
photo courtesy of Spencer Greet
October 22, 2008
I have not written for a few days because Norm and I have been entertaining foreign visitors.
Well, foreign in that they came down from Canada. Our friends Michael, Jan and Ashley, who live in Toronto, stayed with us on Monday and Tuesday. I have known Michael for 23 years, and Jan for almost as long.
Michael is originally from Pennsylvania; we met in 1985 when I became a co-worker and friend of his then-girlfriend Carolyn. He and Carolyn parted ways, but my friendship with Michael endured; he asked me to be the "best man" at his wedding to Jan, but I demurred, preferring to be a bridesmaid instead. After he and Jan married, he relocated to her native Toronto.
It is always interesting when Michael and Jan visit; after we have gotten through the catching-up conversations of what has been happening in the year or so since their last visit, we plunge into the world of politics. Michael has totally embraced the maple leaf; at this point he is as Canadian in his outlook as any native of that country could be.
Over the years I have been amazed at the amount of underlying anger that comes out about the U.S. in our conversations; some of this I have chalked up to a little-brother, big-brother kind of resentment. It is quite instructive to listen to anyone who lives outside of the U.S.; the perspective of an outsider is refreshingly free of the kind of partisanship we are accustomed to. This is not to say that there is no bias, but it is obviously from the perspective of what is perceived to be good for Canada. Canadians in general know a great deal more about the U.S. than we know about Canada (another reason for the aforementioned anger).
This year, I did not detect the underlying anger as much. Perhaps it is because we are seen to be reaping what we have sown, and therefore a little bit of schadenfreude creeps into their observations. Mostly, however, there seems to be anxiety - a fear that we are going down, and will drag everyone else down with us. From talking to Jan and Michael, it was clear that they would like to see a significant change happen in US policies, both economic and foreign policy.
In a CBC poll done in January, 15 percent of respondents said that they would give up their Canadian vote to be able to vote in the U.S.
I am reminded once again of the interconnectedness of humanity; that we do not live on this planet alone. We are tied to the global community by threads that are political, social, and certainly economic. A frequently repeated truism is that "when the U.S. sneezes, the world catches cold."
However the election on November 4 turns out, perhaps we as a nation could once again be mindful of our responsibilities to others in the world, and heed the words of Mahatma Gandhi:
"I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship. I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings. My wisdom flows from the Highest Source. I salute that Source in you. Let us work together for unity and love."
Or, as Jesus put it, love our neighbors as ourselves.
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