Canada has flag recognized around the world as a symbol of a free, democratic society. That’s why it was so disheartening to see it used last February to promote ideas that so many Canadians found confusing at best, and abhorrent at worst.  

There are legitimate reasons to fly the flag during protests, but to use it to promote ‘freedom’ without responsibility - when the two are inextricably linked - is not one of them. 

We live in a country with a multi-ethnic mix of new-comers from around the world, old-comers whose families may have lived here for several generations, and the descendants of the original settlers from 20,000 years ago. The result is a mostly-peaceful blend of interests, outlooks and politics that enrich and benefit all of us. Yes, we have issues as a country, not surprising given that individual Canadians have their own passions, preferences and prejudices. We don’t think or feel or dream in lock-step, but for the most part, we celebrate our differences because it makes our mosaic more interesting.  

To be sure, there were people within the convoy who felt they had legitimate grievances, looking for meaningful work or worried about feeding and housing their families. Unfortunately, there were louder voices who used the convoy as cover for less noble motives, including the overthrow of an elected government.  Some would cherry-pick phrases from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms without actually having read the whole thing; we are always free to make our own choices, but with those choices come consequences.  

Others within the ranks wanted all Canadians to ignore experts (read: doctors) whose goal was to have the greatest number of people not die during a global pandemic. Still others seemed to have a pathological hatred for an elected leader who is no more or no less as flawed a human being than the rest of us. 

And we are all, you know, human. Yes, there were conflicting health directives as medical staff worked to understand a new virus (the ‘novel’ in novel coronavirus). Some media cast the most egregious convoy participants – swastika wavers, nasty racists, a single ignorant (in the dictionary sense of the word) person standing on the grave of the Unknown Soldier – as representative of them all.  

But members of the media, like the police, like politicians, like convoy participants, and like the rest of us, are not above being flawed. Most of us actively seek to do better, but that’s sort of what living is all about.  

So this July 1, in Ottawa, in cities and towns across the country, wear your red and white, wave the flag as somehow proud to be in a pluralistic country, where so many people – indigenous, immigrant (even if your family has lived here for generations) and new Canadian – enjoy so many freedoms, and just as importantly, embrace the responsibilities that come with those freedoms.  

Tom New