Re: “Legion's ad was just plain alarming” letter to the editor published on page 6 of the Oct. 2 issue of the Olds Albertan.
Exotic dancers are a legal form of entertainment just as selling alcohol, gambling, showing of violent sports and so on and so forth are.
None are viewed as immoral or outside societal norms.
The non-nude photo advertised in the Albertan is perfectly and morally legal and is less ‘risqué' than what one would find at the local pool or on a hot summer's day at the park.
Our mission statement in a nutshell is to remember and support veterans as well as their dependents and promote community and country.
Simple, but something I, along with many others, am completely passionate about.
When we are lowered to the point where we have to give up programs that help young veterans who have lost limbs to enemy fire and provide remembrance using paper plaques on items like our tank and the recently named ‘Hornburg Room', then it tells me that we need change and new blood because bake sales and sack races just don't seem to cut the mustard.
Hence, we will continue to provide what will draw new, vibrant members and people to our branch to somehow inject life into a place that one young person explained to me ‘smelled like old people.'
The legion was never intended to be an old folk's home but rather an entity to carry out our mission statement.
Veterans are between 18 and 99 and continue to come home in boxes and braces and in part or in whole so, we continue to be needed.
I take it that given the legality of the ad that Ms. Douglas's ‘discretion' is what she wishes to impose on society.
Our veterans fought against people armed to the teeth who were intent on stopping freedom of others, while imposing their will, morality and doctrines on hundreds of millions of others, then fell into the dustbin of history.
The price paid by our warriors to stop such fanatics is found across Europe as the landscape there is littered with their graves. Graves and deeds that we as the Royal Canadian Legion remember.
I appreciate Ms. Douglas's care and fretting over the legion's welfare. However, her wisdom would be far more suited to our general meetings where she would be more than welcome to become a problem solver rather than a problem finder, as the former is extremely rare and the latter a dime a dozen. Possibly even join our overworked public relations/special events team to help us choose and present quality acts to bring in new people who will hopefully become members - if and when she becomes a member herself.
Until then, our mission is to serve veterans and their families, to promote remembrance and to serve our communities and our country.
Drew Bedson
Public relations chairman
Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #105 Olds
