Hands across the border
On the distance from Paris to Beijing, mutual admiration, and the way we ought to celebrate the days between Canada Day and Independence Day
Every year, the time between Canada Day (July 1st) and Independence Day (July 4th) ought to be celebrated as a cross-border festival of North American harmony. (Mexico, you’re invited, too.) For whatever divisions can be found between Canada and the US, on the cultural and economic levels, at least, they ought to be the narcissism of small differences.
■ It is no undersized triumph that the world’s longest demilitarized border spans about 5,500 miles -- as the crow flies, that’s the distance from Paris to Beijing. In the course of human history, that kind of peaceful coexistence is beyond extraordinary. And it ought to be a model.
■ Not all neighbors start with such a good common framework for mutual understanding, but like all good relationships, the handshake across the boundary requires continued effort and willingness.
■ Despite some of the preposterous and unenlightened things that have been said, the United States doesn’t need Canadian territory, just Canadian friendship. And vice-versa. Economic, political, defense, and cultural ties as close as ours should be a model of mutuality to the world, not a source of anxiety to anyone. Trade should flow almost as freely as the air, enriching all involved and making further proof of Adam Smith’s case that commerce is a terrific door to friendship.
■ But because some people forget or ignore the obvious mutual advantages to the relationship, we ought to make more of a regular public affair of celebrating it. A little bit of difference is quite OK as long as goodwill prevails. Some regular reminders may be necessary.
