#and so every issue every disenfranchised peoples every unjust law is diminished and excused

[shiverandqueeef]

the thing about canadian nationalism is that it exists in a perpetual state of relativity to our perception of american jingoism. their patriotism is loud, aggressive, vulgar. our patriotism is quiet and polite. which of course provides the exact conditions needed for our own brand of chauvinism to fester under the glossy, collective self-delusion so many canadians whole-heartedly and uncritically embrace; that we are the "good ones"

so we mock patriotic americans for their devotion to/celebration of the great myth of the american dream, and all the while we fail to address the lies we tell ourselves about who we are as a country. we have medical care! marriage equality, abortion rights, social support networks, our police don't shoot unarmed people of colour in the streets. a socialist utopia. no don't think about it too hard. don't look into any of the above statements or address any of the structural inequalities we refuse to admit exist. residential schools? a tragedy, of course, but an anomaly. disabled people lose all financial support if they get married? well surely that's for their own good. we once denied entry to autistic immigrants? well that's all in the past, we take them now! and look at all the ukranians we welcomed so lovingly! the syrians? oh well that was a different situation you know, not so cut and dry you see. turn your attention (again. and again) to the amazing work we did in rwanda. I'm so sorry, what's that you're saying? somalia? never heard of it!

it's okay. it's all okay. we're still not as bad as america