Canada feels like a country that has it together at the moment. It is a stable democracy and wealthy nation that enjoys one of the high standards of living of any country in the world, consistently ranking in the top five, even the top three. It is often overlooked, yet it punches harder than it's weight in terms of international political influence. And it is a country that has tremendous natural and even architectural beauty, with the prime example of architectural beauty in English Canada being Victoria, and the primary example architectural beauty in French Canada being Québec City.
Indeed, Canadians have a lot to be appreciate of and thankful for, regarding their country. Sure, their are problems there, like in any other country. There are always tensions between French and English Canada, particularly Québec province. Also, there are political differences that are growing increasingly more partisan and extreme, similarly to what is happening in other countries. Much like everywhere else, there are problems with intolerance and xenophobia, with pollution, with poverty and the wealth gap, and numerous other problems. Even in sports, Canada has some problems, as no team north of the border has managed to hoist the Stanley Cup since the Montréal Canadiens last won it back in 1993, which is far too long, frankly.
However, perhaps the one thing that Canadians of all stripes and languages can be appreciate of on this Canada Day is that their country does not have anywhere near the level of division or hatred or political upheaval that exists south of the border, in the United States. They do not have a former elected leader who refused to concede a lost election and tried to force an extension of his term in office, as we have here. They do not have two halves of the country who seem to almost hate one another on the level that we have here between red states and blue states. They do not have anywhere near the level of gun violence that we have here, nor the inability to do something about it when something does happen, like the political stalemate that occurs here systematically after some mass shooting event. They do not have the level of propaganda that exists here, and which actively divides the people ever more.
In short, they have more to be appreciative of in Canada today than usual. And all they have to do is take a quick glance at the chaos that dominate south of the border to serve as a reminder of all that they should be appreciative of today.
So I thought that this cartoon by Patrick Corrigan perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the times, and why Canadians should indeed try and actively keep American tendencies - especially in politics - out of their country. It clearly was drawn during the coronavirus pandemic and Trumpism, neither of which have fully gone away. But it is at least as relevant today as it was when it first came out. We Americans can learn something from Canada's more modest and balanced way of doing things.
Happy Canada Day!
patrick corrigan @startoons Build the wall!! #canpoli #uspoli #covid #TrumpVirus 7:49 AM · Jul 10, 2020·Twitter for iPad
https://twitter.com/startoons/status/1281556085850157057/photo/1
𝚂𝚎á𝚗 𝙾’𝚂𝚑𝚎𝚊 Global News @ConsumerSOS Editorial cartoon by Patrick Corrigan aka @startoons . Since covering the border closure on March 21, I haven’t found any Canadian clamouring to reopen it. I talk to a lot of people who feel like the beaver. #cdnpoli #onpoli
https://twitter.com/consumersos/status/1281570091558215680
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