an open letter to americans

in a recent series of letters, (http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/12/09/human_shields021209) many americans have taken aim at a few canadians who were joining americans entering iraq to act as human shields. taking aim at more than just these few protesters, some americans have taken swipes at canada more generally- some going so far as to say that canada is actually the greatest american enemy and others suggesting that canada should step into line before it, too, becomes a us target.

while i can recognize that these are just a few people making comments in a public forum and while i recognize that the official party line from washington is that canada is "like family", i think it's important to address some of these concerns. similarly, although it stems from a small group of people, canada could arguably be considered "anti-american" and i would also like to address a bit of this.

firstly, it is true that canada does owe a lot to the united states, however, very little of this has to do with military muscle. we should be cognizant of our southern neighbors because 80% of our trade is with them. this does suggest some form of economic dependency but it is not unlikely considering our geographic proximity, their significant market and our continued performance as an export economy. however, this does not make us impotent or whipped. in fact, we should treat the us like a corporation would treat its best client. take them to hockey games, buy them a few rounds, but remember at the end of the day when you're sitting around the board room table that a deal needs to be made and that you should make it the best deal for your corporation...

as for this consistent argument that canada should remember that the u.s. is its great defender and that this is why canada can afford not to invest in its military. let's recap the military history of canada and the united states:
i) the us civil war- their problem
ii) the battles between the french and the english- our problem
iii) pearl harbour- their problem
iv) the toronto snow storm (our problem)
v) the war of 1812 (both our problems)

by this overly schematic look at our joint history, we can see that, beyond our own internal problems (which the us actually helped propogate with concerns they would try and take over), the us has actually made us more of a target than it has assisted us in saving our ass. so maybe they american citizens mean the us has helped us fight internationally and saved our bacon there:
i) WWI - Canada has large role
ii) WWII- Canada has large role, US joins later
iii) Korean Wars- Canada/US have large roles
iv) Vietnam- Canada had medium role, US has large role
v) Gulf War- US has prime role, Canada has support role
vi) Afghanistan- US has prime role, Canada has support role

So, from a glance, we can see that Canada has played a major part in major wars. if anything, we have taken support roles in assisting the us in wars which were motivated by an overly intense ideological focus (vietnam) or by us economic interest (gulf war). so, i don't really see the us as our big protector but instead as a force which continues to attract attention to our peace-loving nation and making it a target for all the yahoos who hate the us- let's also note that in many of these cases the us actually killed canadians in the heat of the battle (afghanistan).

as for canada needing to shape up or find itself on the other side of the us military, let's just remember some little factoids about the us's current world position and canada's in comparison:
i) most of the world is skeptical of us power and is unwilling to simply join a us alliance against any given target (look at the difficulties in drafting a un resolution... britain's an exception but that's just because tony blair can't actually concentrate on domestic policy for more than 3 minutes or people will realize he's lost control of his party)
ii) most of the world thinks the us president is a knob
iii) the us economy is in a major slump and doesn't appear to be recovering

as for canada
i) we're one of the few members of G8 that actually has some diplomatic clout (the us- zealots, britain- lapdogs, france- crazy right-wingers, russia-too poor, germany- too divided, italy- too small, japan- too conservative). so, really, with our two well-coifed gay men leading international relations (pierre pettigrew and bill graham), we're pretty much the pragmatists
ii) most of the world think our prime minister's a knob- but they have a lot of respect for the guy replacing him (hey- he's even friends with bono :)
iii) our economy is kicking ass despite the fact that our biggest trading partner is having a slump...

so, really, to my whinging american friends, we're really not doing too badly ourselves. we have fought for ourselves and lately are choosing not to because it's just not pragmatic in such an interdependent world were diplomacy has extended power. we also have a lot going for us on the world stage and don't like to be the cheap date attached to the slurring texan at the high school dance.

finally, on to these discussions about canadian anti-americanism. well, i must say, in many circles- it's true. but it's not so much anti-americanism as it is anti-american policy and symbology. the things most canadians have a problem with are:
a) your default foreign policy position is to blow shit up- something that rubs against our more peacenik canadian sensibilities
b) you keep making friends with nasty people and bringing them around the house- remember your old friend saddam hussein? how about the shah of iran? osama bin laden? pinochet? honestly, the tea parties you throw just get far too raucous for us
c) you sometimes forget that you get most of your stuff from us and treat us like the unfortunate ugly cousin who's come to visit. we're really sorry to let you know about this but most of the world thinks of it like a cinderella story- you the ugly sister who keeps putting the pretty one (canada) to work and not letting us come to the ball

so, really, it's not you we don't like- it's just a lot about what you stand for. i love americans. i have lots of american friends (irony intended). anyway, just wanted to let you know that we're listening and hope we can return to a more rational state of dialogue.

peace from your displaced neighbour to the north...

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