401 "Highway of Heroes" and DVP to be "Route of Heroes"

[Admiral Beez]

so while I don't think he is strictly speaking correct ...

No, he's not correct.

 

[nfitz]

No, he's not correct.

Don't you mean yes, he's not correct?

 

[Tewder]

How about naming a bike lane for all those heros?

Bah, whatever. As dumb a name as it is - and couldn't we come up with something just a little less DubyaBushy american - where's the harm in a little tribute like this? And name the 427 after all those dead Indian students too while at it. Who cares?

 

[junctionist]

There are plenty of routes to give meaningful names to.

 

[kEiThZ]

How about naming a bike lane for all those heros?

Bah, whatever. As dumb a name as it is - and couldn't we come up with something just a little less DubyaBushy american - where's the harm in a little tribute like this?

I don't get why people see this as "DubyaBushy". The name change was not a government led initiative. People started calling it that well before the government changed the name. And it was a public petition that made the name official. How is a grass-roots, community led initiative "DubyaBushy"?

 

[Hipster Duck]

I take some issue with watering down the word 'hero'. To me a hero implies someone who has done something personal and selfless to save another human being; the man who shielded the ten year old boy from the collapsing wall of the Uptown demolition, but killed himself in the process strikes me as a hero; people who win the Victoria Cross for risking their own lives to save fellow soldiers who are caught in the crossfire are heroes. But most of the soldiers who die in combat don't do things like this and are not heroes - dying from a roadside bomb or getting ambushed does not automatically make you a hero and is an insult to those who are more deserving of the title. Oh well, it's just semantics, and the word 'hero' has been on the slide ever since Chad Kroger of Nickelback wrote that lamentable song 'Hero'.

Perhaps a new word will enter the dictionary and the word 'hero' will be cast off in favour of something else that's more substantive. Maybe in 10 years the word 'hero' will sound outmoded and ridiculous and the "Highway of Heroes" will be the next generation's version of the Flintstone's having a "gay old time" or the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. That's the beauty of evolving languages.

 

[kEiThZ]

^ My point is, whatever your views on the word hero or the conflict in Afghanist, the wider public clearly thought the 401 stretch should have gotten the nickname. There was widespread support for the initiative if I recall correctly. Should the government not accede to a rather harmless public request just because somebody disagrees with how the public views the word "hero"?

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

no hero sandwiches for hipster duck.

 

[Hipster Duck]

^ My point is, whatever your views on the word hero or the conflict in Afghanist, the wider public clearly thought the 401 stretch should have gotten the nickname. There was widespread support for the initiative if I recall correctly. Should the government not accede to a rather harmless public request just because somebody disagrees with how the public views the word "hero"?

Even if it's renamed the "Route of Heroes", everybody will still call it the DVP. I don't expect 680 news to say "there's a backup on the 'Route of Heroes' from Pottery Road to York Mills" and even if they do, the vast majority of motorists sitting in a traffic jam won't clear their mind by thinking about soldiers who are dying in Afghanistan. It's not like people realize those poppy shields on the 401 now, anyway.

It's a meaningless gesture whose cost is basically a couple hundred dollars in road signs. If it makes a certain segment of the population feel all chuffed inside, then we might as well go for it. My post was an aside about how the word 'hero' has become watered-down in our society, largely due to the jingoistic era of 'Dubya-Bush'.

Prometheus,

I think it's actually a Gyro

 

[EnviroTO]

I think the "DubyaBushy" statement comes from a feeling that it is pro-military or is meant to reduce anti-military discussion by pointing out that there are people in harms way working for their freedom. Rather than saying we should try and reduce the deployments to the times when it is absolutely necessary since it puts lives on the line, it sometimes seems that the focus is supporting deployments since people's lives are on the line. The highway is being named "Highway of Heros" to be dedicated to people who die in the military and for some this is like saying that if someone aspires to be recognized as a hero by society they need to get a gun and shoot someone. Rather than painting the military as a necessary evil in a world where some groups are untrustworthy and out to kill, it is painted as a great and honorable way to solve problems. People who die doing their job do deserve some form of recognition but is painting the job as one of heroism and honor while others who might save as many lives through diplomacy get labelled as social elites the right way to go. I would prefer each soldier, officer, and fireman who dies on duty has a street named after them and a plaque to tell their story, not labeling the whole profession as heroic. Many are in the job because it is a job that pays and when you do the job you are paid and trained to do it isn't heroic. Heroic is the person who goes above and beyond the call of duty, not the one who dies doing their duty.

 

[Transportfan]

Everyone: The Macdonald-Cartier Freeway or Expressway is the perfect name for #401! As Hydrogen mentioned Route 416 is already named the Veterans Highway! Since I have not been on #401 in years do the MCF signs still exist?
This road was named after two of Canada's most famous founding fathers-Ontario MT should keep it that way-as the longest limited-access highway in Canada-I believe. That's my two cents here-LI MIKE

While not not name the whole stretch of almost-completed continuous freeway between Windsor and Halifax M-C? that long stretch of freeway has no common label and given it's significance certainly should. Besides M-C would be very appropriate as Macdonald-Cartier were the Fathers of confederation which included all four of those eastern provinces

 

[urbandreamer]

If you lived in Afghanistan and were supportive of the Taliban (read--the majority) wouldn't killing foreign troops be heroic? So, is there a "Highway of Heros" near Kabul?

 

[kEiThZ]

Several of you seem to making this about the Afghanistan war. It's not about the war or some militaristic viewpoint. The peacekeeper killed in the Golan Heights had his body driven back along the same route too. Glyn Berry, the Canadian diplomat who was killed in Afghanistan was also given a motorcade along the Highway of Heroes. Heaven forbid a CIDA worker or RCMP officer serving in Haiti or Corrections Canada staff in Afghanistan, get killed, they would be given the same treatment as soldier who get killed in the line of duty.

Keep in mind that the CF never asked for the designation. Nor have they put out any official statement on it. It was a public led initiative....and personally that's why I support it...good to citizens actually caring about something even if its not a big issue. What I find most touching about all of it is that it's ordinary people who line that route. It's unorganized, spontaneous and just outright inspiring to see Canadians of every race, creed, gender, age, income level, etc. line that route. Even it its for such an unfortunate occasion. I do think it was good for the government to accommodate the public's desire to pay their respects. Whether it should have 'heros' in the name is debatable to some. Fair enough.

As for it not being called the "Route of Heroes". Nobody expects that. Nobody stopped calling the 401, the Four-Oh-One after it was designated the "Highway of Heroes." It's simply a designation of a section of the highway. The DVP would still be the DVP. I always understood it, as the reference only really applying in context (ie. when a soldier's body is brought home).

 

[kEiThZ]

I think the "DubyaBushy" statement comes from a feeling that it is pro-military or is meant to reduce anti-military discussion by pointing out that there are people in harms way working for their freedom. Rather than saying we should try and reduce the deployments to the times when it is absolutely necessary since it puts lives on the line, it sometimes seems that the focus is supporting deployments since people's lives are on the line. The highway is being named "Highway of Heros" to be dedicated to people who die in the military and for some this is like saying that if someone aspires to be recognized as a hero by society they need to get a gun and shoot someone. Rather than painting the military as a necessary evil in a world where some groups are untrustworthy and out to kill, it is painted as a great and honorable way to solve problems. People who die doing their job do deserve some form of recognition but is painting the job as one of heroism and honor while others who might save as many lives through diplomacy get labelled as social elites the right way to go. I would prefer each soldier, officer, and fireman who dies on duty has a street named after them and a plaque to tell their story, not labeling the whole profession as heroic. Many are in the job because it is a job that pays and when you do the job you are paid and trained to do it isn't heroic. Heroic is the person who goes above and beyond the call of duty, not the one who dies doing their duty.

It takes a special person to be willing to go into a warzone, trained or not, knowing there's more than an average probability they might come home in a box. Just like it takes a special person to run into a burning building while everybody is running the other way. And it takes a special person to run into a store being robbed. Our society rightly recognizes the sacrifices these peole make.

Should they be called heroes? Debatable. Even inside the military, few would consider themselves or their actions heroic (soldiers by and large are a humble breed). However, in general I think most people (you and the NDP might be the exception) generally agree that what they and others in similarly risky professions do is honourable (in that they take extraordinary risks on society's behalf) that requires courage above and beyond that demanded by the average person in society. I daresay to the average person, a soldier, firefighter, police officer or aid worker might be considered heroic from that vantage point. That they get training and pay for it, is hardly reason not to honour their sacrifice. If that's the case, look at the respect we bestow doctors in our society. And they are some of the highest paid member of society. Should we pay less respect to doctors since they are well compensated and well trained? BTW, a young private in Afghanistan is not making more than a TTC bus driver. So don't be under the illusion that these young guys running around Afghanistan are somehow getting rich off it.

And I don't think renaming it to Highway of Heros glorifies the profession. I have several friends who have deployed. I can assure you none think it would be glorious to get a trip down the Highway of Heros. I've had the misfortune to see a close friend make that trip. It was one of the most heart-wrenching moments in my life.

I also resent the idea that some have (and I feel is implied in your post) that military personnel join up just to "get a gun an shoot someone". That sentiment angers me to no end. It's unfortunate that such ignorant attitudes about what our soldiers do come from watching some rogue soldiers in a Hollywood movie. The reality is far from it. Soldiers are trained first and foremost to operate within the rules. And nowhere are the rules stricter than when it comes to the employment of force, particularly deadly force. Even now, most soldiers will go their entire tour in Afghanistan (and often their entire career) without firing their weapon at somebody. Somebody joining up to "shoot someone" would either be sorely disappointed, or come up in front of a courts-martial for murder if he were so gung-ho, and that's if he actually made it through the training system which usually weeds out the nut jobs within weeks (such people are rarely ever disciplined enough to be in the CF), if they make it through the recruiter. Keep in mind that people eager to "shoot someone" might just end up shooting their own in their eagerness to shoot someone or even end up killing somebody innocent (which costs us public support at home and in theatre). The military does not want these type of people.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

i think a better name would contain "ultimate sacrifices". that's worth more than "hero" and pretty much explains the topic. now, should it be "route of", "highway of", "path of", etc.? whether a soldier died in a heroic act, a victim, etc, one thing is certain; when you sign up to fight, you know there's a higher than usual risk that you might die. and that is an ultimate sacrifice - knowingly putting yourself in death's way for your cause.