The lady in the harbour has a tear in her eye. But it doesn’t matter. She’s old and grey and way out of fashion.
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A few months back, I found myself in Amarillo, Texas in the company of renowned cowboy poet and songwriter Red Steagall, who has always been the best of the culture he sings about.
America is sliding away from Red and the code of the west he holds dear. Like the Statue of Liberty, Steagall is out of fashion.
At its core, the code of the west is a way of living in a harsh world that requires people to depend on each other to survive. Helping your neighbour, being taken at your word, treating people fairly and valuing skill and character over stature and power are fundamental. These are ancient ideas that have little relevance in today’s America.
The code underpinned the character of the greatest generation, which fought a world war and then put shoulder to the load of rebuilding a battered globe. The might of that generation wasn’t measured solely in military hardware. The core strength was optimism and tenacity.
I’ve spent the better part of five decades travelling the roads across middle America. Down ranch roads, I have found friends whose kindness I will never be able to repay. Optimism, tenacity and generosity were hallmarks of ranch life. But that was a different time.
These days, kindness is confused with weakness. After decades of working to make a better world, Americans are weary.
They have been masterful traders, incredible inventors, and powerful builders who have adapted to a changing world and prospered. But all that seems to have been forgotten.
Americans have become protectionist, insular, pessimistic, and, sadly, just plain mean. That mean spirit is reflected in leadership that has traded the audacity required to put a man on the moon for an endless list of gripes and grievances.
American troubadour Hayes Carll wrote a song, Times Like These, during the first reign of Donald Trump that catches the new spirit. Hayes put it this way, “In times like these do I really need a billionaire, just taking all my time telling me I ain’t treating him fair.”
As America retreats from the code of the west, Canada stands at a different crossroads. Peace, order and good government have been put to the test over the last decade. For several years, Canadians have been ready for a better, more focused and more serious government.
Our southern cousins have shone a bright light on Canada’s need to eradicate trans-provincial trade barriers, pay the cost required to end supply management, enact and enforce serious immigration policy, make our tax policy competitive and reduce chronic government overspending. On top of all that, we desperately need to pursue trade agreements with stable nations.
We will get all of that done and more. The best days are ahead for Canada.
I’m not so optimistic about my friend Red and the old cowboy code. I’m just glad I had the opportunity to enjoy the generosity and friendship before things turned mean.
Now, about that lady in the harbour, the one who stands above a plaque that reads:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Well, I heard they are towing her to Guantanamo Bay. She will be more comfortable there.