Canada: The Dark Horse
This is our awakening. Canada is the dark horse.
I grew up in a town that couldn’t be more quintessential Canadian. Winter lasted eight months of the year and the hockey rink was the town’s social centre (not center). “Eh” was a reply often uttered and snowmachines (not snowmobiles) were a common transportation vehicle. The women in my town were outnumbered by the men, who were mostly hardworking outdoorsmen with no nonsense attitudes and a wicked sense of humor. Humor is everything when you’re freezing your butt off all winter and staring into the abyss of what is perceived to be the dead end of small-town Canadian life. But then you grow up and realize livin’ in a small town might not be that bad despite its compromises.
I was also a child of the 1980s. I grew up playing outside until dark and watching tv inside at night while my parents filled the living room with Vantage and Vantage Lights. The television options living in Northern Ontario, Canada in the 80s were two Canadian television networks, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Network) and CHCH Channel 11 (Hamilton, Ontario), and the remaining were American. So, despite growing up in a Canadian town, the culture we consumed was American. I imagine many Canadians can relate to this experience, even today.
American television was far more entertaining and compelling. It opened a world that was almost out of reach, unattainable to a small town Canadian kid, yet with the same characters and props in the background to create a connection. Long drawls and warmer weather aside, we were essentially speaking the same language. Canadians might possess the self-deprecating and guarded behaviour of our British colonial forefathers, but we are American in our hearts and in temperament. It is something we have yet to reconcile. We are like foster children, waiting for adoption, waiting to belong with honourable conviction.
Canadians can reminisce about a long lost national pride with a nostalgic hand to their heart, but Canada, save hockey and winter (perhaps the Quebecois, not French, might disagree), is not a well-defined nation steep in patriotism like our American cousins. We are a complex geographical puzzle created from pieces of provinces with separate cultures, identities, and politics. Perhaps the one thing we do have in common beyond the obvious cold climate and a sport that has found a home worldwide, is our connection to American values (Americanism) that we have coveted and which we find ourselves secretly envious.
Americanism possesses strength and resilience, a road map to establishing a sovereign state that Canadians so desperately seek to achieve and weave into the foundation of our nation. Without this ideal, Canada is an outpost — a barren no-man’s land, ripe for the taking… and that is precisely what is occurring. We must hold steadfast to the values that America has given us.
We demonstrated our values with our ability to stand up for what is right and true with the Trucker’s Convoy, but this motivation and purpose was inspired by America’s refusal to stand down to the tyranny rearing its ugly head on a global scale. We can thank the U.S. Constitution and those who continue to uphold it for our resilience and conviction of character. But controlled actions of bravery and protest can only take a movement so far. It is an alarm bell calling a nation to attention, yet without a solid foundation to stand upon, it ages and crumbles.
Renting our value system from America in no longer enough to survive. North America as a whole is fighting for its life. Canada must build a nation that is strong and resourceful in its own right. It is our only way out of this darkness, even if our borders and communities inevitably evolve with time.
This is our awakening. Canada is the dark horse. We have the conviction of our American values and the grit and resilience to withstand a long cold winter. We can create real community and renew and rebuild institutions that are designed for the people by the people.
The Internet is growing out of its infancy. We are no longer children in a digital playground. AI requires responsibility and an understanding of what it means to be human. The only way we are going to preserve our humanity and live in harmony with technology is through community and shared values. Division is killing us. Pettiness and greed are the end game. We must come together. This is the army we build or we parish in a technocracy of someone else’s choosing.
Canonical Link: https://thefifth.medium.com/canada-the-dark-horse-b79ca25faf27
S. Angell is a published poet, writer, philosopher, and video blogger. She explores various topics, including love, life, death, history, and society from a philosophical perspective. You can find her on Instagram @rainydaypoetess.