True North

It was a place we imagined as different,
Not a belligerent blunderbuss pushing our weight around,
Not a loud mouth shilling for the greedy,
But a beacon of reason in an otherwise crazy world,
A voice of peace during times of war,
There when needed but stoic in the resolve
That obtaining and maintaining peace was the goal,
Not perpetuating war for profit, protecting absconded assets
Or going along to get along, with mass military murder.
We were Canada, envied and trusted for years as
A country who’s people were full of heart and caring…
Not only for their fellow countrymen but for all those who
Needed our help in this world.
This, my friends, was a dream.
A dream now being dismantled by the same self centered arrogant
Attitude that led to the ill treatment of the indigenous,
The same self centered arrogance that led to Lac Megantic,
To Walkerton, To Mt Polley, to lysteria deaths and to the BC oil spill.
Do we want to be the Canada striving to be good?
Even though we have not had a perfect past?
Or do we want to keep on with this narcissistic,
Self centered, us vs them, profit driven vision of
I, me, and mine?
I prefer the former. Canada is we, not I.
True North, strong and free.