Celebrations muted in age of COVID-19
Our two national holidays came and went without a whimper or a bang.
On Canada Day, there were no fireworks or parades, no crowds or giant birthday cakes on Parliament Hill — since blowing out its candles could reinfect all of Ottawa.
Even singing O Canada together is now as dangerous a national activity as … well, joining a choir.
I spent the day biking around downtown, Westmount and the Plateau and didn’t spot a single Maple Leaf (except on trees). The only sign that it was July 1 were some moving day trucks, where people carried fridges instead of flags.
The only soul-searching national questions of the day were:
a) How do you and your friends move a heavy four-foot freezer, while keeping six feet apart?
b) If you invite a batch of pals over to help move, is that considered an illegal indoor gathering?
Things were similar during Quebec’s Fête nationale a week earlier. I prowled Mont-royal Ave.’s lively new pedestrian zone, filled with people celebrating our open outdoor cafés, at last.
But I saw only one person with a small Quebec flag on a street traditionally festooned with them on June 24. Several francophone newspaper columnists noted the absence of flags.
One Journal de Montréal columnist wryly noted that in 1970 the slogan was: “maîtres chez nous!” But in 2020, it’s “deux mètres entre nous.”
In reality, the emotionalism of COVID -19 simply overwhelmed nationalism on both our invisible national holidays. How many sovereignists had any leftover energy to get upset at occasional English graffiti when we’re plagued by one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
How many anglos have any remaining psychological space to fume over English school board battles, when they’re sweating through a mask each time they enter an elevator?
A national flag is as useful as a lucky rabbit’s foot in times like these.
To be honest, it was hard to feel much patriotic Canadian nationalism this July 1, given our COVID -19 performance.
Yes, we did better fighting the virus than laggards like England, Italy and the U.S., but with more than 8,500 deaths we were shamed by countries like Australia, Japan and Norway, all with under 1,000. More than 80 per cent of Canada’s deaths were in seniors’ residences, among the worst rates in the world.
Then again, on the positive side, our country has shown a tremendous sense of unity and community during COVID -19. Our normally squabbling premiers became best buds and co-operated instead of competing for federal funds.
Ontario’s hapless Doug Ford found his inner statesman. Premier François Legault proved a passionate Canadian partner who worked well with Trudeau and the provinces and never tried to exploit the situation.
He reflected Quebecers’ feelings. In a recent Léger poll, a remarkable 80 per cent of Quebecers said they feel proud to be Canadian, among the highest rates ever recorded.
Frankly, most of the pride we felt came largely from NOT being American. We made some early bad mistakes during COVID-19, but our southern neighbour has been utterly dysfunctional.
Unlike Americans, we did not turn masks into a political resistance symbol, as if they were a secret Obama flag. We didn’t see social distancing as a communist plot devised by Kim Jong Un or demand the constitutional right to self-infect.
Our leaders all chose science over politics. They routinely wore masks to set an example, unlike Trump and company who suggested masks were for sissies.
The U.S. tragedy is that 80 per cent of Americans intelligently tell pollsters they support wearing masks indoors. They believe in science like us, but their government spent so much time ignoring scientists you’d think it was part of a PRO-COVID-19 conspiracy.
That’s why the EU has just barred Americans from visiting Europe. Canada didn’t get a seat on the United Nations’ seven-seat security council, but we did get onto the EU list of 15 countries now allowed to visit Europe. I don’t think many of us will be flying in a hurry, but it’s nice to know we’re healthy enough to be wanted.
To stay healthy we’ve also kept our own borders shut, including to our U.S. neighbour. I’d prefer it stay that way until America gets its COVID -19 act together — hopefully soon, not just if and when Joe Biden becomes president.
Trump has long obsessed about building a wall to keep out the world, but as America marks its own national day, the world has walled off America.
Happy July 4 to them, but many U.S. officials are advising Americans to mark the holiday alone and safely at home. Instead of celebrating our national days, I think we’re all waiting to celebrate COVID -19-Free Day.
Until then fellow Canadians, let’s raise our face masks instead of our flags — and quietly whisper our new national anthem:
“O Canada, our home and ailing land,
where patriots wear gloves and triple-wash our hands.
With fearful hearts we see thee rise, COVID emergency
So wear your masks O Canada and keep pandemic-free.
O Canada, we wash our ha-a-aands for thee!” joshfreed49@gmail.com