Author: Stephen Taylor

I’d like to wish all visitors to this website a very happy Canada Day. Today marks the unofficial start of the BBQ season and a good time to share some cold beers with friends.

Today, I am pondering what people are celebrating this wonderful day.

Does Canada Day represent the celebration of a “nation” of people, a celebration similar to that held by Quebeckers to fete their own self-identified nation? Certainly many people of Quebec share a common heritage, yet Quebec contains others from a variety of backgrounds. Similarly, Canada cannot be labeled a “nation” of people for the same reason. From the very foundation of this country, this country has been constituents of peoples from a variety nations. Is Canada a nation of nations? Perhaps, but the idea of “nation” is not the appropriate term as Canada is not a “nation” in the conventional sense as known in old-world Europe, or Asia or nations in between.

So, on Canada Day should we be celebrating the state? Certainly, in past years much has been written about Canadian identity and how, for some, our identity is rooted in the state. But do national programs and institutions define Canadians and who we are? Are we citizens of New Brunswick, Canada and the National Heathcare system? Do Canadians swear loyalty to the national childcare allowance? Certainly, Canada should not be defined by national institutions. There must be something more appealing than the cold concept of the state that we celebrate. What is it that fires the spirit of Canadians to celebrate Canada?

I believe that as Canadians, we celebrate our ideals and our values. As Canadians, we should celebrate our beautiful geography that has given us so much, yet is deserving of our respect and proper management. We can celebrate a country that is formed by nation of peoples, yet one that seeks a common and prosperous future. We should celebrate our history which describes sacrifice of our Western settlers, historical figures that challenged a restrictive status quo to uncover liberty for others and we should celebrate those that found to defend Queen, country and freedom from tyranny in a variety of conflicts including two world wars, Korea, Bosnia, and Afghanistan.

On Canada Day we should celebrate our country. We should celebrate this country that seeks to protect, instead of limit, the liberties bestowed upon all people at birth.

To me, perhaps the most striking example of what deserves celebration is our freedom to debate the important questions. I enjoy every opportunity that I have to contribute to the discussion.

Happy Canada Day.

When I was young, like many kids – that would grow up to write blogs I’m sure – I was a fan of the exciting and vivid world of comic books. While I’d spend my afternoons pouring through the occasional Batman or Green Lantern comic, my favourite was perhaps the original comic book icon, Superman. His alter-ego Clark Kent was awkward and generally faded into the background noise whether at work or in his own life. Yet, the closest phone-booth was all it took for the farm kid from Smallville to shed these shackles that held him down and become a genuine hero that embodied qualities that any young kid would aspire to.

I’m Canadian, born and raised. I’ve been aware of the concept of the United States of America perhaps for as long as I have read comic books. Perhaps it was from these illustrated adventures that I learned what I came to understand as the American ideal. The world of comics were a perfect vehicle for storytellers that have taught generations of kids that America represents a force for good in the world. In fact, we learned that truth and justice weren’t only good ideas; comic books, and specifically Superman taught us that these were the American way.

Superman has been referred to as the “All-American hero from the planet Krypton” and some Canadians are aware that one of his creators Joe Shuster hailed from Toronto. Yet, perhaps as Canadian kids, we held special affinity to this “All-American” as one of our own. Indeed, the Man of Steel was a foreign force for good in a land of people that believed in the same.

Shuster and Superman’s other creator Jerry Siegal first penned our hero in June 1938 when America, and indeed the world, were facing an uncertain future dealing with a force that sought to erode liberty around the globe. It is not unreasonable to suggest that Superman was born out of the idealism that Americans (and via Shuster, Canadians) saw in themselves during that dark time.

That is why I report, with mixed feelings, my viewing of the latest movie offering from the people at DC. Superman Returns is certainly a well-executed revival of a movie series that unfortunately spent much time on hiatus. The movie was a touching return of Krypton’s son to both the people of Earth and to his fans, now a little older. There are many historical references for long-time Superman fans including a full-action recreation of the cover of Action Comics #1, the first appearance of our hero in the comics. Perhaps it is fitting for Superman to return to a world that finds itself in another vulnerable time in its history; a time where America faces a war, terrorism and an uncertain future. The world needs Superman when it yearns the type of idealism that America has brought to it in the past.

However, during the movie, Jimmy Olsen and Daily Planet boss Perry White proclaim that Superman represents “Truth, Justice” and, and… it’s lost. It was a subtle omission but for true fans of Superman we could only infer that the screenwriters were editorializing that Truth and Justice were no longer the American way. In fact, “America” as a concept is so strikingly missing from the film that we see nary a flag nor hear a mention of the country. This stands in stark contrast to the original Superman movies in which our hero straightens out the Stars and Stripes on the moon. In 1938 and in the 1980s, America sought to project its image upon the world. In 2006, American filmmakers can barely mutter the nation’s name. For a kid who grew up equating what Superman represented to the idealism of what America represented to the world, it left a pit in my stomach.

In contrast, the Marvel Comics film adaptation of Spiderman saw the web-slinger perched atop a Skyscraper’s flagpole proudly flying the American flag. In one touching scene that was reportedly inserted into the film to replace a final battle scene among the two towers of the World Trade Centre, rowdy New Yorkers pelt the Green Goblin with debris for picking on Spiderman. They are heard to exclaim “you mess with Spidey you mess with New York. You mess with one of us you mess with all of us.”

America has certainly become polarized in its politics and unity in partisanship is hardly a prerequisite for a solid and strong democracy; however, it is a tragedy if the country has stopped believing in itself. Because it is America’s idealism (along with truth and justice) that are its way. While I’m not American, I do believe in the nation’s ideals, yet it saddens me when it appears that the guardians of Superman’s legacy no longer do.

UPDATE: Erik Lundegaard gives us some more information in the June 30th edition of the New York Times (in an article which strikes upon some of the main points that I did here), Ludegaard tells us that the phrase “Truth, Justice and the American Way” actually originated in the 1950s in the television series. It was first uttered by Superman himself in the first “Superman” movie starring Christopher Reeves.

h/t to Cherniak for the NYTimes link and for writing about our common favourite superhero as well!

What do you suppose the motive is behind this?

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Eleven Sunni insurgent groups have offered to halt attacks on the U.S.-led military if the Iraqi government and President Bush set a two-year timetable for withdrawing all foreign troops from the country, insurgent and government officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

In other news, groups known as terrorists are known to manipulate politics using violence against civilians to advance an agenda.

They can’t seriously think that anyone would believe them. Nobody will, right?

This reminds me of the letter that Iran President Ahmadinejad wrote to US President Bush. There were many parallels to various left-wing rants on topics from Israel to Iraq. One should reconfigure their political talking points when they start to line up with those of the enemy.