Below is an editorial that will be in the Bellingham Herald tomorrow. I have made no secret of how much I enjoy heading the 15 miles north and beyond, in fact, we just made a scooter trip up last weekend where we made a ton of new freinds from the Greater Vancouver Vespa Riders (the picture in the header above was taken during a group ride at a park near Mission, BC). Between the quirky friendliness of the people and subtle but noticeable cultural differences, the fact that any sentence used in any situation can be correctly finished with “eh”, the beautiful scenery, and the tasty tasty beer, I love that canuckland! As someone who has now spent most of his life close to at least one of the borders, first south, now north, I can feel where this is coming from. So happy Canada day! Pop a half rack for me eh! (Oh and well said Mr. Ayers)
Canada Day important in Whatcom County
(Note: This is my column for the July 1 newspaper. Blog readers get it first.)
Canada celebrates 400 years in existence today and its 141st anniversary of Confederation with the annual Canada Day celebration.
2008 is the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, which Canadian officials now recognize as the beginning of the country. It wasn’t until 1867 until the country became an official separate entity within the British Empire with the passage of the British North America Act.
Why do I tell you this? Because I think it’s important we know and understand the nation just to the north of our community.
In Whatcom County we know we are connected to Canada moreso than most other places in the United States. We see the British Columbia license plates on our roads and parked at our shops and restaurants. We know that the Canadian exchange rate effects how well our local economy performs.
But I would argue the connection is much deeper than economics. It is important that there are so many Canadian companies doing business and employing Whatcom County residents here. But it is equally important that Canadian culture and ways of thinking permeate through our ways of life and our families and our relationships.
Who among us doesn’t know a couple where one person is American and the other Canadian?
Who among us doesn’t have Canadian ex-pats living in our neighborhoods?
Who among us doesn’t have access to Canadian television and radio and other media that make the perspectives we hear different from those of people in Seattle and most other places in the United States.
In many real ways, such as our love for the outdoors, appreciation of environment and willingness to be rained on a lot, we are more like the citizens of British Columbia than we are like people in New York City or Miami. As they are more like us than they are like people in Toronto and Montreal.
So as Canadians celebrate their national heritage today, I say we join them — not as a replacement of our own national celebration coming Friday, but as a way to respect people around us and to learn from everyone who lives in our community. After all, at least part of our local heritage is part to what they celebrate.
