Jan 20

 So here I am, a Canadian in the United States on this, the inauguration day of the 44th president of this country.  There’s no denying that today was momentous for a variety of reasons and being in this country on this historic day was moving, even if I wasn’t among the crowds in Washington.

I have to give credit to Americans. They do patriotism like nobody’s business. It is inspiring to see people to passionate about their country even if I sometimes feel like some overzealous citizens occasionally misplace that passion. Some have said that it matters more what the new president does with his position than all the pageantry of the ceremony itself. Of course, this is true. You’d have to be insane to think otherwise. But I think that the fanfare is useful in that it is a marker. That’s what ceremony is – a line in the sand, a point of origin. It doesn’t matter as much to some as it does to others but as a nation, I can see the value in having a moment to look back upon. Yes, the words spoken today mean nothing if not supported by action. But I think celebration is worthwhile and what I saw today was a celebration that will be remembered for generations to come.

As many commentators noted today, watching President Obama stumble over the oath of office drove home his humanity. The new president is not a Messiah and it’s nice to have a reminder of that. Personally, I just like to see the human side of leaders. Sometimes they seem so robotic. 

Even more striking to me, was to see the very prominent role that religion still plays in American government. It is very foreign to me to see the mixture of church and state so accepted and even seemingly celebrated. I have my own opinions on this issue but it was definitely a lesson in American culture to observe the very Christian overtones of today’s ceremonies.

Most poignant of all was the participation of Reverend Joseph Lowery who is considered one of the founders of the American Civil Rights Movement. There were many Americans in attendance today who have lived through decades of intolerance and hate and to have a very visual representation of how far the country has come was very touching. What a long way this country has come and how grateful I am to have witnessed it!

Nov 5

I stayed up way too late last night to watch Obama give his victory speech.  It was truly an historic moment. Obama was eloquent and the energy from the American people was so positive and hopeful. It was inspirational.  And today? Today I am inspired to go to bed early.

Congratulations President Obama. The world awaits!

Nov 4

It’s been an exciting time to be living here in the United States.  Of course, the election campaigns have been going on here for a long time already, but being here in the months leading up to this election has been fascinating. An Lose Weight Exercise in understanding the differences between Canadian and American cultures.

Here is my experience as an observer: America has trust issues. Please don’t hear me say that America is wrong or bad. Only a fool would make such callous comments, being a citizen of a neighbouring country, and although I have do have a sense of Canadian pride, I am very aware that Canada doesn’t have everything right. But here in the USA people seem not to be able to trust others to use the sense God gave them. I get the strong feeling I am not trusted to be be rational and reasonable.  This is why I have to sign significantly more forms here than in Canada when I take my children to the doctor, when I enroll them in school, when I set up a bank account or driver’s license – to ensure I won’t come back and sue them over a ridiculous technicality. The television is rife with commercials, news broadcasts and tv specials full of warnings and anxious, cautious language.

This is why, when I have listened to Americans discuss today’s election, they talk about their great fear over what will happen if the candidate they don’t support is elected into office. Not to minimize the very valid concerns American citizens have about who governs their country and how they do so.  I just find it very hard to identify with this crippling sense of fear.

As an outside observer I don’t get a say in what happens in today’s election. But there are many countries in the international community with a vested interest the outcome.  I dare say there are a LOT of Canadians hoping that Obama wins. If for no other reason than he didn’t talk smack about our health care in a nationally televised debate or have a seven minute telephone conversation with a fictional French president!***

Perhaps Americans have more reasons to be afraid. A major war, an economic tailspin, and no universal healthcare are all good reason to shake in your boots a little or to feel suspicious of people who claim to be able to make changes. While I don’t claim to fully understand (or even to be correct about) the feelings or attitudes I observe as a foreigner here, I do know that today is the day that Americans get to make a choice to move forward without fear by electing a candidate who has campaigned fearlessly and without perpetuating fear in this country.  

America, this is your opportunity to move beyond fear to confidence, beyond suspicion, to trust, and to take the next step out of your country’s childhood to become self-aware, humble and to lead with conviction. When people look back on this day in history they will say that this is the day America left fear behind. This is the day they elected president Obama.

***While I wouldn’t say that Obama’s health care plan is a copy of Canada’s for a number of reasons, and while I would be the first to agree that Canada’s health care plan DOES have a number of problems, let me refer y’all to an article from a July 2008 copy of Maclean’s magazine. This article states that Canadians pay half as much as Americans per person each year for both public and private health care.  The result? We live an average of 2.5 years longer than Americans! With those numbers I’ll take the Canadian health care system, warts and all!

Sep 29

The very best thing about the upcoming Canadian Election is that Rick Mercer has started posting on his blog again.  I love the way he pokes fun at Canadian politics, Canadian politicians, Canadians, and, most recently, Canadian politicians who blog…

But now I love blogs again. Blogs are serving an exciting new purpose: making politics interesting again. When I turn on the news and hear that another candidate is in trouble because of something they said on their blog I am like a kid at Christmas.

We are in a brave new time. In this election, like all of them before, there are people stepping forward for the first time. Candidates in their 20s and 30s … represent a generation of Canadians who’s every movement from the womb to the ballot has been electronically recorded.

A home video camera didn’t just roll on their first adorable steps and their first header into the coffee table; it was also running when they smoked lousy hash in an apple and then opened their zipper, pulled out their front pockets, exposed their man-tackle and did the elephant impersonation. There are now candidates running for all parties who know that their every embarrassing moment at university has been forever cached in numerous Facebook profiles. And this new generation of politician have all, for the most part, experimented with blogging.

This is a harsh contrast to our current crop of politicians sitting in parliament, the vast majority of whom have no idea how to power up a laptop let alone publish every bizarre opinion and thought they have ever had without a spell check, let alone a sober second thought.

It will change the face of elections forever.

Who will run? In the past politicians had to survive a party background check if they wanted to offer themselves for public office. And by and large most Canadians could pull that off. The question for candidates of the future will be “can you survive a detailed Google search?” Who among us will be able to do such a thing?

And you know what? He’s right! I love it!

Welcome back, Rick! You’ve been missed!

And, ok, the election is pretty interesting, too. I’m actually pretty excited to be all set up to vote from afar and will be casting my ballot before long as it must reach Ottawa by election day.  Can I just say how much I am appreciating the differences between American and Canadian politics?  Because I am.  I know that the American population is about eleventy million times larger than ours and maybe that makes the length of their campaign process appropriate. But it feels like it’s been going on FOREVER. I’m kind of relieved that it’s only a month from start to finish in Canada. In my opinion, it gives our politicians more time and freedom to accomplish what they set out to do. 

Or, you know, write incriminating shit on their blogs to be uncovered in future election campaigns.