflect the original intent of Robert Stanley Weir, who wrote the English words for O Canada in 1908.
The controversial lyric in question was added in 1913 for unknown reasons. But, the ‘Restore Our Anthem” group insists the change has sexist roots. Now, on the 100th anniversary of the original anthem, the feminists are starting a campaign to restore the language.
So, because of two words, feminists are attempting to hijack the Canadian national anthem. This kind of political correctness is all too common in our own country, where one year a textbook review process revealed schools had changed the term ‘Founding Fathers’ to ‘Founding Framers,’ seemingly to make it sound less male-dominant.
I don’t know how much say I have in Canadian affairs, but ‘all thy sons’ just rolls off the tongue better than ‘all of us,’ doesn’t it?
Other than the smooth flow these words provide, something else to consider is how many patriotic Canadians have grown up singing these exact lyrics. It’s the only anthem they know and is no doubt plastered on landmarks throughout the country. Who is this group of grumbling women to demand a change to their fellow citizens’ beloved anthem, no matter how small it may seem? I mean, does this feminist group really think the lyrics were changed for the specific purpose of excluding females?
Here's a better lyrical edit, 'O Canada! We stand on guard for thee -- against political correctness.'