Canada must go along, to get along

America started out as a nation, but became an empire. U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt’s famous 1911 maxim, “walk softly and carry a big stick,” has mirrored America’s foreign policy ever since. Technically, America peaked, as the sole superpower between the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and 9/11 attack in 2001.

And since then, the normal organic-development of empire has been accelerated by the global digital revolution that shrunk decades worth of evolution into years, which gave rise to new peer-competitors.

Both Xi’s China and Putin’s Russia appearance upon the global scene has historical significant to American empire.

Today, in this multi-poplar world, size still matters, but so does getting along.

Canada is not a superpower, history and geography has destined Canada to be a middle-power, as Deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland points out, Canada is a policy-taker, not a policy-maker.

We must work within the established Western hegemonic system, the best we can.

Being a middle power, sometimes, Canada must go along, to get along, like in any family.

Being next-door to the world’s economic and military colossus, has preordained Canada’s future to be part of the American Experience.

We share the continent and many of the same values together.

It is integral to Canada’s well being that we get on well with America.

The most sensible course for Canada is to remain a reliable friend and partner, not only able to support, but also speak up when they’re wrong, Canada is an honest-broker, but nobody’s fool whose main interest is a peaceful, fair-world order.

These are worthy and valuable national traits to aspire to – that both friend and foe notice.

However, Canada has some inward reflection yet to do, to reconcile the dark shameful parts of our own history.

But, at a cursory-glance, Canada still offers the global-community a worthy example of a well-functioning liberal-democracy, just as modern, but more nuanced than our much bigger southern neighbour, in the unenviable position, under a sword of Damocles.