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ACTION ALERT - Say NO to "Support our Troops" decalsSeptember 12, 2007 There is a growing trend among municipal and local governments across Canada to endorse the “Support our Troops” campaign by placing decals on ambulances, fire trucks, police cars and other municipal vehicles, or by supporting “Wear red Fridays” and other similar actions. At our latest count, 18 local councils have either passed resolutions, had city management allow the decals—usually yellow ribbons that say “Support our Troops”—on government-owned vehicles, or are considering allowing them. This is disturbing considering that the “Support our Troops” message is a political statement of explicit support for the current mission in Afghanistan – support that isn’t shared by a majority of Canadians. The Council of Canadians opposes the “Support our Troops” decals because it is unacceptable for public vehicles to carry any political message, let alone one that promotes the views of the governing party. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that “Support our Troops” implies support for the current mission in Afghanistan. In other words, the campaign excludes people, like the Council, who support our troops by demanding that they be brought home immediately. According to Mark Federman, a specialist in public messaging former chief strategist at Toronto's McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology, speaking to the Ottawa Citizen on June 23, 2007, “Support our Troops” is “an American-influenced phrase that drags along a blind patriotism and blind patriotism is always about support of the current administration." Federman says that, "even though the phrase is easily minimized and made palatable, it is intended to condition people to support the government's policies. It is clearly a political statement.” The Council of Canadians is also deeply concerned that the use of public resources to endorse the war in Afghanistan represents a militarization of our society. Propaganda expert and University of Carleton professor Randal Marlin told The Hill Times recently that the overall impact of the “Support our Troops” message is “the suppression of dissent… and encouraging military solutions to problems.” In June this year, Toronto Mayor David Miller was pressured by a small but vocal minority into keeping the “Support our Troops” decals on emergency vehicles. The campaign was supposed to expire in September but accusations that Toronto was letting the troops down forced city council to approve the decals indefinitely. At least 17 other municipal and local governments have followed in Toronto’s footsteps and the trend is spreading. We must let our local councilors know that it is unacceptable for them to be endorsing a political message of support for the current war in Afghanistan on police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, buses and other municipal vehicles. In towns where the decals are already on these vehicles they must come off. Towns that are voting on it must be stopped. And towns that may consider it in the future must be discouraged from doing so. Municipalities that endorse the “Support our Troops” campaign by allowing decals on government vehicles or by other means:
ACTION: Depending on the situation where you live, write to your local councilor demanding that they a) remove the “Support our Troops” decals, b) vote no to putting the decals on government vehicles, or c) do not consider allowing the decals on vehicles, at least until they have debated the issue with the public.
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