I climbed onto my roof to watch the fireworks. Not a bad lightshow at all.
But Canada on the other hand . . . well, I feel its one nation that is a bit too full of its own image. This country of wealthy last men, what do we really have to be proud of. We're just a blitz of other nations but don't want to admit it.
Furthermore, what justifies the feeling of pride in a nation at all? It isn't as if the average citizen contributed to the great things the country is proud of. For example, we can take health care. Canadians are proud of it very much, but what is their connection to health care? They just happened to be born into this affluent nation endorsing it, that's all. It's no achievement of theirs, but rather of one Canadian individual a long time ago. On the other hand, Canadian laymen live lives of quiet desperation; we have nothing to distinguish us, but still we act like we were there when the last spike was driven, when the phone was first used, when Canadians criticized Douglas for "forcing" the doctors on strike by trying to do what he was trying to do. The achievement that was railroad, the phone, free medicare did not and does not belong to Canada and its citizens, but rather to the few (in the railroad's case, many) who quietly toiled in obscurity to make it all work.
We have no claim to any of it, or any of Canada's glory.
Well now I've got myself all worked up about this. Sorry for profaning this thread, but let my defense be that for now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring. I'm afraid I won't 'scape a brawl.
Its called Nationalism. Look it up. Its a powerful political force, and strongly based in psychological concepts of territoriality and justification. We are born IN Canada,(or move here), and are part of its territory. To reconcile this, we make justifications of how awesome Canada is, which gives us reassurance that our territory is not senseless.
Just go back to your bridge. I'm tired of your trolling Zampano. People can feel how they want so long as it harms no one. Whether it makes logical sense or not.
I guess I should start by apologizing for being a consistent bother to you.
And second, I understand that I shouldn't be complaining during a celebration.
I'm sorry for both of these.
@Zampano: You're right, in a way. The accomplishments of these other people are of course not my own, and yet I feel proud of them. Perhaps this is unjustified, but I don't think so.
I'm not proud because I think I was a leader or a great individual helping to accomplish these great feats that I'm proud of.
I'm proud because I'm a member in a successful group (country) which is known for possessing (many of) the same virtues that I consider important: freedom, equality, human rights, and so forth. I'm proud of my country for being progressive, successful, and widely-recognised for being generally a pretty great place.
That said, Canada isn't perfect, and there's a lot I'd like to see improved. I'm not so proud of our approach to improving those things, and I'm not at all proud of this tendency to throw away our fantastic social programs to make a budget balance (schools, healthcare...both took beatings in the name of budget).
You can understand how your statements could be seen as trolling Zampano. But I think DemonWasp explained it quite well. We're proud FOR other people. We're proud for what Canada stands for, and for what Canada achieves. This is a good thing. Canada plays a good role on the international stage, and is quite highly respected around the world. I think those are things to be proud of Zampano. If you're not proud, oh well. Don't be proud. No skin off my back.
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