#10: Canada has recognized gay marriage for several years now but there are still no pillars of salt here.
#9: There are rare occasions on which it is pleasant to visit Ottawa. None of them involve February. It simply isn't possible.
#8: As glad as Canadians will be to see you, we'd be even happier if you had brought Michelle.
#7: Scratch #8: We wouldn't wish February in Ottawa on anyone, much less your lovely First Lady. Bring her for the Tulip Festival.
#6: For all our whining and moaning about it, we wouldn't give up universal medicare for anything. Period. It defines us; it exemplifies our fundamental humanity and sense of commitment to one another, and our ability to rely on our community and our country in our greatest hour of need. You might want to read about Tommy Douglas and Lester Pearson, who were among those who made it happen.
#5: It is more than 3 decades since Canada formally eliminated capital punishment, and nearly half a century since our last execution. Our incarceration rate is significantly lower than that of the US, as well. In spite of our apparentlly dismal record on punishment, our streets are essentially safe, and our murder rate is steadily declining. That could have something to do with gun control, in spite of the number of handguns that are smuggled into Canada from the US every year. Just thought I'd point that out.
#4: Two words, even for The Beast: "SNOW TIRES".
#3: If global warming gets any worse, a lot of winter commuters in Ottawa will need excellent swimming skills.
#2: This is Ottawa, in the dead of winter, and you're only here for a few hours. You didn't seriously expect to learn TEN things, did you?
#1: You might be tempted to think of Stephen Harper as a tool, but tools are useful.
Bienvenue, Monsieur le Président!
Yes / Oui Canada!
I've been trying for some time to articulate just what Barack's election and inauguration mean to me.
I glow in the dark, so I can't begin to relate to how people of colour might feel about this magnificent event. However, it is within my lifetime that water fountains, and schools, and tables at restaurants were segregated. I can't imagine how that felt; as it is, I only read about it. But to the extent that this election represents a victory over racism in America, some measure that the non-racists are starting to outnumber the racists, I am thrilled.
I also view this election as a triumph of intelligent voters over the wilfully ignorant. In my most cynical moments, I wonder if McCain's motibvation for choosing Palin as his running mate was that of deliberately (if excessively) countering the obvious intelligence of the Obama campaign and pandering to the pro-stupid vote. The voters that shun science in favour of faith, and facts in favour of 'truthiness'. Those who feel more comfortable with a Vice President who can't name a periodical that she regularly reads than one who can. Those who don't know what arugula is, and won't vote for someone who would eat it.
I'm not American, either by residence or citizenship; I just share the continent with you. And yet, while we're not at the inauguration yet and while he won't be my national leader, and it's not a 'colour' issue for me, I still get weepy even now, just seeing him on the train yesterday from Philly, or seeing Warren Buffett endorse him on NBC Dateline tonight as absolutely the right man to lead the economic recovery. In hindsight, I'm glad I decided not to make the trek to DC for the events this week, as I'll be soggy enough that I won't want to share that with 4 million of my closest friends. For this week, more than any other, I will need my privacy to cry, to rejoice, to dream, and to reflect.
Thank you, all of you who gave so much of yourselves in this campaign - eating unidentifiable freezer-burnt whatevers because you had donated your grocery money back in the primaries when Hillary was assumed invincible, fudging with your spouses about where you were spending your time and where the household money was going. You have not only served your country well, you have also given the world a great gift.
Do I expect to agree with every policy choice made by the new President? No. For example, Canada legalized marriage between same-sex partners several years ago and this has been good for Canada (at last report, not a single salt pillar sighted!). I sincerely believe that, eventually, discrimination in any form against gays will be seen as unacceptable and ludicrous as discrimination based on colour.
But I am hopeful about America and about the world for the first time in nearly a decade. And I remain hopeful that breach of this insane glass ceiling will result in many more barriers being shattered in the coming years.
I have been privileged, in Canada, to work with a local politician who was brilliant, diligent, and as ethically centered as anyone who has ever held public office. He believed in building coalitions, in the constitutional protection of individual rights. and he believe most of all in dialogue. He was stolen from us, much too young at age 51, by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. And I see in Mr. Obama those same qualities: qualities that I didn't expect to see in another local politician in my lifetime, much less in the leader of the Free World.
And so I thank you, for all your work, and I share in your celebrations. Bless you, one and all, for your determination to make your democracy make the right choice. Salut, to one and all. See you in 4 years!
