The Canadian Looks at the American

“Nice, nice, very nice;

Nice, nice, very nice;

Nice, nice, very nice –

So many different people

In the same device.” –

“Cat’s Cradle” (Kurt Vonnegut)

Hello,

Well, here we are with one more new – or not so new – president down below, and a soon-to-be announced prime minister up here. We observe you more than you observe us, but I think this may change. I did not want this letter to be locked into our present age (it would be better if I could write something that some curious reader in the future to read and enjoy), but certain facts must be included here: there is now a trade war between our two nations that may drive up prices on both sides of our friendly border (and we are keeping our dollars at home); one PM resigned, replaced by a man who saved us with his work running national banks both here and abroad. And we are stare and look at your twists and turns with concern.

There has been a lot of talk about the differences between our nations, not enough talk about what we share: the friendly border mentioned earlier; a main language (yes, even in Quebec); certain sports and hobbies, etc. And I still find that this may be the most important point to share: we are not going anywhere and have to face up to certain facts about who we are.

Am I still optimistic enough to believe that we can be united (if not politically, at least in spirit)? Perhaps I am. My belief is based on our history and histories, and the fact that we really do have no choice. Our bonds are strong and refuse to be ignored.

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Now, about that title…

This was taken as a tribute to an essay written by James Baldwin, one of your finest writers. In his essay collection entitled, “Nobody Knows My Name”, there is a reprint of an article entitled “The Black Boy Looks at the White Boy”. It actually concludes the book, and it was one that is too perfect to ignore as I decided to write my own essay. In this 1961 piece for Esquire magazine, Baldwin studies and analyzes his relationship with another American writer, Norman Mailer, author of the same essays on American life that made both men famous. The article caught my attention at a time when I was just beginning to read and consider the messages of both writers, and I am grateful for that line as inspiration for my own work.

It was not only the title that proved to be useful. To my great surprise when I reread it years later, Baldwin’s relationship to a fellow writer attempting to understand his place in the nation and the world had many similarities to our own relationship with your nation. There is a mutual respect and understanding of the other’s role and responsibilities, even if it is not always clear what the other side would like to achieve. There are parallels of the experience of history and life. And there is a sense of equality between them (race and culture are tied together, with Baldwin’s African American heritage providing an interesting contrast to Mailer’s Jewish American experience). No matter how determined certain outside forces seemed to be to divide them, they managed to see themselves in the other.

It was not always a pleasant view in that mirror. Interest often ran only in one direction (guess who looks closer at whom when they bothered to look at all). The louder and more demonstrative Mailer often shocks the less confident Baldwin with his pronouncements, behaviour and criticisms. “No one is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart,” Baldwin writes, and this explains why his friendship with Mailer was always going to be difficult. He also writes that white men “believe the world is theirs,” while black men make themselves up as they go along. It is all about the roles they are either forced to take or have chosen for themselves. Surprisingly, their friendship remained intact, even as they maintained a respectful distance from each other as they wrote and reviewed the other’s work. They had no choice but to share that orbit and see what came next.

Now, does any of this remind you of another relationship?

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This is right time to say that we do not hate you… at least, not all of you. We have a relationship that is too deep and too long to end because one particular leader is much more interested in playing the game just for himself instead of the entire team. On our side, we are trying to decide on a new leader and a new way forward with our economy, education, environment and political life. And it seems as though many of you understand how we feel. I watch many online videos where Americans are exposed to other cultures and realize that the world does not revolve around them; it can actually evolve without them.

This must be very hard for you. It does explain many things about your nation that many countries around the world simply do not understand. You often seem to vote against your own self-interests; you have opinions about privacy and rights that openly contradict the basic tenets of your laws and constitution; you apply your own reasoning to situations and places where wiser voices with more experience should be heard.

I know that you are a young nation, and that you have also been quite successful in many ways. You have not had a history of empires rising and falling. You have faced attack, but not a grand invasion that threatened your very being. You have made mistakes and had great losses that have affected your sense of nationhood.

There is still hope.

Perhaps there should be more moments where we do take a closer look at each other and understand that it is often not just a stranger’s face when we look in that mirror.

“Our problem right now is that we're so specialized that if the lights go out, there are a huge number of people who are not going to know what to do. But within every dystopia there's a little utopia.”

-Margaret Atwood

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Thank you for reading!

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You can find more poems, stories, and articles by Kendall Defoe on my Vocal profile. I complain, argue, provoke and create...just like everybody else.

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