I'd Like To Hear Some Candian React To This Observation

[Annie]

http://newsisyphus.blogspot.com/2005/08/fraternal-ties.html

Fraternal Ties
“Children of a Common Mother”

-- Inscription, Peace Arch, U.S.-Canada Border, Interstate 5

The Peace Arch is a cliché.

Or, so I’ve heard. Despite the fact that the monument made a strong impression on me as a young boy during my first trip to Canada, I’ve yet to find a single person in adult life who looked on it as I did. Of course, my thoughts weren’t fully worked at age 12 (or now, as an upcoming post will probably make all too clear), but the basic idea was there even then.

In sum: Canada and the United States share much more than both realize or bother to think about regularly. Our institutions appear at first glance to be very different—parliamentary system versus presidential—but they both arise out of the same foundation, the British inheritance of liberal democracy and ordered liberty. Both nations moved ever West, bringing the entire span of a great continent under their sway. And both have populations that, while open to other cultures and change, remain firmly committed to a center of core values that have changed little in the past two hundred years.

It seemed to me then, as it seems to me now, that both nations are natural allies, in that they not only share a common heritage but common interest so closely bound as to be inseparable.

But we all know where we find ourselves today. On issue after issue, Canada and the United States are on two different wavelengths. From the War on Terror, to the proper role of the state in the health care industry, to trade tariffs (yes, they still exist, NAFTA notwithstanding), the Canucks and the Americans often find themselves at, well, loggerheads.

What makes this all the more regrettable is that this need not be. It’s true that to a certain large extent, the core problems of the U.S./Canada relationship are out of our hands. The Liberal Party is what it is and there is no turning back the clock. Since the disastrous time of PM Trudeau, the Liberals have successfully grafted their party platform on to the very meaning of the term “Canadian” for a large part of the population. That’s not going to change, at least not very soon.

Since the Liberal Party is, for all intents and purposes, the Canadian Government, and, further, since the policy positions held by the Liberals are those thought by the Ontario core to be fundamentally Canadian issues, our on-going diplomatic efforts through official channels is doomed to increased failure. Sure, we can work with the GoC (meaning, the Liberal Party) on a whole host of issues, and we should continue to do that, but the central thrust of the relationship is unchangeable.

That is, unless we change tack and start directing our diplomatic efforts at the third of the country that shares our point of view. Such an effort would promote those segments of the Canadian body politic that are—in either spirit or form—pro-American. Certainly, the Conservative Party fits that bill, but so do any number of smaller civic bodies and organizations in Canada. The United States must stop talking to the GoC and the major Ontario news organizations and begin reaching out to individual Canadians directly.

In truth, I suspect that there is a large silent Canadian majority out there that is waiting to be spoken to. So long as we speak with honesty, candor and respect, there is no reason not to expect that such efforts could pay off handsomely if the Conservatives ever were to be elevated to power. In fact, such an approach could help the Conservatives increase their influence by slowing chipping away at the now-deeply ingrained knee-jerk Liberalism of the average Canadian.

Such an approach would, of course, be doomed to failure if it were true that the stance of the United States really has no resonance. But some recent evidence reveals that the average Canadian just might be a tad more hawkish on the terror question than, say, your average reporter over at the CBC. A recent poll, published by the Globe and Mail on August 11, certainly suggests that to be the case. Check out these majorities:

Question: How likely will an act of terrorism take place in Canada within the next few years?
Not very likely/not at all likely: 36%
Very likely/somewhat likely: 62%
Don't know: 2%

Question: How well is Canada prepared to deal with a terrorist threat?
Not very well prepared/not prepared at all: 67%
Very well prepared/well prepared: 25%
Don't know: 8%

Question: What measures for the war on terrorism do Canadians support?
Deporting or jailing anyone who publicly supports terrorists or suicide bombers.
Oppose/strongly oppose: 15%
Strongly support/support: 81%
Don't know: 4%

Having video cameras in all public places.
Oppose/strongly oppose: 25%
Strongly support/support: 72%
Don't know: 2%

Giving the U.S. any information it requests about Canadian citizens whom they suspect of being terrorists.
Oppose/strongly oppose: 33%
Strongly support/support: 62%
Don't know: 5

We just might have more in common than we think. Down deep, where it matters, we may have the same maternally-inspired instincts. Time is long past that we speak to it, appeal to it and win our brother nation over.

# posted by NewSisyphus