In the wake of the latest Canadian soldier being killed in Afghanistan, the results of a new poll timed to the 65th anniversary of VE Day has to be troubling in that many young Canadians would not follow the example of their forefathers and go to war to defeat Nazi Germany.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Craig Blake was killed by a makeshift bomb last Monday and was sent home during a ramp ceremony at Kandahar Airfield in the central Asian nation where Canadians have been serving since soon after the war on terror was declared in 2001.
Canadians are becoming all too familiar with these formal events and the fact support for the mission is declining is an indication of a war weary nation. While many Canadians continue to support the war effort, there's a growing segment of the population that's beginning to feel as though this nation has done its part. It's this reaction that is influencing Ottawa's decision not to extend the military mission beyond 2011, even though the job is far from done.
It's this same war weariness that has many young Canadians questioning what they would do if they were in the same situation as their grandparents and great grandparents 70 years ago. As troubling as it may appear, it should not be surprising that 60 per cent of those surveyed would not volunteer.
Young people today are much more aware of the horror of war and many want no part of it. We must not forget we live in a media-friendly society in which the carnage of foreign battlefields is part of the nightly news. Young people are well aware that waging war is not a pleasant experience.
Saying that, it's hard to poll young people on how they'd react until the situation actually arose. If today were 1939 and we faced the the same decision our forefathers did, the poll results would certainly be different. Young people would not be fooled by stories of glory, but they wouldn't stand by and allow Nazi aggression to occur.
