Happy 4th of July!

I first came to the United States when I was 18, arriving at Harvard as a particularly clueless freshman from a provincial town in interior British Columbia. Some exposure to America is inevitable no matter where you are, but I had scant first-hand experience - I didn't know any Americans and day-for-day, I think I had spent longer in Germany than in the US. America was big and somewhat scary unknown, the homeland of McDonald's, Hollywood and the military-industrial complex.

I figured I should rectify that knowledge deficit and saw in my classmates a golden opportunity to get smart about the country quickly. Meeting people for the first time, they would often lead with where they were from. Of course, some places were over represented - you'd meet New Yorkers by the bushel, New Englanders (which usually meant Boston + college towns) by the score, Bay Area Californians by the gigabyte. But Texans weren't uncommon, and the more exotic states (meaning Nebraska and Kentucky, not Alaska and Hawaii) popped up in ones and twos. I'd tell them I was from Canada and didn't know much about the States, and they'd be more than happy to tell me all about their country. Here are some of the answers I got (recovered from long passed memory, so apologies if you were one of my informants and I'm remembering it wrong):

America is all about the hustle. You can come from anywhere, be whoever you want to be, do whatever you want to do, and nobody cares as long as you keep up, work hard, find your opportunities and break through to become successful and really be somebody. (New Yorker, but I also heard this from Chicagoans)

America is a place where you know your neighbors, you look out for one another, you build up your community and you always have time to help. It's small-town sports teams and going to church just to say hello. (Small-town Minnesotan) 

America is a place where no one can tell you what to do. You can stand your ground and do things your way and you don't have to bow and scrape to anyone if you have a place of your own - and there's room for everyone, because the space is boundless and the sky is high and big. Also football. (Texas, obviously)

America is about diversity, about multi-culturalism, about eating sushi for lunch and pho for dinner. You can put together your own values and have whatever lifestyle you want and everyone can do their own thing as long as they respect the others around them. It's about getting out in nature, whether you're hiking or surfing or just lying down in a park. You don't have to follow traditional rules because America is about the future and not the past. (California)

America is barbecues with your family, fireworks on the 4th of July, being an Eagle Scout, believing in something larger than yourself and being willing to sacrifice for it, like your grandfather's did back in World War 2. It's about being able to have a good life - two cars, a nice house, money enough not to worry about it - and being willing to work for it and protect it. (Oklahoma or basically any non-coastal suburb)

America is about getting up if you've been kicked in the teeth. It's about not taking no for an answer and being willing to fight for everything you have. It's about doing it yourself, because no one will help you. (Native American)

You might expect people from different parts to give different answers - different experiences breed different perspectives - so then I'd ask them about the other answers I got. I'd ask the New Yorker about what I heard from the Texan, the Texan about what the Californian told me. Almost universally, the response was a dismissal, sometimes polite (Midwesterners would say, "oh, well you know, those guys are different") sometimes less so ("rednecks don't count," "Californians aren't really Americans") followed by a double-down that their particular definition was what it REALLY meant to be American. 

This felt like narrow-mindedness at the time. It started making more sense as I spent more time in the US and seeing different parts of the country. The same flag flies everywhere, but life is very different from place to place, each region with its own accent, its own food, its own skyline, its own pace. A country is a very abstract thing - some symbols, some laws, some shared stories and a distant government that you ignore until it does something to get you mad. Looking back, I realize that when I asked about America, my classmates weren't describing a country, they were describing their home, which was the thing about America that they really felt connected, really treasured and really loved. And all of their homes were different.

With this realization came the awareness of a bigger question - if America means all these different things to all these different Americans, than what keeps them together? What keeps all these people, with all of their different ideas about what their country is or should be, together?  

Enter Waylon Jennings:

"America" is his patriotic national ballad (if not obvious from the name), and both the song and video are remarkable. This is an old song, from 1984, inspired by the Los Angeles Olympics among other things, and Jennings claimed it was one that he was particularly proud and fond of. 

For the millenials reading this over their avocado toast, Waylon Jennings is old-timey country. He was born on a farm outside Littlefield, a nowhere town in West Texas.

This is the google image - a tiny church (Baptist, of course) and a lot of nothing

His father started as a farm worker before opening a grocery. His mother changed his name to spite a Baptist preacher. He dropped out of high school. He wasn't an early Billy Ray Cyrus - he didn't move out to LA, he didn't Hannah Montana his children, he didn't do reality TV, but he did do the voiceover for the Dukes of Hazzard. What I'm getting at is that he's about as perfect a red state cultural figure as you can get, but just think about the song, just look at the video. 

"Well I come from down around Tennessee, but the people in California are nice to me," he sings. "My brothers are all black and white, yellow too, and the red man is right to expect a little from you, make a promise and then follow through, America."

The video features all of the usual country imagery - cowboys and tractors, vistas and crop fields - but to illustrate who he means by his brothers it shows an urban basketball game, bringing in young men that, in a different red state production, might just be extras mowed down by a righteous Charles Bronson. And this right before he acknowledges that America still owes a debt to the Native Americans.

Unlike other patriotic ballads, there's no glorification of the military - instead, you have a line recognizing the grace and decency of the United States in granting amnesty to those who left the US to avoid the draft during the Vietnam war. 

The countless different places - the countless different homes - that make up America belong together only when they believe they do, and "America" shows how you build up that belief. Don't deny your own identity or your own culture, but reach out to bring in everyone else and that means showing the patience, understanding and generosity to take them as they are before asking that they do the same for you. This song isn't woke or politically correct, it's not an exercise in virtue signaling. In 1984, political correctness wasn't yet even a sparkle in a liberal professor's eye, and some people will be quick to pounce on his terminology (to borrow from a great movie, Red Man is not the preferred nomenclature - Native American, please), and every note drips with American pride and sincerity.

This sentiment feels absent from contemporary America, where it feels as though different national subcultures are at each other's throats all the time, eager to dominate or purge those who disagree with them. But things may not be as bad as all that. A few years after I graduated college, I found myself in grad school at Berkeley (I know, even worse) at a 4th of July barbecue. We were all critical of American policy, and there was a lot to be critical about - the Iraq war was raging, the Patriot Act had just been passed, and George W. Bush had won reelection, with all of us feeling acute frustration and disappointment. As we waited for the hamburgers to grill, someone suggested something to mark the holiday - given that we spent the rest of the year complaining about the US, maybe each of us should name one thing we admire or appreciate about America. We stood awkwardly in a circle waiting for someone to start, inhibited more by social anxiety than by lacking anything to offer. As soon as some one made the first move, things went quickly. The question went around the circle once, then twice, then three times, a mounting inventory of America's virtues that was only interrupted when someone started an argument about football teams. 

On this 4th of July, wherever you are, I hope you can feel some of that Waylon Jennings spirit.

Happy Independence Day!  

Theses on Canada Day

I know nobody asked, but this year I felt it was my grown-up duty to share some thoughts about our country on Canada Day.

Canada is doing enviably well

It’s important to maintain a sense of proportion – by any comparative standard, Canada is a functional and decent country. Canada’s economy is prosperous and dynamic, its society is tolerant and inclusive, its politics are responsive and responsible and its state is gentle and restrained. This is worth recognizing and preserving.

Don’t assume things will stay that way

Please don't vote for her, ever

There’s nothing locked in about Canada’s relative success. Canadian political institutions are young and only half-formed – leaders strengthen them when they respect their democratic, inclusive spirit but can also undermine them by exploiting technicalities and loopholes to win political fights. The first time a leader pulls off a dirty trick – whether proroguing the Parliament or going around a Supreme Court decision – it comes off as a dick move, but it can rapidly become just another political tactic, with Canadian democracy permanently compromised.

The rule of law is a big deal

They're like nine nerdy Santa Clauses. Their present for you - your rights.

Governments control armies. They can give orders to police. Put differently, they have power. Corporations and rich people have a different kind of power – they control the livelihoods of their employees and impact the lives of consumers, especially if their business involves essential products or creates pollution and waste that the public has to deal with. They have the money to buy influence and run roughshod over individuals. Law exists to control power to prevent, or at least limit, its potential for abuse. When the law is optional, especially in regard to powerful actors, regular people lose the only civil, peaceful protection they have against abuse.

Some people don’t get to be selfish

There’s an argument that you hear all the time – everyone is selfish, everyone is only doing what they do for personal gain, everyone is a sell-out only in it for the money. When you hear this you can be 100% confident that it applies to the person making it and 0% confident that it applies to person being accused. There are professions that are so important to public life that those serving in them cannot just be in it for themselves without everyone suffering. Doctors have a responsibility to their patients that cannot be traded away. Lawyers must put the law before their bottom line, police officers must respect the public. Scientists and intellectuals must put intellectual integrity above profit opportunities. Politicians… well, those guys are pretty selfish but at the very least they must defend the political institutions that give us responsible government and individual freedom. And they usually do (except maybe the politicians)! Picking anyone of those careers involves years of work, training and embracing a code of ethics. Even if they come with an attractive paycheck, the calling must always come first, and when it doesn’t it’s not a trivial matter to be waved away with “well, everyone is selfish” but a cause for investigation, censure and punishment.

Multi-culturalism is a remarkable achievement, a great benefit, and absolutely essential for Canada…

Multi-culturalism is presented as one of Canada’s greatest social achievements – and it is! From its inception, Canada included people from different ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds and the fate of the country hinged on finding a way to develop solidarity and unity between groups of vastly different backgrounds. Incrementally, beginning with the imperfect and unequal accommodation of French Canadians into a British colony, Canada increased the inclusiveness of its society, first bringing in white ethnics from other European backgrounds, then non-white immigrants from around the world. To create a sincere, unifying national feeling among Canadians from such diverse backgrounds is a unique accomplishment that eludes countries like the US and Australia. The benefits that Canada and Canadians gain are immeasurable – Canada has gained economically, culturally and socially. The food is better, there’s more choice and diversity in the arts, companies have larger talent pool to draw on and an easier time connecting to international markets. Leaders and official media celebrate these gains, urging Canadians to celebrate multiculturalism – and they are right!

…but it can also be a pain in the ass.

This is a big enough issue for the CBC to weigh in

But, while (I reiterate) multiculturalism is an overwhelming positive force for Canada, what media and political officials never admit is that it can be a real pain in the ass. I know, because every time I meet someone – whether it’s a customer service rep or a new acquaintance – I see how they have to struggle with my Polish surname. It can feel alienating to walk into a neighborhood café and hear every conversation carried out in a language you don’t understand, or to deal with a friend’s religious dietary restrictions, or (especially if you’re older) to have to avoid saying “Merry Christmas” to strangers just in case they don’t celebrate the holiday. One of my closest, dearest, oldest friends married a wonderful woman that has also become very dear to me – I was not allowed at the wedding ceremony because it was a religious event of a faith to which I do not belong. That stung, though they did host a wonderful reception that was open to everybody. Another friend became strongly Christian as an adult, and suddenly board game night at his house involved Bible trivia. Multiculturalism means putting up with this kind of shit on a continual basis and it can only work as long as Canadians continue to extend patience, understanding and tolerance to everyone, even when there are particular beliefs or lifestyles or practices they don’t understand or approve of.

Living in a free society can be just as much of a pain in the ass

It isn't either/or...

...you have to tolerate both.

Individual freedom for ourselves is an unmitigated good – in Canada, you can pretty much live however you want, as long as you can afford your lifestyle and you aren’t abusing anyone else, and those around you have to put up with it. Individual freedom for everyone else can be a real drag – you have to put up with their choices, which might be annoying or even offensive to you. It takes more than liberal laws to make a country free – people also have to put up with (constantly) other people’s choices that they don’t like with grace and maturity. This means not only Christians dealing with gay pride parades and blasphemous entertainment (The Life of Brian then, Good Omens now), but also LGBT activists and atheists putting up with the disapproval and moralism of conservative Christians, without trying to invoke official power – be it the government, the courts, or (ugh) Twitter – to punish the other side. So long as disapproval and distaste don’t practically constrict individual freedom or threaten force, they are just expressions of the freedom of the other side. Squeezing out the space for different groups to disagree and dissent peacefully without reprisal won’t change any minds – it will just lead to an escalated conflict with worse and worse sanctions, one which your group (whatever it may be) has no guarantee of winning, and everyone’s individual freedom ends up undermined. As long as the other guy is willing to put up with your shit, the tolerant, inclusive, decent, dare-I-say Canadian thing to do is to put up with theirs.

It’s not wrong to be proud of Canada…

I think Canada is a pretty great place, all the more so since I live abroad. When I return here, I feel at home, at ease, if not optimistic than a little less despairing about the future. There are many Canadians who feel a great sense of pride for their country and its history – and they are right! The creation and construction of this country and its unique society are accomplishments worth celebrating.   

…but Canada is not an innocent country

There's a reason they aren't smiling...

There are also many Canadians who believe that Canada as a state has perpetrated great injustices, including genocide, and continues to do serious harm to individuals and communities it is supposed to represent and protect – and they are right! I can prove it with a single, simple question – is Canada a country? History is a bitch – countries are created through war (in Canada’s case the colonial wars between the French and English as well as the much more destructive, undeclared war against indigenous Canadians). They expand through treachery and violence. They grow rich through exploitation, both of workers and the environment. They tear up unspoiled wilderness to create cities, farms, mines and factories, dumping pollution and trash into the land, air and water. They become strong through repression and the patronage of powerful private institutions (corporations, religious hierarchies, coalitions of rich people). Countries behave honorably only when their people intervene against those trends to force change. Otherwise, governments take the path of least resistance, which usually involves a bulldozer and police in riot gear.

Indigenous Canadians are right to be angry

The strength and wealth of Canada has gone together with ruthless policies towards the indigenous Canadians who were once the sovereign masters of this land. For Canada to become what it is, they were disposed, displaced, disenfranchised and discarded. While enlightened governments were institutionalizing multiculturalism and making lives better for other Canadians, indigenous Canadians experienced forced assimilation, neo-colonial paternalism and (often malign) neglect. They are the last group to be fully included in Canadian society and the awareness of the damage that Canada has inflicted on their communities has made it weird. Most of the historical crimes against them occurred far enough in the past that no one is alive that could be held responsible, and the scale of what happened dwarfs any realistic restitution. The murder and disappearance of thousands of indigenous women and girls was labeled a genocide in an official report, a loaded term but how else to describe the destruction of a community on such a scale without justice or accountability? I don’t know what can be done about the past, but for Canada to keep becoming a more honorable and more decent country, non-indigenous Canadians must acknowledge that past and pressure the government to work equitably and fairly with indigenous leaders to ensure that indigenous Canadians have the same security, opportunity and freedom as everyone else.

Democracy only works when we acknowledge fact, even when it complicates our beliefs

A fact is something that’s real whether you believe in it or not – a belief is only real when you embrace it. There are questions – is drinking wrong? Does God exist? What happens when we die? – that cannot be answered with facts, only beliefs. Most questions – what causes climate change? How do we pay for Pharmacare? Are energy sector jobs worth the environmental and economic cost? – come down to facts that can’t be believed away. You can influence the future of Canada with your vote, but unless you take the time to learn some facts you’ll just be shooting in the dark.

Some people know more facts than you do

I don’t know how a car works – magic? Something something pistons? A different kind of magic? – but I know that there are people who do and I go to them with my car questions. Other people can answer other types of questions – where did all the cod go? What’s going to happen when the Earth heats up? What’s going on in the Middle East? – because they’ve spent a lot of time and energy mastering the related facts. It can take a lifetime to master a difficult subject and it can involve a great deal of sacrifice. A research scientist is someone who is smart enough that they could have become a lawyer or succeeded in business, but they gave up that income and those opportunities to pursue complicated knowledge through years and years of study. If they have reached a conclusion – especially if thousands of them agree on a conclusion, with the data and analysis to back it up – you should listen to them and not a meme on facebook from someone peddling a quack cure or an industry-supported policy change.

This may all seem like a lot of work – putting up with cultural practices you don’t understand, tolerating other people’s terrible life choices, checking your beliefs against actual facts and having the humility to learn from people who may know more than you. Maybe it is, but that’s what it takes to be a responsible grown-up, and the pay off is incredible – we get to keep Canada as the remarkable country that it already is and make it even better for the future.