I'm under no illusions of such. Of course it happens everyday, everywhere. It needs to be minimized as much as possible. Cops aren't allowed to put partisan bumper stickers on their squad cars or uniforms either.
How would you do it ? A sticker on a bumper is a concrete and real thing.
A few sentences spoken in a classroom by a teacher... a slight shading of meaning to imply that Canada is "better"....
To make people less nationalistic is a long project, and Canada (evidenced by the comments here) is a lot farther down the line than most but the counter-programming from everyone... from Justin Trudeau to Tim Hortons.... is strong.
And - yes - you can still have strong belief in Canadian values, think it's better than other countries, and LOVE Canada... despite our misdeeds. No project of this magnitude can be dismissed by crimes committed in its name... the Church... Communism.... they endure with their black marks...
You're a human being with biases and viewpoints like all of us. I didn't say you disagreed, but some might, as may you.
Yes you are getting at the politics of education, and my bet is that it's politically 'ok' to teach kids that Canada is "good", as dumbed down as that is.
There are necessary wars and optional wars. Soldiers don't have any say on whether we go to war or not, those decisions are made by politicians. Either way, having a military is not optional, unless of course you don't want to have a sovereign country at all. If you support Canada being a country in any way there's no other option than supporting the people who risk their lives defending it because it wouldn't exist without them. That's very, very different than supporting political policy.
Some might disagree, though, as you say.
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It seems like we're talking about: what *should* be taught, in terms of national moral sphere/jingoistic/patriotic material ... as well as what plays and can be managed politically.
I don't think there's much disagreement here, anyway. I am surprised a little at the dry take on Canada's moral standing, and how you and Squid feel that should be taught, but I don't disagree with you.
It's an interesting question for sure.