At the risk of folks misunderstanding my carefully chosen words, I must share a few thoughts on how to avoid the loud and potentially dangerous pitbull that lives across the street; tethered for now, but with no guarantee on the tensile quality of the leash.
In these days it seems increasingly possible to develop ententes with other like-minded entities. While we have been seemingly inextricably intertwined with US politics, culture, and economy; perhaps it is time to apply the embering cigarette butt to the sites of the tick-like invasion and force it to withdraw and go elsewhere. I believe it is time to develop, and thereby heal the resultant scars, a new national and heroic Canadian narrative. Canada has survived almost 150 years despite the existence of the elephant in our room. While some may feel we are too much like the elephant and unforgivably pachydermal in our own right, I believe we must turn to education and revisit our national and regional strengths. Our history is unique. I remember as a young student cheering in my mind for the Indians who roasted Peres Lalemant and Brebeuf at the stake, and the Iroquois who circled Ville Marie for days in their canoes, striking fear in the colonists. I want that gut wrenching narrative to return.
I want us to stop lusting after the latest and greatest from south of the border. We produce some of the greatest musicians, writers, artists, and performers in the world. We punch well above our weight class. I want us to stop selling resources south at cut-rate prices. I want us to refuse to buy into ‘unfree’ trade practices which always seem to favour the elephant. I want to see us develop greater alliances with Asia and Europe, but most importantly, I want to see our Federal policies shaped by principle and values, not solely economic expedience. I want to see our armed forces tooled around the defense of our coast lines, disaster relief, and international peace-keeping, not bombing the shit out of the elephant’s petro-interests. I want to see a stronger dialogue between regions of the country so that we build bridges and not walls. I want a return to the national railway system that allowed me as a student, to travel coast to coast in 1969. I want us to pull the plug and disconnect from the Matrix. I want us to stop giving a tinker’s cuss about Kanye West, Sarah Palin, or those disgusting Kardashians.
I want my Canada back!