Saving Canada

“We live in the best country in the world.” This surely is the most common observation by folks who have travelled or spent time outside of this country. Perhaps you’ve even said it yourself. Whether folks venture into the desperate poverty of Delhi or the relative opulence of Palm Beach, when we return home we can’t help but to exclaim our newfound appreciation for Canada and the way of life we, over time or without any context to contrast against, take for granted.

It is not just because we are used to our country—it is because things work better here. Roads, bridges, sewers, airports, courts, police, looking out for our fellow man. We get to choose our government in Canada.And when we lose faith in this group of folks, we come together and replace them. It isn’t perfect, but once we’ve travelled outside Canada we soon realize it is likely as close to perfect as it gets on this planet.

It doesn’t have to stay this way. In fact the odds are likely stacked against us remaining the best country in the world. Nothing in the universe stands still. From small buds, flowers bloom and soon wilt and fade—so too will the tranquility and balance we enjoy in this country.

We don’t think this way however. More likely we believe we’ve arrived at the end of journey—that this country and all we enjoy is the product of an enlightened people and a track record of mostly good and right choices. Soon all nations, we tell ourselves, will see and understand what we have in this country and copy it.

But this ignores our natural tendencies. After a few decades of peace and prosperity we humans become comfortable. We grow complacent and less diligent. Principles we once fought and died for, now slip out of our hands. Ideas no longer give us comfort and purpose— only the things we can hold in our hands, amuse ourselves or put in our stomachs.

We forget we have duties to our shared public institutions and governments. With full bellies and distracted by the day’s popular culture, we tell ourselves it isn’t our job.We justify our neglect by leaning on clichés: governments don’t listen; my vote won’t make a difference; I don’t know the issues.

A few elections go by and indifference becomes a habit—headlines of government corruption or mismanagement merely confirm loosely held suspicions. Soon our shared societal structures become the domain of a powerful few. Once we have forfeited this stake in our own governance, we don’t get it back without a fight. So we let go altogether.

My government isn’t about me, we tell ourselves; it doesn’t talk to me. I am my own state. I will look after myself. You look after yourself. Bit by bit the foundation crumbles.

We tell ourselves it won’t happen here— that we will do something when the signals are clearly pointing to decline. But that isn’t how it works. By the time the cracks appear, the damage is likely irreversible. We will have lost the means and the desire to fight for the country we once knew.

Decline of this order doesn’t happen in a day, a year or a decade. Perhaps most of us will live out the rest of our lives enjoying Canada as the best the world has to offer. But what about after that? What obligation do we have to our children and grandchildren to leave a country at least as good as the one we found?

Ralph Margetson writes today of Canadians liberating Holland from an “iron hand” more than 60 years ago. He witnessed firsthand the cost his generation paid for the ideals that underpin our lives today. A cost paid with the lives of young men and heartbroken families.

Our duty, by contrast, costs far less. Our job is simply to participate. Pay attention. Read. Reflect. And vote. Are you up for it?

rick@wellingtontimes.ca