America Grows Up

America is a big, strapping country now, but it has not been so long ago that America was a drooling infant learning to stand and walk and talk.

As America grew to toddlerhood, it had its spells of brilliance, and the world oohed and aahhed over its grown-up Constitution and Bill of Rights. Like Mozart, America was a prodigy, producing in its infancy the Declaration of Independence; one of the best political documents ever written, and one that will stand with the Magna Carta in the annals of history.

But America also had its tantrums and fits pf pique and it nearly destroyed itself in an internal war.

When World War II came, America proudly marched into battle, eager to test its mettle against the enemy. Idealistic and brave, Americans threw themselves wholeheartedly into protecting the downtrodden from bloodthirsty enemies. It invented new technology, fought bravely and, with the rest of the world, looked into the face of evil and mourned the loss of innocence.

In the 50’s and 60’s, America grew into a brash, gregarious, fun-loving teenager, culminating in a nationwide love-in in the late 60’s.

In the years since, America seems to have lost its early idealism, sense of fun and even some of its bravery. Like many of us in our twenties, it seems sometimes to have lost its way. I think that some people are wondering about the waste, the greed, and the arrogance that seem to have informed some of America's foreign policy and even internal policies these last 20 years or so.

A mere 200 years is not enough time to mold a great civilization or really to draw any conclusions about its history, but I only hope that somewhere out there Americans are pondering their way of life and thinking about the legacy they leave in the world. Given what I know about Americans, I think that they are.

Following Somerset Maugham's advice that "The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit*, here are a couple of tidbits about Canada, the US and the UK.

One of the sillier quotes about Canada is that "Very little is known of the Canadian country since it is rarely visited by anyone but the Queen and illiterate sport fishermen." Certainly no longer the case, post-Expo '87 and the more recent Olympics in Vancouver. As for the US, I always laugh when I hear the quote about how the US is the only country in history to have gone from barbarism to decadence without having passed through civilization in between.

But by far the pithiest expression I've heard of the great gulf that separates the two Children of a Common Mother, is:

The boundary between Canada and the United States is a typically human creation; it is physically invisible, geographically illogical, militarily indefensible, and emotionally inescapable.
Hugh Keenleyside, Canadian diplomat, 1929

As a Canadian who grew up in a mountainous backwater of British Columbia, the US was always like a big brother: you were never sure on any given day whether you hated or loved it more, you were fervently competitive while harbouring a secret belief that you would never best it because it was always so much bigger, and you bore the good-natured pummeling it inevitably handed you stoically.

To me as a Canadian, however, the UK was like an irritating great-aunt: overbearing and largely irrelevant, but you still had to be polite whenever she came to visit.

Now that I am in the position of living in, or having lived in, all three countries, I have slightly different views. Canada has grown mythologically in my memory since I left in '04. I have an even greater belief in the horrendous failure of the US to live up to its promise as a country, while simultaneously having the greatest regard and love for the American people individually. And the UK has so far surprised me greatly with its civilized way of life and overall sweet disposition of its people (excluding that one jackass in the BMW who raced past blaring his horn when I was trying to back out of my driveway one morning).

Intro

The Peace Arch straddles the border between the US and Canada south of Vancouver, BC, on the way to Seattle Washington. On it is inscribed a saying: “Children of a Common Mother”. I am a child of Canada, briefly immigrated to the US, now migrated across the sea to live in the womb of the mother country, England.

Some of these posts are slightly political, some are philosophical, and sometimes I make off the cuff comments about religion. I do not intend to disrespect anyone’s beliefs, culture or politics. These are my thoughts and opinions, and if you disagree or are offended, please feel free to respectfully correct me or post alternative views, but I don’t want any vitriol so save it for “Ann Coulter is Batshit Crazy” or whatever your chosen outlet for spewing invective is.

I may also occasionally just blather on about motorcycles, dogs, kids or home improvement, so pick and choose your area of interest and thanks for reading!