Militant Canadians?

During a recent vacation to Canada, my wife and I were struck by the level of patriotism (or whatever connotative term you prefer) our neighbors to the north display. Our route (yes, we drove) took us past Niagra Falls, around Lake Ontario, and through western Toronto on our way to Horseshoe Valley, which lies between Barrie and Orillia.

Crossing the Rainbow Bridge between the U.S. and Canada right at Niagra Falls, one can't help but notice more Canadian flags in Niagra Falls, Ontario, than U.S. flags in Niagra Falls, New York. There are also more U.S. flags in Canada than Canadian flags in the U.S., but that's probably to attract U.S. tourist dollars. Or maybe Canadians just generally like flags more.

Travelling deeper into Ontario, we observed that Canadians seem to display their flag on their homes and businesses roughly as frequently as we 'Americans' do. (I somewhat dislike describing U.S. citizens as "Americans," since, technically, all inhabitants of North and South America can claim that title, although I consider the founding principles of the United States to be far more "American" than the populist socialism of some of our southern neighbors.)

My treetop trekking tour guide--a businessman retraining as a pilot who's having a last 'fun' summer before entering flight school--was generally supportive of the Afghanistan mission and the Canadian efforts there, despite reservations about Iraq. And while on a jog around Horseshoe Valley, I noticed a bumper sticker stating "If You Don't Stand Behind Our Troops, Please Feel Free to Stand in Front of Them." And the truck had Ontario plates and a Canadian flag, so it wasn't a visiting U.S. citizen.

It's worth nothing that my non-U.S. basis for comparison is the time I've spent in Germany (2 weeks in Bavaria, 4 months mostly in Trier) and Austria (3 weeks in Vienna), where the inhabitants are more cautious about nationalism for historical and geographic reasons.

Overall, however, U.S. citizens still seem to express their patriotism more fervently than Canadians. Perhaps there are deeper cultural reasons, but maybe it's simply because of greater U.S. commitments abroad. Or maybe we weren't their long enough or in the right context (we didn't visit Ottawa or watch the Canadian version of C-SPAN).

In any case, it's good to see that love for country does not require excessive entanglements abroad.