Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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YEAR BOOK, 1957

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Page 2 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN

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Page 4 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN EDITORIAL We are Canada. As the youth of this nation you and I have a vital role to play in the future, not only of Canada, but also of the world. When we say am a Canadian , just what does that mean? What is a Cana- dian? What is so important about Canada? For the answer to these questions, let us take a brief look at Canada ' s position in the world to-day. The most obvious aspect of this is that she is a link between the United States and Gr eat Britain; the go-between or glue that may or may not stick the two, now greatest, western powers together. The preservation of this bond is necessary to the future of our way of life and if there is a split the west could be overrun and destroyed. Another factor of importance is Canada ' s tremendous natural re- sources. The age of nuclear fission is upon us and the nation which holds the raw materials controls the production of power which may be used for peace or war. All the leading commercial metals, except tin, are found within Canada ' s borders; she possesses nine-tenths of the known nickel supply of the world and leads in the production of asbestos. Of greatest significance is the presence of the world ' s chief deposit of uranium near the eastern end of Great Bear Lake. Canada is a land of new industry and the education of its youth in the intricacies of science and engineering is imperative. In fact, higher education of all kinds is vital to the future of a nation which, one day, could lead the world. We, the young people of Canada, have been given the facilities to achieve such a standard of learning. Let us make use of them! So there we are; a young nation, playing a big game and holding a big ball. To-day Canada is young, but tomorrow she will have matured and so will we. It is up to you and me to decide upon what sort of a future Canada should have and to work towards that future. We, at Branksome, have already learned the tenets of a prosperous and rewarding future: truth, honesty, justice and purity. Let us build on these cornerstones not only in our personal lives, but also in the life of our country. There are two examples from which we may draw ideas as to our future national character. We may turn to our southern neighbour and become a wealthy nation of big deals, square deals and fair deals, or we may turn to our Mother Country and pattern ourselves after a nation which has lived for a thousand years in understatement, pageantry, tradition and reform. Or, the Canadian may be a blending of the two, learning from the technology of the one and the reserve and moral correctness of the other. As a school we have established links in both directions, but the strongest link reaches out to the older, stabler, proven land that is Britain. To obtain maturity should not youth look more to its Mother for guidance than to its neighbour ? THE EDITOR