National Anthems and Patriotism

When I first moved to Canada, co-workers and other new acquaintances liked to quiz me (see my Jan. 12 post), and one of the questions I was asked more than once was whether I knew the Canadian national anthem O Canada. As with the other questions, I assured them that I would not move to a new country without doing my research first. Sarah and I actually taught ourselves O Canada a couple of years before we moved here.

Many moons ago when I was in junior high, I read a story about a black American who refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance. He did not feel that he could say the words “liberty and justice for all” because he didn’t believe that liberty and justice existed for all Americans. I never forgot that story or the feelings of admiration I had for him standing up for his beliefs even at the risk of appearing “unpatriotic.” Years later in the late 1990s, when I realized that I myself was a second-class citizen in the US, I refused to say the Pledge as well, on the few occasions it was recited, for the same reason. Naturally, my refusal to sing The Star Spangled Banner soon followed as I could not convince myself to say “the land of the free” without following that line by belting out a sarcastic “and the home of the STRAIGHT.” I decided it was best to sing nothing at all. And, if I could do it without appearing too disrespectful, I would go get a beer or popcorn just before the anthem was to start to avoid the situation altogether.

When GW Bush came into office, followed by the Iraq war, followed by the fortification of the “patriotic” and anti-gay conservative “christians” [intentional lowercase as I don’t believe that a majority of christians actually follow the teachings of Christ], The Star Spangled Banner became even more sinister in my eyes as all things considered patriotic became tools of the conservative right.

Knowing O Canada came in handy many a time while we were still living in the US, especially at AHL and NHL hockey games between Canadian and US teams. Because we had already been approved to immigrate to Canada, we felt somewhat Canadian ourselves, we were happy to join in the song. At events where a large number of Canadians and Americans were present, I noticed a huge difference in the way the songs were sung by the respective citizens. Americans would belt out the Banner with loud voices, teary eyes, hands on hearts, and blatant pride. Canadians sang their anthem with quieter and softer voices that I firmly believe conveyed affection rather than pride. Perhaps it is the key and tonality of the songs that makes them come across differently. Certainly the lyrics (the Banner a song about fighting a war, and O Canada (English lyrics) a song about love of and commitment to country) support my observation.

The pride patriotism vs. affection patriotism dichotomy can actually be seen on many levels. I don’t know if pride is a always bad thing, but it certainly is one of the seven deadly sins (affection is not). Unbridled pride leads to culturocentrism, selfishness, assumed invincibility, and the belief of superiority, all of which have been exhibited often by the US, especially in the past few years. Even the difference in an ordinary expression of patriotism, bumper stickers, substantiates this cultural difference. American flags paired with bold, capitalized lettering declaring that the driver is “PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN” are usual as are “GOD BLESS AMERICA” and “THESE COLORS DON’T RUN.” Canadians are not prone to slapping their opinions on their vehicles, so bumper stickers aren’t as common. But, I couldn’t help but laugh the first time I saw a patriotic bumper sticker on a car in Kitchener that looked like it was designed by a 10 year old! It was glittery, covered with cartoonish hearts and said “Canada." I actually found one of these and bought it and the scan is below.

In July of 2008, weeks before Sarah first moved to Canada, we attended a Toronto FC soccer game in Chicago. We sat with the TFC fans who are widely known for their exuberance. As is customary, before the game began, the away team’s national anthem was played first. We sang our hearts out with our neighbors in the stands knowing that they would soon be our actual neighbors. However, regardless of how loud we sang, O Canada is the type of song that just cannot sound aggressive or forceful—again, the affection came out in all of our voices. Next up was The Star Spangled Banner. I thought the Chicago fans would really sing loudly to try to show us up. Instead, a crackly and quiet version of the anthem began playing through the stadium’s loudspeaker system. No one was singing along. Some of the Canadians around me looked at each other and said, “Wow, they’re not singing. We should help them out!” Before I knew it, the whole section of TFC fans was belting out The Star Spangled Banner. When it finished, I overheard someone nearby remark, “Hmpf, they didn’t sing our anthem!” Someone else replied, “Well, they don’t know the words, eh?!”

I found myself actually quite embarrassed that the Canadians knew the US anthem, but I also knew that what I’d just overheard was correct—the Americans don’t know more than the first two words of O Canada. There’s probably a logical explanation for this discrepancy, such as Canadians hear The Star Spangled Banner more often than Americans hear O Canada (NHL=24 US teams + 6 Canadian teams; Major League Baseball=29 US teams + 1 Canadian team, etc., etc.) However, I still believe that Americans are so proud that they don’t have the inclination to pay that much attention to or learn that much about their neighboring countries. And, after the game, which Chicago won, some disdainful Chicago fans were heard telling the TFC fans that the loss showed that they “shouldn't be singing other countries’ national anthems!”

(We did find out later that the reason that The Star Spangled Banner was so poor quality on the loudspeaker system and the likely reason that no one was signing was because it was the debut of a disabled person’s computer-generated voice singing. We TFC fans did not know this. However, I think the same events may have transpired in any case.)

Earlier this month, Sarah and I made the trek to Joe Louis Arena to see the Detroit Red Wings play the Edmonton Oilers. She and I both sang O Canada. Neither of us sang The Star Spangled Banner. As much as I’ve been adamant that I will not contribute to the propaganda of patriotism and the fallacies in the anthem by singing it, I still felt a bit of guilt because I actually do feel some affection (ironically) for the US. I truly don’t hate the US—I feel horribly betrayed, disillusioned, and disenfranchised by the country of my birth, but I believe in what the US was meant to be.

Well, any feelings of guilt I had didn’t last too long. After the game, Sarah and I decided to walk back to our car by way of the walkway along the Detroit River, as we have done many times. We stopped, as we always do, at the statue along the riverwalk that is part of the International Memorial to the Underground Railroad. The statue, by Ed Dwight, is called “Gateway to Freedom” and depicts a group of slaves pointing to Windsor, Ontario. Clearly my life as a second-class citizen in the US was nothing compared to what the lives of slaves was like, but I can’t help feeling somewhat of a kindred spirit in that the people in the sculpture are pointing across the river almost directly to the building where Sarah and I were married in Windsor. The sculpture's counterpart, “Tower of Freedom,” is in Windsor just blocks from where Sarah and I were married and depicts Canadians welcoming and helping the newly-arrived escaped slaves. A picture of me by the statue is here, and you can see other pictures by doing a simple Internet search or by going to

http://detroit1701.org/UndergroundRailroad.htm .

I will always be grateful for the freedoms given to me by Canada, and I will always sing O Canada with affection! Whether I’ll ever be able to bring myself to sing The Star Spangled Banner again remains to be seen.

For my American friends reading this post, you might want to take note of the lyrics below—you might need to know them someday!

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Reintroduction of Uniting American Families Act

“It should be an outrage to all Americans that our government continues to deny one set of citizens the fundamental rights enjoyed by the rest of its citizens. It is time that we as a society finally acknowledge that a committed, loving family is a committed, loving family, no matter whether a couple is gay or straight. It makes no difference. We should be encouraging and rewarding stable families rather than sweeping them into the margins. We must now pass UAFA, the Uniting American Families Act, and grant gay and lesbian binational families the same legal protections—and the same human dignity—as other Americans.”

The quote above is from US Rep. Jarrold Nadler (D-NY), Feb. 12, 2009, on the re-introduction of the UAFA, which would give same-sex bi-national couples the same immigration rights as heterosexual married/engaged bi-national couples. This is the sixth time in the past nine years that this bill, previously known as the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, has been introduced. Hopefully this time it won't be stalled in committee. I am, at this point in time, audacious enough to hope.

Some of my favorite (favourite) Canadian moments so far. . .part deux!

The other night, after finishing some delightful Canadian Chinese food, I opened my fortune cookie and was informed that “D’autres admirent votre côté dramatique.” Fortunately, this was a reminder to post my second installment of my favorite (favourite) Canadian moments. (If you missed the first installment, check out my post from September 23, 2008.)

TIM HORTONS

1) Shortly after I moved to Canada, I had to take my car in for emissions and safely testing. I dropped off my car and Sarah followed so she could drive me home. While I was in the shop turning in my keys and making arrangements for the testing, Sarah had her first Canadian confrontation while waiting for me in the parking lot. A guy walked past her truck and started gesturing at her, waving his arms and pointing. She noticed he was looking at her US license plate and rolled down her window. He approached her and started angrily lecturing her, saying that she should not be sitting in a parking lot with her car running because of all the pollution created by the idling engine. She told him that just because she had US plates didn’t mean he could harass her and then rolled up her window as she told him to mind his own business.

Sarah is not a confrontational person and she was a bit upset by this incident. I thought it was kind of cool that people in Canada cared enough about the environment to even notice an idling vehicle but thought he probably was a bit more aggressive than he would have been had her truck had Ontario plates. But then, as we drove home, I noticed a subtle irony each time we passed a Tim Horton’s—at each location, the drive-through line was at least six cars long. And, if you’ve ever been to Canada, then you know that a Tim Horton’s always has a lineup at the drive-through. I wondered much time Sarah’s new friend spends at the Tim’s drive-through spewing pollutants into the Canadian air each morning.

2) I’ve mentioned a few times the Canadians’ obsession with Tim Hortons. But, the best story so far since I’ve moved here has to do with Sarah’s accident back in September. She was on her way home from work on a rainy fall evening in her beloved pickup truck when an Ontario driver turned left in front of her. She didn’t have time to stop and both cars were demolished. Sarah’s airbag went off in the collision, and she stumbled out of her truck to find the other driver. He also emerged from his vehicle but was relatively unhurt. Some witnesses on the scene called the police. While waiting for the police to arrive, the other guy decided he wasn’t going to stand around and left the scene to go to Tim Horton’s for some coffee! Once the police arrived, Sarah was the only driver at the accident scene. The officer was confused and irritated that the other driver was not there. A few minutes later he showed back up holding his coffee and proceeded to try to talk himself out of the ticket (without success).

3) Okay, one final Tim-related story, except this actually happened in Michigan. While my family and I were shopping at the Birch Run outlets in Michigan on Thanksgiving weekend, I happened to be standing in a checkout line at one of the stores. A group of young girls were in line in front of me and seemed perturbed. Eventually one turned to all the others and said with desperation, “I wish they had Tim Horton’s in the States, eh?” All the other girls chimed in their agreement—“I know, eh?!”

A few Tim Horton’s actually do exist in the US, but they are not common unless you are in a location that attracts tourists from Canada! Birch Run is a place that attracts tourists from Canada, so I wonder if those girls ever realized that there was a Timmy’s across the street!

DRINKS

4) Coming from the Bible Belt of Michigan where certain cities are dry and other counties are (or were up until very recently) not allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays, I was surprised and relieved to find the attitude towards alcohol a little more relaxed here. This might be expected as the Canadians are known for their beer and because there is a very high concentration of breweries in my area. But, I didn’t realize how different the attitude towards alcohol was until some employee awards were announced at my company. The e-mail that went out to everyone named the winners of the customer service awards and informed us that they had won gift certificates to the local liquor store chain (LCBO for those of you who are familiar with alcohol sales in Ontario).

If employee awards at my previous employers in Michigan had ever involved alcohol, I think that protests, boycotts, prayer services, and lawsuits would have followed!

5) I am a caffeine addict, and as such, need caffeine often throughout the day. Never was I more in need of caffeine than when I was attending the two week new employee training for my new job. We had a lunch buffet set up for us and so I grabbed some food and was elated that I managed to seize the last can of Mountain Dew in the drink bin. I figured that would help me stay awake during the long afternoon in our windowless training room. I finished my lunch and my Dew and was listening to my classmates talk as I spun the empty can around in my hands. I looked down and almost screamed. Above the nutritional information (valeur nutritive) in small bold letters were the words CONTAINS NO CAFFEINE. I looked at the front of the can—it looked like a normal Mountain Dew can to me, no warning that this drink was *gasp* caffeine free.

I said to the people sitting at my table, “So, what’s with the Mountain Dew here? No caffeine?” They said, “Oh, no, it’s caffeine-free.” I looked incredulous, so they continued, “But we’ve heard that Mountain Dew is stronger in the States, eh?”

I haven’t had a Mountain Dew here since because I can’t fathom drinking that without caffeine. It would be like drinking alcohol-free beer!

SPORTS AND GAMES

6) Hockey rinks are everywhere here. I can’t even think of an equivalent in the US. I guess maybe the closest is that many people put basketball hoops in their driveways. But, still, it’s nothing like what you see here with hockey. Every town, no matter how small, has a hockey rink, and often this arena is the center of the community. My town of under 200,000 people has seven ice arenas that I know of, and there are probably more. This number doesn’t count the arenas in neighboring towns. Wait, I have forgotten the rinks in the shopping malls (yes, many malls have ice rinks in them). And, this doesn’t count the outdoor rinks that are numerous and found in almost every neighborhood. It also doesn’t count the rinks that people make in their back and front yards!

Even the streets can serve as hockey rinks in summer and winter. My town of Cambridge made national headlines in Canada last fall when the City Council considered banning sports equipment on city streets and sidewalks, i.e., banning street hockey. A massive outcry ensued and the resolution didn’t pass. Apparently tampering with this popular pastime was tantamount to an assault on the national culture.

7) I’ve always enjoyed bowling even though I’m not very good. I was excited and delighted to learn that my department at work was having a social event during work hours and it would be at a bowling alley. That morning, before I left for work, I put my bowling bag in my car and looked forward to the day ahead.

Once at work, I was chatting about the day’s planned event and my co-worker commented, “Well, it’s five-pin bowling, eh?” I told him I had no idea what he was talking about, and he assured me that five-pin bowling was common everywhere, and probably most popular in the US. I assured him that this did not exist in the US. To settle the argument, I looked up five-pin bowling online. Sure enough, it is a Canadian form of bowling. You cannot imagine my dread when I saw pictures and diagrams online and realized that I would be making a fool of myself in front of my new colleagues by having to bowl with a ball the size of a coconut on a little narrow lane that ends with five pins. Even now as I’m writing this, I’m so puzzled by the bizarre nature of the whole event that I’m not sure what else to day about it. Anyway, I’m glad I found out what was really going on before I brought my own (giant) ball into the bowling alley because I would have looked like an idiot and probably cried from embarrassment.

Then again, others love my dramatic side!

Yankee Go Home

As I was preparing to move to Canada this past year, I was aware and apprehensive about any degree of anti-Americanism I might encounter. I had been reading up on Canadian current events faithfully for a few years prior, and I had come across rumblings of Canadians’ increasing animosity towards Americans. Most of this animosity is due to the enduring image of Americans as rude, self-centered, and ostentatious, and the Canadian dislike of George W. Bush, his environmental policies, and his international interventions (i.e., Iraq) just increased this hostility.

As I was preparing to leave the US due to my lack of rights and my second-class citizen status, I was about as far from the red-white-and-blue, flag-waving, God-bless-America-singing patriot as one could get. I was harboring my own anger towards the US social policies and the President’s refusal to acknowledge my right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I was also resentful towards the (slim) majority of Michiganders who had voted in favor of amending the state constitution to define marriage as only a heterosexual institution. Voters in several other states had done the same thing, so I didn’t feel guilty about blaming the majority of the country in conjunction with the government for my unjust plight.

I was having lunch with my mentor Nyann shortly before leaving my job in Michigan, and I confided that I was worried about how I would respond to any Canadian anti-Americanism I encountered after I moved. I told her I thought it would be really easy for me to jump on the bandwagon, but that I also still cared about so many people in the US that I didn’t know if I would be able to tolerate any unjust criticism based on misinformation. She said, “Oh, I think you are way too fair-minded to ignore unfair remarks.”

Turns out, she was right. And I should have known that, as throughout my life, I’ve had so many issues with the Catholic religion, of which I am a member. But, no matter how angry I might get at the Church’s policies, I will never tolerate Catholic-bashing based on misconceptions and fallacies. Since I’ve moved to Canada, I’ve been surprised at my reaction to any anti-American sentiment (see my January 12 posting about Stupid Americans).

A book titled Yankee Go Home?: Canadians and Anti-Americanism by J. L. Granatstein has been on my bookshelf haunting me as I try to avoid looking at it. The description of the book says, “From the time of the American Revolution, anti-American feeling has been a defining part of Canadian life.” I bought the book because I thought that as an American moving to Canada, I should know what I’m up against. But, I’ve been reluctant to read it and I’m not sure why. I might be afraid to know how my new friends, neighbors, and co-workers feel about me, or I might be worried that my own observations and perceptions will be skewed if I read this book before drawing my own conclusions. Also, as this book was written in 1997, I wondered how much of the content would be relevant in a post-9/11 society. Regardless, I’ve brought the book with my on several road trips but never cracked the cover. It’s like that package of cookies you really want to open, but you know that once you do open it, only bad things will happen!

It is interesting in itself that a book has been written on the topic. And, indeed, many other periodicals have run stories on the topic. (On a side note, one of my Canadian friends was recently at my house and noticed the book on my shelf. He seemed quite disconcerted that such a book existed and that I was going to read it.) Is there any anti-Canadianism in the US? I suppose there is, but it’s not a topic of national discussion as anti-Americanism is here.

As if it was a reminder that I should start reading Yankee Go Home, I was in a gas station two weeks ago and out of the corner of my eye I saw the Stars and Stripes emblazoned across the front page of a newspaper and the giant headline CAN CANADIAN ANTI-AMERICANISM SURVIVE OBAMA? The newspaper was the National Post, which many consider to be right-wing biased. I decided I should buy the paper (dated Jan. 24, 2009) to supplement the other reading on my list. The article itself was buried in the back pages of the main section and was very short and seemed to be more editorial than news story, so I was a bit disappointed. But, I did think it was significant that the topic of anti-Americanism was a selling feature of this paper.

Earlier in this post I mentioned that I was reluctant to read about anti-Americanism until I could draw my own conclusions. So, what are those conclusions? Most of what I would construe as anti-Americanism has been very subtle and often disguised as patronizing humor about how stupid Americans are.

Canadians are generally more reserved than Americans, and they aren’t as prone to ranting and railing, especially to people they don’t know. So, for this reason, and possibly because my acquaintances here know I’m American, I don’t hear a lot of negativity towards my home country. The comments I have heard have mainly related to incorrect stereotypes based on certain regions of the US. And, perhaps due to my employment in the insurance industry, the stereotype I’ve been most privy to has been the idea that all Americans are suing each other all the time.

I was in a training session at my Canadian insurance company and the topic of the importance of personal liability came up. We were discussing how the liability you have through your homeowners’ policy will cover you no matter where you go. The instructor gave an example, saying, “So, imagine you are at a resort in the Caribbean and you’re playing volleyball and you accidentally poke someone in the eye, injuring them. Maybe this person is a local or maybe they are a Canadian.” Another participant piped up, “Or even worse, an AMERICAN!!” Oh, the whole room roared with laugher so loud that no one heard my jaw hit the floor.

Once I composed myself and responded in a tone of disbelief, “Hey. . .don’t generalize,” everyone suddenly paused when they remembered that I was an American, but the comedienne responded reproachfully with, “Oh, come on. You know your society is more litigious than ours!” The tension was building and my anger was rising when the instructor chimed in, “Well, yes we know that all Americans have lawyers,” before quickly moving on to the next topic. I was too dumbfounded to continue fighting.

Just the other night, in another insurance class, while talking about liability insurance and lawsuits again, my classmate turned to me with a smirk and said, “Do you have a lawyer?” I said, “No, I don’t have a lawyer and never had. One time Sarah had an immigration lawyer, and when people get divorced they’ll get a lawyer, but where do you get this idea that all Americans have a lawyer permanently on hand?”

It seems that some stories of the ridiculous lawsuits allowed by some states’ governments have found their way into Canada. What the Canadians don’t seem to realize is that these legal environments are much worse in specific areas of the US and not reflective of the whole country. Besides, most Americans I know are as disgusted with the excessive lawsuits and disproportionate monetary awards as the Canadians are amused.

The newspapers, billboards, and even the back cover of the Yellow Pages phone book on my desk right now are covered with advertisements for legal services for Canadians who have been denied the money they deserve for injuries/divorce/mistreatment of employers/etc. Besides, one thing I’ve seen all over the area I live which I never saw in the US are businesses, usually in mini-malls specializing in getting you out of your traffic tickets!

A recent Molson advertising campaign put different scenarios on their Molson Canadian beer bottles. One of these appearing on a bottle and also on a t-shirt we obtained said “Answer honestly: would you prefer to come from a country known for apologizing or famous for being rude.” I thought it was pretty funny. Being the naïve and polite Midwesterner I was, I was sure this was saying “Would you rather be from Canada or France.” But the real meaning of the question hit me a few weeks ago at a hockey game.

As usual, I had really screwed up during the game by doing something like trying to steal the puck from my teammate because I forgot what color jerseys we were wearing while on the ice. I came off the ice to the bench and said, “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I can’t believe I did that. I’m really sorry!” My supposed best Canadian friend on the team said with a smile, “Hey, why are you apologizing? Americans don’t apologize! You’re supposed to say ‘Get otta my way you jerk!’” Everyone laughed except me. I couldn’t tell if they were laughing at what was said or her poor imitation of a New York accent. I tried to clarify that Midwesterners aren’t rude, and I was dismayed that her perception of all Americans was based on the stereotype of New Yorkers. But, by the time I finished explaining, no one was listening anymore because they’d resumed watching the game.

I listen especially carefully when I hear someone I don’t know talking about Americans, because it means that they don’t know me and so won’t be cautious about what they say. The news in Canada has had a lot to say about Obama’s economic stimulus plan, and in particular, about the “Buy American” provision what would require all steel and other materials for infrastructure projects to come from the US. Currently, the US imports a lot of these items from Canada. The Canadians are not happy about this one-sided economic protectionism. Sometime soon, I’ll be writing about the ties between the Canadian and the US economy. Until then, I expect I may hear more whispers with tinges of anti-Americanism.

I even wonder if a comment I heard the other night was prompted by this economic stimulus provision. I was leaving my insurance class with two of my classmates. One was telling me about her experiences with Guess jeans. She said they rip easily, but she has been able to get them replaced. She also spoke of the shoddy quality of the Guess wallet she purchased. Another classmate came upon our conversation and butted in with “Well, that’s not surprising because it’s an American company.” I looked at him wide-eyed and said, “What?” He snickered and said, “Oh, sorey, did I hit a nerve?”

Later that night, I thought about how I would feel if I said something negative about a country and then realized that I had inadvertently offended someone from that country. I would feel horrible. I would apologize, and mean it sincerely. I certainly wouldn’t snicker.
Canada is a country known for apologizing, eh?