PROUD TO BE CANADIAN – DEUXIÈME PARTIE

Back in that kinder and gentler year of 2007 some amused Canadian Friends forwarded me an e-mail and what turned out to be a rant entitled Proud to be a Canadian.  I now suspect they knew that I would manically snatch the bait and run for the light.  I did.  You see - that e-mail was penned by a Canadian who claimed Canadians invented just about everything from The Zamboni to Velcro. I had seen and perused other sites making equally ludicrous claims so by this time I was primed and ready to right these wrongs.

Most of that infamous e-mail was written/screamed in bold 36 point, all caps and meant as a literal in-your-face to the United States.  Well, I knew that many of his claims were not accurate and probably shouldn’t have responded to his assertions but was troubled that if not rebutted, some might start believing his nonsense. I did my homework and using the writer’s own title responded to most of his claims on my blog. We noted that while most of his statements were not correct (Pants On Fire) some were worthy of a note. Canadians are an inventive people with many accomplishments to their credit so no need to reinvent history. They stand well above the madding crowd without anybody’s help.  To that end I did not and still do not care who invented what and where they came from.  Nationalism to that degree is absurd.

All but a few of the responses/comments to my post were an “about time somebody responded” to a few screaming protestations to one downright condemnation of the United States?  One understandably anonymous and not so laughable respondent recently called me a “Nazi” for the post.  That’s what prompted this very unusual response from me.  Enough is enough…

The Internet is essentially a public medium where right or wrong all are invited to participate in the sharing and dissemination of information, opinion, entertainment, etc.  That means we need be aware that the Internet also provides a forum for those individuals with a skewed agenda who would propagandize, twist, embellish and outright lie to further their causes. That’s the downside. No, Virginia, not all you see and read on the Internet is true.

The upside is that the Internet is even here and that this medium is available to anybody with access to a computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.  Now, everybody has a voice.  Would that Plato, Aristotle, Einstein, Churchill, Roosevelt, Frost, Kipling, Ghandi and all the great thinkers of the world had access to this medium in their time.

 

We note that with the exception of “Marcel” all the negative responses to my original post, not surprisingly, were anonymous reflecting again a lack of willingness by some to engage in civil debate on the issue.  Sounds like the US Congress…

One commentator made a lot of sense but when making his point that whether Canada was a country or not at the time of the event or invention, then all the inhabitants of that space from the dawn of time to present should be given credit as “Canadians.”  That dog don’t hunt (or fight) especially when you consider the ebb and flow of populations/cultures and the politics therein.

This respondent went on to offer the question - how could the United States possibly claim the Alamo as a part of American history when Texas was not a part of the US at that time?  The commentator makes a very good point as that’s what you’ll see in our history books. The great participation by Americans in Texas history from 1821 on - to especially include those at the Alamo - is probably sufficient explanation.  We note that many of the Americans on the Texan side at the Alamo were motivated more by the cause of Freedom rather than the Manifest Destiny being cooked up in Washington, DC.  Having said all that, many Native Texans embrace The Alamo event as purely Texas and a part of their “sacred” history as a Republic. 

That point aside, one of the purposes of our original post was to express the sentiment that Canadians don’t need to rewrite history and to encourage Canadians to continue to strive to be Canadians – as if they need this counsel, or any help. They don’t and my Canadian Friends are fiercely loyal folks that embrace equality, diversity, mutual respect and a cooperative / collaborative attitude.  Put that alongside the joke that is transpiring on the floor of the United States Congress – well you get the point.

Thanks to those who had the patience and respect to read the whole original post.  If any reader wants to debate any issue or opinion contained in any post, offer your comments and leave your e-mail address.  If you are not profane and appear sincere, I will reply.

Aye,

Ned Buxton