The peculiar nationalism of Canada

The Week:



In the summer of 2003, in the wake of America's attack on Iraq, many passionate opponents of that war greeted the approach of Independence Day with ambivalence if not outright bitterness. I myself knew plenty of people who verbalized their fantasies about moving to Canada.



In fact, I had one friend who took the idea a step further, and moved Canada here. On July 1, he celebrated what he called "Temporary Canada Day." He decked out his Hudson Valley home in red and white bunting and maple leaf flags, and declared it temporarily part of our northern neighbor. Lastly, he set up a consular office on his front lawn where guests could fill out paperwork for visas or even receive a temporary Canadian passport. Then, once past customs, guests could drink Molsons and play uphill lawn bowling, and relax into their new identity, separated finally from their suddenly terrifying fellow Americans.



Cont....