Nightmare Vision Of North America

I could dwell on the difficulty of anyone's improving relations with a man of Mr. Bush's remarkably unpleasant character. After all, Canada has produced no more affable or charming politician than former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and Mr. Chrétien it seems could not entirely disguise a sense of repulsion at the American commander in chief. I am sure he did not greatly miss his cancelled invitation to share charred cow, root beer, and sermons from the Book of Revelations down in Crawford, Texas. Of course, no matter how unpleasant the current president is, Canada must have a decent relationship with America. Geography dictates this, but so does Canada's basic national character. Canada does not make enemies, which is why so many Americans travelling in Europe and other places wear maple leaf patches or pins on their backpacks or lapels. Criticism of Manley's scheme is possible on many levels, but my chief criticism is that the authors simply do not understand that no country can make a binding deal of this nature with the United States. It is simply impossible. Yes, America's government might well sign an agreement, but the agreement would shortly prove worthless, except those portions of it with visceral appeal to Americans. This conclusion comes neither from prejudice nor mordant humor but from having lived half my life in each country and being a serious student of history. The point of the scheme is to avoid the massive back-ups in trade and travel that occurred in the aftermath of 9/11 by creating what would be effectively a single border for the countries of North America. Canada and Mexico would give up their independent decision-making regarding circumstances of entry, including for refugees, an area of international affairs where Canada in past decades has been far more generous and humane than the United States. There is even provision for educational efforts to promote a sense of North American identity. Full article: http://scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0503/S00184.htm [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on March 23, 2005]