MidlandToday welcomes letters to the editor ([email protected]). Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in regard to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
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The Queen was a person, and she was loved by her family, and anyone who has experienced grief (everybody) should understand that Elizabeth's family should be respected not as the Royal Family, but as a family that is experiencing the loss of a beloved family member.
It is a comforting reminder that death is part of our daily existence as humans, and no matter who you are, eventually you must surrender to that reality.
Canada should mark the day, if only because the monarchy is so intermingled with our own cultural identity. Canada is still a part of the entity known as the British Commonwealth, while we are a sovereign state with its own determination, we still pay homage to the British crown, in fact the Queen is on all of our money.
Being born in the 60s I have a somewhat different view of the queen than people who are older, I think she represented what it meant to be in service to her country.
She served in the military in the second world war, and on that front, she should be admired. That being said, she was very apolitical, she rarely spoke out about injustices. While many might suggest that it was not her role to do that, I feel that the opposite is true, if you have power and influence (and she had both). It should be used to improve the lives of others. Silence never favours the oppressed, only the oppressors.
So on Monday, while we take our minute of silence offered by Premier Ford, let's reflect on the fact that we are all mortal, and also reflect on how to make life better for those around us in the time that is given to us.
Brad Johnston
Orillia
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