I was a little worried when I arrived at the Coliseum LRT stop to find 34 people milling about – not a single one of them wearing any red or poppies. My faith in my fellow Edmontonians was restored when I arrived at Churchill Square. While we didn’t have quite the turnout that the Red Fridays rally in Ottawa had, it wasn’t bad. I stopped counting when I reached a hundred in the small section of the square I was standing in.

It was a slow start. The cold blew out the sound board and we stood around stomping to keep warm. The rally got underway shortly after noon and was completed before 1:00 pm.

A few bumps aside, the Red Friday rally organizers (Married to the Canadian Forces and Edmonton Salutes) did a great job. Shawn Hlookoff gave a stirring rendition of his song Soldier and MCpl Paul Franklin gave a rousing speech to many cheers from the service members and their families in the audience. Frequently mentioned during speeches was the fact that everyone, regardless of political motivations or whether or not they agree with the current mission in Afghanistan, can wear red to show support for our troops. Think of Red Fridays like poppies. You don’t have to have fought in a war or agree with war in order to wear red. You just have to want to show support for the men and women of our Canadian Forces both at home and abroad.

Photos after the break…

Warning: Photo quality is poor. These pictures were taken on a camera phone as I didn’t have a digital camera available.

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It’s snowing again so I’ve hauled out my hat, gloves and some earmuffs in preparation for today’s rally. On Sunday, the hubby and I heard people discussing on a local radio station the low turnout of the “Bring our Troops Home” rally in Edmonton. Some of the callers suggested that the reason why they had such a low turnout was because of the weather. This started a lively discussion between the hubby and I about what happens when conviction meets convenience.

The hubby is of the belief that if someone really supports a cause – be it a charitable organization, political event, or the withdrawl of Canadian troops from Afghanistan, then they will do everything in their power to participate. Sometimes that means calling your local politician, writing letters, volunteering your time or skills, offering financial assistance, or just showing up to put “boots on the ground”.

In the case of the rally held at the U of A, this means that cold weather and snow wouldn’t have been sufficient to keep the true believers of the cause away. We both thought that the fact that the rally was held on a weekend (Saturday), rather than a weekday, should have increased the number of participants.

Since the turnout was so low at last weeks rally, we came to a few possible conclusions:

1. Not as many people are against the mission in Afghanistan as the NDP would like to lead us to believe.
2. When it comes to choosing between conviction (attending the rally to show support of an espoused cause) or convenience (staying home because it snowed, going shopping, etc.), most people will choose what’s more convenient. It’s easier to say you support something than it is to demonstrate your convictions.
3. We’ve become an insular society and care more about ourselves than the world around us.
4. A large number of people don’t have an opinion on the Canadian participation in the Afghanistan mission and as a result had no desire to attend a rally calling for the withdrawl of our troops.

I’m going to work to ensure that my convictions outweigh any thoughts of falling back into the security blanket of convenience.

Take today’s rally in support of our troops for example. The minute I learned of it I started making arrangements to attend. It’s on a weekday, so I rearranged my shift at work so I could attend. It’ll be cold, so I schlepped down to a local store to buy warmer clothing – in red of course. The parking will be crap, so I’m taking the LRT. Sure, it’s cold and snowing, but that’s no excuse for me not to attend. Supporting our troops is something I’ve long advocated on this blog.

I’ll be at Churchill Square at 11:30 today. Hopefully if you’re in Edmonton or the surrounding area you’ll be able to attend as well.

Technorati Tags: support our troops, rally, Edmonton, red Friday, Afghanistan

On Friday, November 3rd, there will be a rally in support of our troops in Churchill Square from 11:30am to 1:30pm. I’ll be in attendance. The topic of this week’s T13 will be 13 reasons I’m attending the Support Our Troops rally on Friday.

Thirteen reasons I’m attending the Support Our Troops Rally. I’m a military spouse. My husband served in the Army before remustering to the Air Force in the mid 90’s. My father and grandfather served in the Navy. My great-grandfather served in the Army. Supporting our troops comes natural to me. Based on my conversations with serving and past members of the Canadian Forces, the men and women of our Canadian Forces believe in the mission and in what they’re doing in Afghanistan. For the first time in years, many Afghan women are learning to read and write. Through education, the Afghani people may learn there are alternate ways to resolve conflict and build freedom. I’m a woman who, through a fortunate accident of birth, has access to education, medical care, employment, and the freedom to wear whatever I choose, say whatever I want, vote, and do what falls within my values and morals. I believe all women, regardless of which country she was born in, is equally entitled to these items. Peacekeeping is only possible if there is an agreement between all factions to set aside their differences and work towards a peaceful resolution. Afghanistan isn’t at that point yet. We need to support their current actions in the hopes that all sides will be able to work towards a place where peacekeeping will be a viable alternative. President Hamid Karzai, the first democratically elected president of the country, visited the Canadian parliament and re-iterated his governments desire for our troops to remain in the country. It doesn’t often make the news in Canada, but our troops are working on humanitarian projects as well as fighting. They are working towards improving roads and infrastructure, helping support schools, etc. These are all things we can be proud of. The mission has UN approval and NATO support. The rally is co-organized by the group Married to the Canadian Forces of which I am a member. The previous government (Liberals) sent our troops to Afghanistan and the current government (Conservatives) expanded their commitment to the mission until 2009. If we’re going to allow our government to send our troops into harms way, then we need to show support for the men and women willing to put boots on the ground (I know, boots on the ground is a US Army saying, not Canadian) to complete the mission our government has assigned them. I believe every woman has the right to live her life without fear of being stoned to death. I believe that everyone should have the right to choose which religion they want to follow – or not follow as the case may be. Freedom of religion (or from religion) should be an inalienable right. Dhimmi’s are, by our western definition, denied equal status in society. I strongly disagree with the tenets of Shari’ah law and believe all individuals should be treated equally under the eyes of the law. I get to split my shift at work, travel on the LRT, dress up in my pretty red clothes, and possibly meet the DMB crew. Thanks to other Thursday Thirteen participants who viewed my list and left a comment: Caylynn, Silver, Bev, Melissa, N. Mallory, Momma Bee and Lynn. Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Technorati Tags: thursday thirteen, t13, meme, support our troops, red Friday, Churchill Square, Edmonton

Happy Halloween – or as we like to call it in our house – happy “dogs go barky barky all night” day.

I’m thrilled to report I’ll be able to attend the Support our Troops Rally at Churchill Square on Friday. I’m looking forward to it – not just because I get to demonstrate my support for the guy in blue (and green) who shares my home, life and love but also because I may get a chance to meet up with the Dust my Broom crew. My only worry is that I won’t know how to recognize them without the Smelly Hippies sign!

Technorati Tags: red friday, support our troops, edmonton, churchill square