The following is a guest column by Darrell Dunn, Publisher, The Weekly Bean.
This is 159th year since London acquiesced to allow us to be our own country. That 159 years
can be looked at in a wide variety of ways. The story surrounding the creation and evolution of
this country we call home is as diverse as the roughly 40 million people who live here. Some of
those stories are testaments of grit and success and some are tales of challenge and
disappointment. Some are stories of unfairness and oppression. Some are stories of heroism and
sacrifice. The stories are as varied as this land we live in. So, when we celebrate Canada Day,
what, exactly, are we celebrating?
In the world we live in at the moment it is easy, indeed it seems to be a rule of thumb,
that we focus on all of the challenges, stresses, disappointments, unfairness and inequities that
surround us. The litany of negativity that seems to hit us every day makes it easy to be cynical
about any of those old-school attitudes such as patriotism, citizenship, civic pride. Why should
we bother to celebrate a country that seems bent on rage, divisiveness and inequality? All of
those things I grew up with and looked to as bedrock truisms in the 50’s and 60’s seem to be
under attack. All that stuff I learned to depend on, honesty, loyalty, friendship, hard work, faith,
consistency, seem to have either disappeared or been bastardized into quaint, old-school
anachronisms. So, we are celebrating what, again?
Let’s flip the perspective for a moment. Every October, I take a few days to go to just
about my favorite place on the entire planet. I first went there in 1956 at 5 years old. I was
stunned at its beauty; the sight of it, the smells, the feel of the air, the majesty, the sheer
“aliveness” of it. I have visited there innumerable times over the years and know it like the back
of my hand. And each time I discover something new. For me Banff National is the epitome of
“Canada”. Its sheer size, its possibilities, its freshness, its overpowering presence.
When I travel from here to there it has nothing to do with political ideology. It has
nothing to do with political correctness. It has nothing to do with policy or social awareness. It
has nothing to do with just tourism. When I go there I travel through a vast and magnificent
prairie that caresses my soul, only to arrive at a landscape that goes beyond imagination. It
simply “IS”. And that is the Canada that I celebrate.
The land is just “there”, and pray to God, we take better care of it than we have. But, it
was there long before any of us showed up, and it will be there long after every single one of us
is long gone. Canada, the geography, the land, is our home. We didn’t create it; it has always
been there. We didn’t “make” anything. It has provided for the people who were here for
millennia. The 159 years of formal identification as a country is just a blip. We are merely
tenants for a time and we need to recognize and celebrate the home we are privileged to inhabit.
The divisiveness we live in today is manufactured by us; not by Canada. The history of
our people can be debated, assessed, judged, parsed and analyzed. And in many respects it has
been less than exemplary. But that is because of the failings of we humans, not the land. As
people we are free to choose. The land of Canada is stuck with us, and it is up to us to create a
legacy worthy of the land we inhabit. We need to be better; but, do not blame Canada. She is
beautiful beyond us. And that is what I celebrate.
Read more: Guest Column – America
