Patriotism or Mid-Life Crisis -Either Way It's Not Pretty

Why I choose to blog when my parents are in town, I do not know. Perhaps it's their re-instated Canadianess that surrounds me here in the US. Needless to say I spent this July 1st at work and July 4th watching a 'Fireworks Spectacular' on the Charles. Yes, I celebrated Independence this year surrounded by the parental units - tons o' fun. :-)

But, of course, for the occasion in Canada it had to be celebrated with yet another "OMG We are Awesome!" cover story from Maclean's. This year the magazine proclaims Canad to be Simply the Best. The article goes on to highlight how Canadians have the best possible lives compared with many others in the world - in terms of infant mortality rates, yearly individual incomes, life expectancy, and so on.

And yet, isn't this a story we've heard before. To be honest, isn't this a story we hear every year at this time? And can't you smell the desperateness in the article? It's the same desperateness we hear every year at this time. The (and let's be honest) "Look Canadians - We ARE as Good as Americans!" Look Canada we are good, not THE best (doesn't anyone at the magazine read Coyne's copy before it's printed).

AND, Do Canadians really need to hear this yet again? And, more importantly, if we do need to hear it - why? Don't we just believe it by now? What, in fact, does this article say about us if it is something we need to hear year after year?

So where has Canada's self esteem gone, long, long time ago? Here is my theory - Canada is going through a mid-life crisis of sorts. I mean think about it - we are 147 years in to this experiment in nationhood. By modern democratic standards, that's about the halfway point.

We also have many of the symptoms. Here is how Wikipedia defines a mid-life crisis:
" ...describe[s] a period of dramatic self-doubt that is felt by some individuals in the 'middle years' of life, as a result of sensing the passing of youth and the imminence of old age."

See isn't that the problem - we are absolutely terrified of being passe? We're not the new kids on the block. We don't create global crises. We have the general reputation of being boring - proof positive of which is the election of Steven Harper, perhaps the most boring leader in the Western World.

Now, lemme tell you 'bout the Americans. Yes, they think they live in the 'best country in the world' - this is true. And how, you may ask, do they manage to keep up this ideal in light of yearly Maclean's covers extolling the virtues of the Canadian state? Well most importantly they don't worry about what everyone else thinks. Seriously. To me it is a complete benefit not to have to worry about what everyone else thinks of you. Because if you're not obsessed with worrying about being the best, you are relatively free to create your own course of what the best entails. The US's huge advantage is its willingness to move forward with little consideration for what is happening on the sidelines or at the back of the pack.

Now this does create more than a little bravado, but also results. Honestly if when I make the argument about Canadians' lack of ingenuity in technology, I hear someone whine "well what about RIM?" Yeah, yeah OK RIM - congratulations for recognizing the one exception. That is one to America's like 1 million instances.

So Canada, I encourage you, deal with your mid-life crisis. The good news is that these sort of crises can lead to...Change. Yep, the willingness to change can often refocus the individual and move them out of their crises.

So Canada let's change. Now.