The Canadian Soldier - I Want You To Live

The Canadian Soldier

He/She is profane and irreverent, living as he does in a world full of capriciousness, frustration and disillusionment. He is perhaps the best-educated of his kind in history, but will rarely accord respect on the basis of mere degrees or titles. He speaks his own dialect, often incomprehensible to the layman.

He can be cold, cruel, even brutal and is frequently insensitive. Killing is his profession and he strives very hard to become even more skilled at it. His model is the grey, muddy, hard-eyed slayer who took the untakeable at Vimy Ridge, endured the unendurable in the Scheldt and held the unholdable at Kapyong. He is a superlative practical diplomat; his efforts have brought peace to countless countries around the world. He is capable of astonishing acts of kindness, warmth and generosity. He will give you his last sip of water on a parched day and his last food to a hungry child; he will give his very life for the society he loves.

Danger and horror are his familiars and his sense of humour is accordingly sardonic. What the unknowing take as callousness is his defence against the unimaginable; he whistles through a career filled with graveyards.

His ethos is one of self-sacrifice and duty. He is sinfully proud of himself, of his unit and of his country and he is unique in that his commitment to his society is Total. No other trade or profession dreams of demanding such of its members and none could successfully try.

He loves his family dearly, sees them all too rarely and as often as not loses them to the demands of his profession. Loneliness is the price he accepts for the privilege of serving.

He accounts discomfort as routine and the search for personal gain as beneath him; he has neither understanding of nor patience for those motivated by self-interest, politics or money. His loyalty can be absolute, but it must be purchased. Paradoxically, the only coin accepted for that payment is also loyalty.

He devours life with big bites, knowing that each bite might be his last and his manners suffer thereby. He would rather die regretting the things he did than the ones he dared not try. He earns a good wage by most standards and, given the demands on him, is woefully underpaid.

He can be arrogant, thoughtless and conceited, but will spend himself, sacrifice everything for total strangers in places he cannot even pronounce. He considers political correctness a podium for self-righteous fools, but will die fighting for the rights of anyone he respects or pities.

He is a philosopher and a drudge, an assassin and a philanthropist, a servant and a leader, a disputer and a mediator, a Nobel Laureate peacekeeper and the Queen's Hitman, a brawler and a healer, best friend and worst enemy. He is a rock, a goat, a fool, a sage, a drunk, a provider, a cynic and a romantic dreamer. Above it all, he is a hero for our time. You, pale stranger, sleep well at night only because he exists for you, the citizen who has never met him, has perhaps never thought of him and may even despise him. He is both your child and your guardian. His devotion to you is unwavering.

He is a Canadian soldier.

Artist: Canyon George
Song: I Want You To Live
Album: Somebody Wrote Love

Category:

Education

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[TheVaporeonrules234]

So many lives lost...For what?

[canadianmatt3]

@TheVaporeonrules234 For the buddy and comrade next to them, the rest is political and federal which at the moment these men and women fell were not on the minds of any.

[HarryPotterObessor]

My dad fought in many wars over the years, for half of my life he was at war or in training. Last year on remembrance day he almost got bombed. So everybody who says disrespectful stuff about the Canadian soldiers, you should say it to my dads face, see what happens

[NATOFidelis]

Thank you Canadians, for being our brothers and sisters through the past century. I, as well as millions of other Americans, will never forget your brave fallen hero's. The True North Strong and Free...Brave soldiers died for your right to say that with the power of truth behind it.

Much respect.

[55Mmarr]

You all do us so damn proud where ever you go.

[smallmn]

@TheVaporeonrules234 The brotherhood in the military does not care where they are sent but to fight beside each other and die for each other. In the field politics has no say, you just try your best to make sure your buddy beside you comes home safe to see his family even if it means not coming home yourself

[MrFartnugget12]

this is the best video that i have seen about army this video moved me ( so many lives lost and we can can't bring back) : (

[UncappingBadger]

Thank you friends. You are fighting, dying to protect me and my family. I am and forever will be grateful for the sacrifices you make on my behalf.

A friend in the United Kingdom

[captainprice4827]

not true, they shouldn't even have guns cuz theyre too nice to use them

[TheFadedFate]

Thank you, from my great-great grandfather who served with the Nfld. Reg. in WWI, my great-grandfather who served upon many various ships, eventually dying in the Battle of the Atlantic (WWII), my father (Res force), various uncles, and (hopefully) me, to be the first female in the armed forces from my newfie family.

BZ, CHIMO!

[FlameGhostProduction]

Thanks to all the soldiers out their fighting for peace! It sucks, going through that war. Damn Taliban! It's still 4 1/2 years before I can join. But I insure you I will. Same thought on my mind for years. Probably because my great great great grandfather was the lieutenant governor of Canada.

[gaminkalv]

@TheVaporeonrules234 For America

[u452u]

@HarryPotterObessor I thank your Father for his Years of Service, he Obviously has the Biggest Balls in Canada to volenteer for so much Combat. Great Respect, From a Reservist.

Mcpl T. Luke, Canadian Army Reserves, Infantry