The Americans

Anti-American sentiment is a pervasive and ultimately ignoble Canadian cultural tradition. The level of disdain and disrespect “nice” Canadians have for America would likely surprise most Americans. A few years ago I was at Fredericton’s solid waste landfill photographing their colony of American bald eagles. I’ve seen them in zoos all my life but Fredericton’s eagles are the largest and healthiest I’ve ever seen. I was contemplating how tragic it is to behold a revered animal in such an apocalyptic wasteland. That’s when a truck full of Gagetown soldiers pulled up with a box of junk. They were there to dump the belongings left behind by departed American soldiers. (Americans often train up here and return home months later with little more than a deep fondness for donairs.) Amongst the belongings I spotted an American flag and watched as these Canadian soldiers laid it on the rancid ground. They chuckled as they tossed items into the landfill and took turns wiping their feet on the flag. It broke my heart to see members of the Canadian military showing such open hatred and disrespect for the American flag. It may not be fully appreciated by Canadians but the American flag actually means something to Americans. People have died for that flag and cried over that flag for generations. Wolastoqiyik and Mi’kmaw people of this region even fought for that flag and earned themselves the military privileges outlined in the Watertown treaty, America’s first foreign treaty. When you disrespect the American flag, you’re also disrespecting their significant contribution to the founding of America itself. It’s not just a piece of swag, the American flag is a treasured national entity to Americans. I can respect that even if I only retain a historic appreciation for that flag. That day, I asked if I could have the flag. The Canadian soldiers said they didn’t care what I did with it because it was “just garbage”. I took it home and laundered it with care. When I sold my car to an American friend a few years later, I gifted him the flag along with the story. There’s something so sickening, petty and small about the inner dark heart of Canadians who hate America, if Americans only knew.