Proud to be...

View from the Strip

By Casey Lessard

I’m not a sports fanatic, so I think it was a surprise to Anjhela to see how excited I get watching the Olympics. I have to admit that I get a little carried away when a Canadian is competing, and perhaps talk too much during the process. I act like I can predict who’s going to win and too often I’m proven wrong when someone crashes or another person comes from behind to take gold.

But I think even she would admit she gets a thrill from the process, especially if a Canadian is involved. What is it about cheering for someone we don’t know, someone who we may never meet, and someone who is apparently representing us as a fellow Canadian? Where does national pride come from? For that matter, where does community pride come from? Why can’t we be happy for someone from another country, even at the cost of our fellow Canadians?

It comes down to national pride, a separation of shared values between us and them, the Canadians and the Americans, the Western world and the Eastern world, democratic nations and Communist nations. As slam poet Shane Koyczan told us in the opening ceremonies, “Some say what defines us is something as simple as please and thank you.” The cheers erupted when he said that we say zed instead of zee. These things are so simple and, dare I say, trivial. But apparently it makes us Canadian. And we’re proud of that.

But to be Canadian now is to be multicultural. Our families and communities are merging culturally, and someday we’ll all be a big mix of north, south, east and west. To be Canadian is to be un-Canadian. That’s what truly defines us.

Perhaps that’s what is attractive about Canada. You don’t have to be from here to know what Canada is about. Canada is, in theory, the every state. It’s not, of course, but we wish it were so. Our dream is for everyone to want to be Canadian, to like us.

Whether that will ever be reality, I don’t know. It is, after all, a dream. And for a few weeks this February, our dream is our job. We have to pretend we’re the greatest, the most interesting and attractive. Sometimes that requires being humble and accepting defeat, and other times rejoicing in our victories.

If that’s the dream, I accept it. If we can accomplish that, I’m in. And I think no matter what country you live in, it’s a dream everyone wishes could come true.