Sunday, July 01, 2007
A Patriotic Reverie
Some day, there will be no nations or countries.
When you think about it, the whole history of the human race has been a gradual trend towards larger and larger political units. And, on the whole, that's a good thing; the Brotherhood of Man and all that.
Still, it's sad sometimes to look back through history books and read the oh-so-many names of long dead countries: Babylonia, Medea, Illyria, Bithynia, Prussia, Normandy, Jutland. The names all sound so beautiful and mysterious, yet in many cases we know almost nothing about culture and lives of the people who lived in those places.
Take a look at Carthage, a mighty ancient empire, easily the rival of Rome. I'm sure there are any number of alternate quantum realities where they won the Punic Wars and Medditerranean and European history therefore took an entirely different direction.
But they didn't win in this quantum reality and the vengeful Romans made sure that there is little history or literature left to tell us about them.
My country, Canada may not be Carthage but it is a great country. We took a big, cold, barren, almost uninhabitable chunk of rock and turned it into one of the great economic powerhouses of the world. Through our extensive Hollywood mafia, we have had a major impact on the culture of the world, albeit invisibly. And then of course, I need hardly mention, there's hockey. We have a lot to be proud of.
Yet, for all of our accomplishments, this country has always struggled with the subconscious knowledge that we are here for a good time, not a long time. From the very day this country was founded, it has been inevitable that we will eventually be swallowed up by the larger North American society. It may happen in 100 years or in 1,000 years, but sooner or later it will happen. Like Medea, like Prussia, like Normandy, our country's sad fate will be to end up as a footnote to the history of another country.
Unlike some hysterical Yankee-hating lefties, I don't think Canada or any parts of it will ever join or be taken over by the US in any direct sort of sense. I think over the course of time both Canada and the US will fade away and gradually be replaced by some entity with some name like the Security and Prosperity Partnership of the Americas (SPPA...kinda has a ring to it), an entity that won't exactly be a country or a federation as we know them now but will be a totally new and different thing.
And then finally some day in the very distant future there won't even be an SPPA, as humanity continues to experiment with new and better styles of political organization. At least we can hope they will be better.
All of that lies in the distant science-fictiony future. For today, we have this marvelous country of Canada. This country, that has always sought a more tolerant, caring and less obnoxious style than our North American brothers. This country, that has offered a home to post-American Revolution political refugees, escaped slaves, McCarthy-era exiles, Vietnam draft dodgers and any number of others for whom "the Land of the Free" had become an irony.
I hope we can leave some sort of legacy. I hope that we Canadians can use our time on this Earth to do important things, big things that will leave our mark on the evolution of mankind.
Some will say that big thing involves building the best social welfare system or becoming the most environmentally conscious country in the world. Others will say it means building the best infrastructure, becoming the richest country or sending troops to help people in other countries.
I don't know. Probably, it's a bit here and there of all such things. All I know is that, despite all of our bickering and apparent disunity, we Canadians have managed to reach consensus on many more things than we realize and, almost unconsciously, have muddled our way into building one of the 21st Century's great countries. We need to keep it up, keep it together and keep aiming higher.
Happy Canada Day!
Labels: Everything is Impermanent
posted by Mentok @ 10:18 a.m.,
3 Comments:
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At 9:18 p.m.,
Bathroom Hippo said...
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You can keep our draft dodgers. We will keep Shania Twain and other lesser known Canadian-born/borne celebrities. -
At 1:29 p.m.,
Bathroom Hippo said...
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Will trade Bush for Harper.
Maybe he can secure our southern border.
You do whatever you like with Bush. Rub mustard on his belly. Hell I don't know what you Canucks do. -
At 11:41 p.m.,
Mentok said...
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"Less known Canadian-born celebrities"? Mu-wa-ha-ha. Our plan to infiltrate and seize control of their media is working better than expected.
Bush for Harper? You would definitely get the better end of that trade. Harper can be stiff and impersonal but he can also be a pretty sharp cookie when he wants to be.
