I am formally a dual citizen therefore, supposedly, today heralds another celebratory event – the so called independence of those united states. In wondrous timely fashion The New Yorker posted a marvelous piece written by Adam Gopnik. Its title grabs your attention : “We Could All Have Been Canadians,” His article began in this fashion:
“Look north to Canada, or south to Australia, and you will see different possibilities of peaceful evolution away from Britain, toward sane and whole, more equitable and less sanguinary countries. No revolution, and slavery might have ended, as it did elsewhere in the British Empire, more peacefully and sooner. No “peculiar institution,” no hideous Civil War and appalling aftermath. Instead, an orderly development of the interior—less violent, and less inclined to celebrate the desperado over the peaceful peasant. We could have ended with a social-democratic commonwealth that stretched from north to south, a near-continent-wide Canada.”
Do you not love that phrase: “A near-continent-wide Canada? Would that not be a pretty sight? I do suppose that this vision is prompted by President Trump. Sometimes a bad example can elevate one onward and upward better than a good example. One says: “I do not want to be like that, I refuse to be,” My mother served that function in my life. I extensively explored that issue in a piece called: “Secret of My Success.” It seemed too private to share but I must reread it and decide again.
The contrast between ‘my two countries” is extreme. The parade of two days ago taking place in my front yard exemplified the polar opposites. The welcoming and the joy of having people from diverse cultures and nations here compared to the vilification of them there. “Her front yard?” you ask. Well yes! A dear man keeps telling me that this is my home. If one were to extend his logic, if this is my home then West Georgia Street is my front yard. So there! So there!
I do so love The New Yorker. I must get back my subscription now that I live in the New World. It is fun to think of living in the New World – it has a much better ring to it than North America. Perhaps I should establish a New World and make myself the Queen of the New World. Perhaps being the Mayor of Vancouver would be the first step or perhaps I should just go for it, go for the Queenshp, I laugh, here on the 19th floor of the Trump International Hotel. I have gone back to blogging in bed rather than in the lobby. I probably think clearer up here. It is at least more peaceful and there is always room service. The breakfasts at this place are superb. Remember California Eggs on my birthday? There are other temptations including scrambled eggs with caviar. People are going to get jealous and there is no worse thing than a jealous woman. I am surrounded by them. The only solution is to walk away from them and not make them part of your life. No good can come from keeping them around.
Adam Gopnik laughs at the practices of the USA. He laughs at the literary community; if you are a writer and want a Pulitzer and a best-seller you must “find a Founding Father and fetishize him.”
He speaks of how the myth talks of men who “transcend their flaws with spirit (though these flaws may include little things like holding other human beings as property, dividing their families, and selling off their children). That is powerful language because it is the truth.
But this is the strongest point that Adam Gopnik makes: “In plain American, is Donald Trump a bug or a feature of the American heritage?”
In my viewpoint it is the strongest because that is what I have been saying for about a year. Wel, obviously not as eloquently as Adam Gopnik and from far away London but that is what i have been saying.
I am bored with writing and want to get on with my day. So goodbye. If you read my blog to cheer yourself up – too bad, so sad. Not funny today.
