Goldring: Soldiers Not Heroes

If you are familiar with Edmonton you will know how 97st North works its way out of downtown and northward out of the city eventually arriving at CFB Edmonton. (Map) From here many men and women come and go to Afghanistan and other places our Military is active.

CFB Edmonton has had its share of sadness with a few of their soldiers killed in Afghanistan. A group has been active in Edmonton for some time discussing the possibility of renaming 97th Street to Heroes Boulevard. Even though I am against the war in Afghanistan I think its a great idea to rename 97th Street in honor of all the Soldiers who have been based at CFB Edmonton.  

Peter Goldring, Conservative Member of Parliament for Edmonton East believes that Hero is not the right word because...

"I'm concerned that the word hero would be an overgeneralization," he told Sun Media.

All soldiers show valour, he said, while the word hero should be reserved for those who are decorated or lose their life in battle.

And the word asshole should also not be overused.  I'm guessing the Edmonton Sun was having a slow day and just looked around for some easy foot in mouth baiting. 

The military has a number of medals and citations to award to soldiers for their courage. The awarding of these medals follows certain traditions and protocols. But here we're just talking about renaming a street to show a little thanks and rememberance. Are the semantics really necessary?

If you're looking to find more information about Goldring's view on the military, his website has a prominent link titled Our Security.  Dead Link.  404.   Seems fitting.

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