Time For A Refresher Course

I have never been fond of the American aphorism, "My country, right or wrong." On the surface, it suggests a reflexive, unbending and blind loyalty to and pride in one's nation, no matter its shortcomings. This can lead to all sorts of excesses, as U.S. history so amply demonstrates. However, love of and pride in a person's country of birth is, or can be, quite a different thing.

I've been thinking about national pride in light of what Charlie Angus recently had to say. He reminds us of how that pride informed our past politicians, whether in government or opposition, in their relationship with the Americans. While that relationship has mostly been cordial, it has never been servile.

Now comes word of a new poll by Angus Reid that shows a steep decline in national pride.

In 1985, 78 per cent said they were “very proud” to be Canadian. This dropped to 52 per cent in 2016 and now by another 18 points to 34 per cent. The proportion who say they are either proud or very proud of their nationality has dropped precipitously from 79 per cent to 58 per cent over the past eight years.

The Star's Kevin Jiang offers some analysis: 

These numbers could indicate Canadians feel the country isn’t living up to their expectations, Ramos said, especially in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You don’t have to look very far across the Toronto Star headlines to see that there are issues around stagnant wages, around affordability, around housing,” [political sociologist Howard] Ramos said. “This is a big part of what’s being observed in this trend.”

As well, there are key demographic differences. 

Older Canadians were significantly more likely to feel deeply attached to Canada, with 63 per cent of men and 66 per cent of women over 55 echoing that sentiment. In contrast, just 39 per cent of men and 26 per cent of women aged 18 to 34 answered the same.

Political party affiliation also plays a role.

Conservative voters were most likely to want to see the country split up or take up Donald Trump’s offer to become the 51st state; 11 per cent of Conservative supporters said they want to join the U.S. while eight per cent said they’d prefer to “see the country split up into two or more smaller countries.”

There can be little doubt that disaffection is widespread, for the above stated economic reasons, as well as things like wait times for medical service, etc. As well, I can't help but wonder about the effect of right-wing podcasters on Canadians' views, especially younger ones, of our country. 

Is there a way of reversing this trend? Obviously, politicians are in key positions to influence our national vies. The constant harping about the brokenness of Canada by opportunists like PP certainly contribute to the negative sentiments, a view echoed by Richard Nimijean, a Carleton University professor:

“National identity is not static,” Nimijean said. “If things are tough all over and if our leaders are talking about things being bad ... it’s not surprising we get these kinds of results.”

But Ramos believes these results may also indicate the country is in need of a clearer definition of what it means to be Canadian. He points to a 2015 interview with the New York Times, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was “no core identity, no mainstream in Canada.”

“Maybe it’s time for us to begin to think about what is that identity,” Ramos said, “and what we should be proud of.”

And that, of course, is a topic fit for any number of blog posts, but perhaps it is time for a refresher course on our country and why it is so dear.

I shall end now by wearing my heart on my sleeve, something I am usually loathe to do. There is no other country on earth I would rather be a citizen of. It was this country into which I was born and have been nurtured, and it will have my undivided (but not uncritical) loyalty until my days are done.

 

UPDATED: Our National Pride Needs This

Here is a  reminder and a jolt from Charlie Angus, one that should be heard by all who would appease the mad king, Trump, at the expense of our national pride and nationhood:

UPDATE:

Here are a few more words of wisdom from Charlie Angus:

Behind The Headlines

The shooting of Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, has dominated headlines since the crime occurred. While none of us should take any satisfaction in the murder of a fellow human being, what I have found fascinating is the embargo on network television news of inconvenient truths about the deceased's life.

Before delving into that, I highly recommend David Graham's latest post, An Unsympathetic Death. Graham provides outstanding information about the health insurance business in America, and the daily perils Americans face even when they have healthcare insurance. It is a reminder of how fortunate we are, despite its shortcoming, to have socialized medicine in Canada.

In its refusal to 'blame the victim',  mainstream media have sanitized certain facts. 

The business run by Thompson brought in $281 billion in revenue last year, making it the largest subsidiary of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. His $10.2 million annual pay package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, made him one of the company’s highest-paid executives.

If you read Graham's post, you will see that much of that profit and bonus accrued from United Health Care's 33% denial rate of medical insurance claims. One need not have a particularly vivd imagination to see the emotional and physical toll this would have on the 'insured'.

However, there is much more to Brian Thompson's story.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was facing a lawsuit accusing him and other executives of insider trading related to an ongoing Justice Department investigation before he was fatally shot outside a New York City hotel on Wednesday.

Thompson, 50, was one of three UnitedHealth Group executives named in a class action lawsuit filed in May that accused them of dumping millions of dollars worth of stock while the company was the subject of a federal antitrust investigation, which investors say wasn’t immediately disclosed to shareholders.

“UnitedHealth was aware of the DOJ investigation since at least October 2023. Instead of disclosing this material investigation to investors or the public, UnitedHealth insiders sold more than $120 million of their personally held UnitedHealth shares,” the suit filed by the City of Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund alleges.

 Nearly $25 billion in shareholder value was erased once the investigation was publicly revealed in February. Thompson was able to sell off more than $15 million of his own UnitedHealth shares [emphasis mine] before the value dropped, however, the suit states.

In my view, mainstream media's withholding of such information is both a disservice to loyal viewers and additional fuel for the almost endless criticism directed at the legacy outlets. Even I, an unrepentant supporter of such media, have had my faith shaken.

Life in the United States is often described as "dog eat dog." It would appear that some dogs live a charmed life, until they don't.

 

 

For Love Of Country

 

It seems, at least to me, that this day and age has seen a debasement in the concept of loving and standing by one's country. We see it in the constant derogation of Canada (under Trudeau) by PP, who incessantly insists to us that everything is broken. Indeed, some might be inclined to say that his efforts are in accord with the attempts of the incoming U.S. president to paint Canada in a very negative light. Love of country and grace seem to be singularly absent in PP's makeup.

But of course, PP is a politician, doing everything he can to disaffect Canadians so that he can be our next national 'leader'. More worrisome is those ordinary citizens who seem to see our nationhood as both provisional and transactional. While those people are surely in a minority, my life experience has taught me that bad ideas, if spread and repeated enough times, sometimes become a form of reality.

Take, for example, the following letters that I culled from the National Post, a journal that I almost never read, its extreme right-wing bent an offence to the normal spirit.

‘A small price to pay for the economic benefits’

At his recent meeting with our prime minister, President-elect Donald Trump mused that Canada could become the 51st state. Let’s consider the possible benefits.

Article content

Under the American taxation system, Canadians would get to keep more of their hard-earned cash (no GST holidays needed).

We would finally have a leader who would unwaveringly support the only democracy in the Middle East (and not UNRWA) against the terrorist bullies who battle for Israel’s demise, and a leader who would stand up to the dangerous despots in Russia, China and North Korea and shackle Iran’s nuclear aspirations. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu would be welcomed without fear of being arrested. (The U.S. is not a member of the International Criminal Court.)

Our armed forces would proudly serve with a technologically-advanced and well-funded military.

And our ever-falling loonie would be exchanged for the greenback, which is currently worth Cdn $1.40.

If it means not having cannabis shops on every street corner, that’s a small price to pay for the economic benefits that would accrue to the average Canadian family.

Susan Silverman, Toronto

Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state is a great idea. Given its population of almost 40 million, Canada would have a large block of votes in the electoral college and therefore a large say in picking the president. There would be no worries about tariffs on exports to the U.S., which would allow our economy to flourish. There would be no more worries about the protection of the border, and the costs associated with it. And our military would finally be well-equipped with modern armament.

Article content

It is indeed food for thought, laced with maple syrup.

Roger Cyr, Victoria, B.C.

It is indeed sad to see citizenship reduced to a transactional mentality. I pray that such sentiments will always remain in the minority. 

With Apologies To Dr. Seuss

The Heart Of This Grinch Would Not Grow, No,

 Not Even An Inch

H/t Moudakis

The Government We Deserve?

I can't say that I have ever really subscribed to the above quote by Thomas Jefferson, largely because politicians misrepresent themselves all the time.  One may vote with a certain hope for better things based on their promises, but those promises rarely materialize. Because of that, truly informed decisions are difficult to arrive at. (Of course,  the recent U.S. election proves the exception, with voters willfully embracing the chaos agent known as Don Trump.)

However, I believe there is much truth in the quote when manifestly unfit governments continue to ride high in the polls and repeatedly get re-elected. Such seems to be the situation in Ontario, where Doug Ford, despite his grave fiscal and ethical malfeasance, enjoys ongoing popularity.

This brief CBC report on the auditor general's report gives some insight into the shady and fiscally profligate practices of the government:

In addressing the auditor-general's report on the government, Edward Keenan writes of a theme that seems to permeate the Ford government's decision-making approach, one found in the AG's report:

“Without proper planning.”

That was her description, in Tuesday’s annual report, of how the decision to close supervised-consumption drug sites was made.

On supervised injection sites, the auditor notes harm reduction strategies that prevented 1,500 deaths from overdoses are being discontinued without proper planning or impact analysis. Which sounds like a roundabout way to say people are likely to die.

But six years into the life of a government that has always shown an eagerness to fire before it aims, it seems more like an all-purpose description of The Doug Ford Way.

The report contains plenty of other language that might seem jolting when applied to government actions, but by now seems overly familiar. The decisions to issue minister’s zoning orders (or MZOs)were “not fair, transparent or accountable.” The assessment process for the Ontario Place redevelopment was “irregular” and “subjective,” and “rules and guidelines … were not followed.” 

There are a few themes there that are at the forefront of Spence’s report. Decisions seem to be made quickly and on impulse, according to either the political whims and vendettas of the premier or the backroom desires of developers and corporate interests. Traditional accountability checks or analysis of impacts are discarded. Rinse, repeat.

Keenan asks the question of where all of this leaves us. My answer is, unfortunately, without any viable alternative that will cure people's addiction to the populist premier. When she was first chosen as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, I harboured some hope that Bonnie Crombie might prove to be that viable alternative.  But as I wrote in two previous posts, one in June and one in November, she really only promises more of the same fiscal recklessness in her desperation for electoral support. In in her latest ploy for popularity, she promises to axe the (carbon) tax. 

I’d rather cut your income taxes permanently than cut you a rebate cheque.”

The rebate remark was a dig at both Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford, who have promised cheques of $250 and $200 respectively to defray the high cost of living. 

Perhaps when they do go to the polls, the people of Ontario can be forgiven for voting for the same old thing, since that is all that will apparently be on offer. 

About That Annexation Thing

Even if Trump was only 'joking' about Canada becoming the 51st state, this cartoon by Moudakis seems timely: