Here I go again!! Am I as a Canadian becoming a touch morally smug!

Last Tuesday I made a short talk about the question whether we (as Canadians) were becoming somewhat morally smug about our attitudes to the people of the United States of America (USA) because of any dislike we might harbour for their duly elected president. I wasn’t really planning a long conversation on this topic; rather, I was simply suggesting that refusing to travel to a country or given blanket condemnation to a population because we are at odds with the political leadership has some uneasy implications.

Nevertheless my thoughts did arouse some fairly strong and directed comments towards me, primarily suggesting that I should look in the mirror if I wanted to see smugness. As I am a dyed-in-the-wool Canadian, the question that I originally posed certainly did include me. Moreover, I am sure that many could provide examples of my attitudes or commentaries that would give them grounds to assert that indeed, I am smug. Unfortunately I can neither deny or support such assertions because I cannot re-take the D.I.T. and have it scored to see if I do have that tendency [A graduate student of mine at University of Saint Paul actually did a Master’s Thesis that did show in some cases, individuals reasoning at Stage Five can demonstrate a form of moral smugness]. When I was assessed that didn’t show, but then again, it was something that we were looking for (as it was a long time ago).. The reason I cannot re-take the assessment is simple: I have used it so often over the past forty-five years that I could not do so objectively. But I fear we are digressing…

Whether or not I am smug, doesn’t take away from the concern I have around the arguments I am given by people against the American populace. If a person doesn’t wish to travel south of the border, I have no problem with that – make it an economic statement, or even a personal preference. But please be careful about making the reason a virulent dislike for the country’s leader and all that he is doing to Canada. First & foremost, he didn’t start this Buy American movement. No, it actually started with President Obama. How do I know this? Well, my son-in-law was recruited by childhood friends who owned a company in Edmonton called Silent Aire, and they had several big American clients – because of Obama’s policies of America First, the company was told it needed to have an American plant. So twelve years ago, the above noted son-in-law was tasked with setting up such an operation (which he did to a highly successful degree, I might add). Eventually the company’s USA facility in the Greater Phoenix area drew attention of other USA companies and it was bought out.

Before that all happened, my daughter & her husband became American citizens: my daughter as she wanted to have a secure position as a school teacher, my son-in-law because he was becoming a young executive of some credibility and wished to continue to work in his field in the USA – besides their three children all were born in the USA and are American citizens. Did any of this make them bad people? Not to my knowledge and while I wish that Obama had not been so anti-Canadian, he was duly elected and obviously that policy was politically popular. It was continued by both his successors, each one ramping it up somewhat until now we have a full-blown trade war. If everyone in our leadership circles had not been so smug, they would have seen it coming a dozen years ago and begun to re-direct at least some of our trading patterns.

So maybe I am smug to think that some Americans are really nice people. More importantly, perhaps it is smugness to really defend the rights of my daughter and her family to be American and live in the USA. And, as a sidebar, perhaps my maintaining professional credentials by continuing to attend the AGM’s & Conferences of the various Ethics Associations/Societies to which I belong, is an obtuse sign of moral smugness. In any event I still believe that we ought not to judge others simply because of their elected leadership – I don’t think less of people in Québec or Ontario or even the lower mainland of BC who predominately elect characters that I sometimes find vehemently objectionable. And there are many wonderful Albertans who belie the nature of the province if one only judged them by their premier.

Maybe the best way to conclude this conversation is to harken to the words of the Golden Rule (which, by the way, is in a variety of words the same in at least twelve of the world religions): Do unto others as you would have them do to you OR as the Jewish faith puts it – don’t do anything that you wouldn’t want done to you! Insert the word SAY for the word DO and hear for yourself what I am saying. If that is being smug, then I accept the castigation!!

In reflection,
g.w.