To You From Failing Hands we Throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
In 1915 Lt-Col. John McCrae wrote his famous poem “In Flanders Fields”. A poem that has been recited thousands of times since its first publication. It is not uncommon at Remembrance Day ceremonies to see youth reciting it or students dutifully reciting it en masse in their schools as part of a school presentation. It is part of the Canadian Culture deeply embedded even as we face a cultural decline. The poem itself is a stark reminder of the reality of war, the cost of such and ends with a message of revitalization. I have read it out at events as a child, for my school, and joined others in saying it en masse.
As Remembrance Day once again comes upon us, I was reading it out loud for a presentation, and the “To you From failing hands we throw, The torch; be yours to hold it high.” stood out to me in particular. So I meditated on it. I ruminated on its meaning, not only for war, but for us as a Civilization. I became agonized by its meaning, because we continue to inspire our youth to read the poem, but we do not follow its meaning, nor do we impart reflective discernment on the meaning to our youth. Like so much of our Canadian culture, it is followed obediently out of necessity without imparting the meaning.
The torch, in a symbolic sense, represents a culture: a series of ideas, morals, norms and destiny. It remains lit through the fuel of our belief in it. A torch is a light that banishes darkness, provides safety, and leads the way. It is a rallying point. It also becomes a focal point for ones enemies. The enemies who know that a torch does not light, and remain lit, on its own. We hold it high because we stand by the ideals that it represents. We hold it high because we want others to see that light and know we are not ashamed of it. In the cover art for this article, the WW2 recruitment poster shows the torch lit, high above the person with the person looking up at it. It radiates and lights the person holding it as well as the Vimy Ridge memorial behind it. Our glorious dead, have thrown the torch to us for a reason, and that is to hold it high; a call to arms, to war, to courage, and to represent something bigger then oneself. The person who imagined that poster understood the symbolism and the message that Lt-Col. McCrae was intending to convey.
Yet as Remembrance Day 2025 rapidly approaches, I fear that torch has been largely abandoned. We Canadians continue to read the poem out of a sense of tradition, or obligation, but the meaning has been lost. Our Canadian Armed Forces is at a crisis point in recruiting. We struggle to get men and women into uniform, and when we do, we largely cannot retain them. For a torch to be passed it must remain lit, an unlit torch with no lighting fuel does not service any reasonable function, so it is not desired to be passed. As the military recruiting and retaining crisis has deepened, it is reflective not only of the state of the Forces themselves, but of the state of our Country as well.
This year I see the torch as a symbol beyond that of a military poem commemorating our glorious dead, but as an analogy of the state of the Canadian populace itself. This torch is not just for passing in the military, but it is also the torch representing Canada. It is a representation of passing from one generation to the next. In this context, we are not only seeing the torch denied to the next generation, but the people who have the torch now are actively attempting to dim it out.
From Failing Hands
The generation that holds our torch is failing. They are getting older and death will soon be upon them. The cycle and nature of life will not be denied, nor will natural law be subverted. The goal of a generation should be to set the next generation up for more success then they had. To impart norms & traditions onto their children to allow them to govern and thrive in their absence. In this way many Canadians are failing. Like the Canaanite god Moloch, who demanded that women sacrifice their children for immediate fixes, we have became a society that is built on sacrificing the future for short term gains. In a sane and moral society, a tree is planted and nurtured so that the children of said society can enjoy the future fruits and shade. We live in an inverted society, the currently dying generation believes that they have the moral framework to rule over us until their last breath. We need only look at who rules us: a silver-haired gerontocracy.
Our leaders are old, the heads of our institutions are old, and their ideas appear to be stuck in a permanent loop of a 1997 neo-liberalism born out of the WW2 consensus. Their god is GDP and as long as GDP goes up, they worship. Many hoarded wealth in an era of relative plenty and now slowly erode our society in order to accumulate more of it. They are the generation that did apprenticeships, and once in, petitioned employers and Unions to put University degrees and licensing regimes in, effectively gate keeping and rolling up the ladder behind them. They built companies with five year plans, not 100 year plans. They messed with the free markets, to build business empires, and now those changes are causing the same markets to crumble. They enriched themselves while installing social reforms that push their children out of the job market and onto Government subsidization, growing the state-beast, and continuing the spiral. They know they are the arbiters of The Truth™, because as progressives, History will prove them right. The State they create is their religion, and those who are not acolytes will be subject to cancellation.
We are now seeing the final act of subversion. I call this “the permanent cruise.” See, when someone is on a cruise, their every whim is accounted for, there is always a bell to push, a bell to get pleasure in food, entertainment or some other type of luxury. On a cruise, a person’s needs become the burden of others. Many in my generation have largely cut off their progressive boomer or Gen X parents due to their greed and narcissism. In many cases parents have decided to cut their children off too, jealous of their youth and terrified of how angry they’ve made them. My friends in banking tell me how many children are simply waiting for their parents to die off so they can get a house or money to survive. Some parents have even decided to give their wealth away to charities or burn it.
For the current ruling generation, they believe that they have paid their dues and now should be able to enjoy the final remaining years on a permanent cruise, living off of their accumulated wealth, their pensions and their subsidized healthcare. That would be fine except, at the same time, they continue to advocate in their senior years for policies & cultural reforms that damn their children. They don’t trust their children to make decisions and they fear losing the perks of a permanent cruise. The geriatric party recently informed young Canadians that they will have to “make sacrifices” while they presented an 80 billion dollar budget. Governor Tiff Macklem, governor of the Bank of Canada stated recently “..that unless we change some other things, our standard of living as a country- Canadians, is going to be lower than it otherwise would have been.” They Doubled the budget, that the Liberal Party Finance Minister resigned over about a year earlier. As their children struggle, their response is to tell them to just “try harder”. As these policies continue, and young people cannot afford to get qualified or enter the job market, the geriatrics resorted to immigration programs to have their slop meals, their care homes, their cheap goods, keep real estate artificially high, and retain the necessary healthcare to see to their comfort. For some of these geriatrics, the last person they will see before they pass on from this life is not family, but a care-aid standing by, waiting for the client to die, to prepare the hospice bed for the next one. While their children are waiting impatiently at the bank to extract the remaining wealth, so they can move on. A grim future, indeed.
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
This refusal of many of our parents and grandparents generation to throw us the torch could ultimately mean our destruction. But we must wrestle it from their hands if need be, and restore the light, and hold it high! We have something, for now, that they don’t: time. We must use this time to build ourselves and build the families we want to see for the future. This immense challenge we have must be overcome, and it starts with us as individuals. We must become educated and keep alive the personal and family traditions that bind us together. We must become strong and accept our “painful toil” just like God told Adam in the garden. We must accept our struggles with grace and hope. We must build 100+ year plans for our families and then our communities. Let’s put aside the distractions and the noise which the previous generation hoisted upon us, and take responsibility for our futures, and set our children up for success in the next generation. No matter how dim the torch becomes, we will not let the light go out. We must become community minded, voluntarily associating with organizations that promote Canadian culture and values.
There are some elderly who are volunteering and community building and who are ready to throw the torch, with no one to catch it. We must reflect deeply within ourselves on what makes Canadian culture. We need to know from a historical context and not just the modern hyper-reality. To do this, it will take courage. The light from a torch is attractive to those who oppose its light, so we must be prepared to defend that torch.
So this year on Remembrance Day, when that fated poem is read out, reflect on its meaning. Reflect on the values and culture that your forefathers fought and died for. Go to your local Remembrance Day ceremony and wear the Poppy proudly. And reflect on the service of those who came before you. Did they fight simply for more GDP growth? Ask your children what they believe the meaning is and instruct them on its true meaning. Sit in the silence of the Last Post with unease, and say with your whole heart when the moment comes, “We will Remember Them”.
And remember: the act of remembrance is not just words on paper to be mindlessly read out, it is an oath, a promise to ourselves and our forefathers, and to our children. Sing the National Anthem standing straight up, hat off, hand over your heart and with the proper lyrics. Our glorious dead are worth it.
Don’t break faith in Canada.
We are still here and our forefathers lie as restlessly as do we.
Catch the torch and hold it high.
Russell is a Canadian Conservative and Catholic who wants you to spend less time on social media and more time with your family. He believes in volunteerism as a key means to building community and social cohesion. He believes that citizens should be active members in the life of their Country and that rejecting that responsibility has resulted in physical and moral decay in Canada. Use the online sphere as a place to learn & network. Turn that into action where you are needed most and help your Country become stronger.