It’s Canada Day, so hip, hip, hooray! It’s time to party, to wave our flags and raise a toast to our country, Canada.
Honk your horn, wave that flag again and have another toast, heck, why not two?
Save a few minutes between those toasts though to actually think about what this country really means to you and about its place on the world stage.
Like everything in life, this nation is fluid, an alive thing that changes in response to stimulus and situation. Certainly the Canada of 2012 is a very different beast than the place Sir Isaac Brock and Tecumseh fought for so valiantly in 1812. The whole world has changed since then in so many ways and for so many reasons and Canada has changed right along with it – sometimes faster than other countries, sometimes slower.
None of us living can remember back to the days of Tecumseh of course, but we can do our best and think of what Canada has meant to us over the course of our lives so far. We can compare that memory with the country as it is today and if we put a little effort into it, we can make at least some sort of comparison.
So, no question, our nation has changed since we were younger, so we should perhaps ask ourselves why that might be and, perhaps more importantly, where we see it going from here.
Are there things we want to change? Probably, so what steps are we going to take in order to achieve that change?
Are there things we want to keep and protect? Probably, so again, what do we need to do in order to meet that goal?
What can we do as individuals, as groups, as organizations and political parties to keep the best of what is Canada and to remain flexible enough to bend with the storms of future years?
OK, that’s enough philosophizing. Crank up the tunes and raise another glass!
Happy Canada Day everybody!
Editorial by Neil Horner