Canada Day
I considered flying my old Dominion of Canada flag today, or at least hanging it in the front window. I don’t imagine I will do so, however, if for no other reason than that the baby is asleep and the door — creaky as it is — tends to wake her when opened.
The “I Stand for a Free Iran” banner is still flying on the sidebar, though, and I think that kind of helps put things in context. This could have ended up being a rather melancholy reflection on the sorry state of affairs in Canada at present, as pertains to issues of human rights and freedom of speech. But those issues seem to pale in comparison to what the Iranian people struggle through and suffer under; compared to a rigid Islamic theocracy, the HRCs don’t seem quite so horrible. That’s not to say that they are not still an affront to freedom and a stain on Canada’s image as a champion of human rights — they are that, to be sure. But they aren’t shooting people in the streets either, and that is something to be thankful for.
And in fact, Canada is still a pretty darn great nation to live in. We want for nothing, in a world where most want for even basic needs. We believe as we will (more or less), in a world where many are killed, maimed, or brutally violated for holding disparate beliefs. We can still vote, and our votes still mean something — though the Liberals and the Conservatives may in fact be different sides of the same coin (or the same side of slightly different coins), our vote to put one in power at the expense of the other still in fact means something, enough that it can actually change who is in power. The people of Iran have already demonstrated their willingness to die to have something similar; it will only be a matter of time (I think) before the people of Zimbabwe are willing to kill to have it. And as an added bonus, our government’s top officials don’t believe that the AIDS virus can be prevented by taking a post-coital shower.
We could do a lot better, as I’m sure many freespeecher bloggers are asserting today. Still, when compared to the world as a whole, we could be doing much, much worse. It’s worth fighting to preserve what we have that is good; it’s worth fighting to improve what we have that could be better; it’s worth fighting to prevent us ever having what the rest of the world has to offer which we do not want. And we should never stop encouraging others do do just that.
Have a great Canada Day, good reader, and enjoy your country today in spite of her problems. Remember that while she is not perfect — though what human institution could ever be perfect? — she is still a very good place to live. Remember that we who do live within her borders are fortunate to do so, in spite of the improvements we need to make.
We live in a “fixer upper” house, yes, but we live in a good house. We do not live in a sty.
