Canada and the United States: friends and neighbours

My dad grew up in a small New Brunswick border town called McAdam.

It was, for generations, a railway town that boasted a magnificent luxurious hotel/CPR Station. Yet its proximity to the U.S. border was also a bonus.

On what Dad called the ‘other side’ was the tiny hamlet of Vanceboro, Maine – also a railway town. The historical links are significant. Many times I crossed the St Croix River to visit the U.S. In those days, if we happened to see a U.S. customs officer who was new, all Dad needed was his driver’s licence.

Times have changed. The 911 tragedy brought those changes. Many of my cousins are U.S. citizens, hence, now we all have passports to attend weddings and funerals.

I have stayed out of the fray, but recent remarks from the current U.S. president have left me with a profound sense of sadness. Regardless of your political affiliation, to have a sitting president of the United States use such disparaging language when speaking of our prime minister is distressing.

Yes, 13 British colonies left and became the United States of America and conflicts ensued. Yes, it is true that during the War of 1812, an attack – that was in part a retaliation for the recent American destruction of Port Dover in Upper Canada – set fire to the city. It is correct that throughout the history of the United States, the burning of Washington also marks the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a foreign power had captured and occupied the United States capital.

Yes, in 1812, the colonists residing in the territory that was to become Canada in 1867, participated in this battle. That was then. This is now.

I now live in beautiful southwest Nova Scotia. Annually, our community welcomes our brothers and sisters from the south into our homes and hearts. Many U.S. citizens are summer residents. They are our family, neighbours and friends, as well as honoured guests. The bonds are generational, strong, built of mutual respect and understanding.

When we are needed, we stand up supportively. The same is true in reverse. Nova Scotians sends a Christmas tree to Boston annually as a token of appreciation for the response to the devastating Halifax Explosion in 1917.

Back to my roots in New Brunswick. Every year the town of St. Stephen co-hosts a weeklong international festival with the neighbouring town of Calais, Maine. Residents of St. Stephen and Calais often regard their communities as one place, co-operating in their fire departments and other projects. As evidence of the longtime friendship between the towns, during the afore noted War of 1812, the British military provided St. Stephen with a large supply of gunpowder for protection against the enemy Americans in Calais, but the town elders gave the gunpowder to Calais for its Fourth of July cele- brations!

As I said, in my youth the towns were, and I understand still are, linked collaboratively and constructively.

My point is that bonds and friendships are built through kindness, experience and familiarity. Our dear ones, citizens of the land south of our border have, in my opinion, a challenging voice; a misguided entity that is so enamored by his own perceptions of his own persona that he is threatening, with his convoluted messaging, the basic tenets of democracy. When the Americans visit or return to our shores, let us remember, we Canadians are generous, polite and caring.

In other words, this too will pass. We must rise above it!