Half Mast And Upside Down

Fun Flag Facts

If the Tories choose to ignore Andrew Telegdi's motion to half-mast the Canadian flag on the Peace Tower whenever a Canadian soldier is killed in Afghanistan or on some other overseas assignment, what happens?

The government could accept it. Or it could simply ignore it. The latter would raise an interesting jurisdictional issue. The Peace Tower is part of the Parliament Buildings. Who controls those buildings, including the flagpole? Who decides whether the Commons may take a moment to honour a fallen soldier? Is it the government of the day? Or is Parliament? I'd vote for Parliament.

Worst Headline Ever: Lowering the flag for soldiers dilutes its importance.

Lead Tory talking point (repeated in CanWest Newspapers all across the country):

The government has studied practices from previous wars, such as the Second World War. Had it been lowered for each death in that war, they note, it would have remained there for most of the war, creating both logistical and morale problems.

Well, what exactly would be wrong with flying the flag permanently at half-mast during times of war? Arguing that it would create morale problems or is defeatist misinterprets the gesture. Among other things, the half-mast flag is a symbol of national mourning and, if the nation is in the midst of a particularly grievous War, where soldiers are dying every day, then by definition it is a nation in a constant state of mourning. I don't see anything bizarre about using the flag on the PT to express that fact. I even see the poetics of it as being rather compelling.

What happened last time this issue came up (in April of 2006):

More (53%) Disagree Than Agree (45%) With Decision To Not Fly Flag At Half-Mast Every Time A Soldier Is Killed

Picture from here, by the way.