Happy Canada Day!

Est. July 1, 1867, Canada (a First Nation word which means "The Village") obtained its freedom from Britain without a violent revolution. We could have had a Civil War between French and English, but avoided it through sensible compromise, becoming a united, bilingual, multi-cultural nation.

Canada never had slavery as an institution, and was a refuge for runaway slaves. When Hitler needed to be stopped, we gave generously of Canadian blood. In the '50s, when Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal, and France and Britain actually threatened Egypt with nuclear strikes to regain possession, our PM, Lester Pearson, sent thousands of Canadian Forces troops to stand at ground zero. Lester was betting that the hot-headed fools in Paris and London would back down from vaporising so many of Her Majesty's loyal subjects just to teach Nasser a lesson, and he won. Not even Teddy Roosevelt ever did anything so gutsy!

Canada refused to be involved in Vietnam, and was, for a time, safe haven for young Americans who didn't want to go kill yellow people on the other side of the world for dubious reasons. We have long possessed the technology and means to build nuclear weapons, but with open eyes, decided to forego them, feeling that the world would not be made safer by more nukes.

Though Canada has a free market, Capitalist economy, we decided early on to take care of each other's health and welfare in perpetuity, so that no Canadian would ever have to sell his or her house to pay for their medical bills.

Our flag was created by way of a national design contest anyone could enter, and shows a maple leaf with 13 points, one for each Province. Though bald eagles are more common to Canada than the States, we didn't choose an eagle, grizzly bear, wolverine, or other ominous animal as a national symbol. Instead, we adopted the industrious beaver. Canada has given the world dozens of great musical artists and comedians. We are the True North, strong and free! Now if we could only get the sexism out of our national anthem...

"O Canada, our home and native land

True patriot love in all thy sons command..."

Wouldn't it be just as easy to sing:

"True patriot love *in all of us* command"?

After a great deal of national debate about the lyrics to "O Canada" the general Canadian public seems to be hooked on keeping that portentous "thy" in there. I reckon they think it's poetic.

Ah well; no nation is perfect, eh?