Live Your Life Be Free!

  A lot of Canadians are American-haters, but I am definitely not that way. My Grandmother was American and my Grandparents met while taking biology degrees at Stanford University. In fact, this summer my geneology-loving uncle who lives in California showed me my Daughters of the American Revolution number, saying that that network was open to me if I wanted. I still have an aunt and uncle in the US, along with some cousins, all of whom I love. There was even a period in my mid-twenties when I could only date Americans, since they just seemed so much more interesting and outspoken and less wishy-washy than Canadian men. So yes, I am definitely not a hater .

I have been working for American companies for most of my career. I have had respect for my colleagues south of the border – for their straightforward manner and their ability to face facts and make tough decisions. They also are not people to be messed with, and any time that I have tried to circumvent that I met with a quick, definitive and sometimes harsh response.

So – I really don’t understand what is going on in the US lately. Here are some of the inexplicable things I see, that are so out of what I think is the norm for Americans:

• Putting up with an unprecedented level of surveillance including phone and e-mail and allowing police to conduct a search without their knowledge, with a warrant obtained from a non-public court.
• Not holding Bush responsible for the problems in Iraq and not somehow harshly punishing him for misleading them by making them believe that Iraq was involved in the 9/11 attacks.
• Not taking Bush to task on his close relationship to special interest groups, including the oil and gas industry and his abuse of signing statements.

It is very confusing for me to see this going on – from the people who are so outspoken and not to be messed with. It is surprising to see this in them being so passive (a trait I have often talked about Canadians having, compared to Americans) in the face of what is going on.

There does seem to finally be some real dissent about the Iraq situation. Retired Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, who was the commander of the coalition forces in Iraq, recently came out saying that the politicians should be held responsible for the lives lost in Iraq.

"Too often, our politicians have been distracted and they have
chosen loyalty to their political parties above loyalty to the
Constitution because of their lust for power," he said.

Congress, he said, has failed its job of oversight.

"Who will demand accountability for the failure of our national
political leadership involved in the management of this war," he said.
"They have unquestionably been derelict in in the performance of their
duty. In my profession, these types of leaders would be immediately
relieved or court-martialed."

Now… that is more like the Americans I know. Let’s hope for more like this.

PS. You can see a great story and some beautiful pictures of my boyfriend Matt’s summer road trip across the US here.