Greg Piper is encouraged at Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin’s recent magnanimous attitude toward Bush and the United States, as am I. It’s always been a sore point with me that other nations and their citizens demand the USians pay proper respect to their country, be nice, diplomatic, et al, condemn us for our perceived rudeness and un-diplomacy, but so easily forget that they should hold themselves to the same standards, of which, very few actually do.
It makes for a world that is uncomfortable, like a family reunion where crazy Uncle Mort blurts out something about his dalliances with a hooker in Saigon back in ’69, and how it made him sterile and warty, and everyone kind of pauses, like they’re realizing for the first time that they lack a belly button, and then someone laughs nervously, clears their throat, and says something about having to collect the napkin rings so the dog doesn’t chew them.
Or, maybe not quite like that, but similar.
Here’s Piper:

I’d like to think that Martin can persuade all those Canadians who dismiss the vast swath of America as “Jesusland” to tolerate and even respect their neighbors to the south. But it’s a tall order.

As a long admirer of Canada, and as a one-time Canadian impersonator, I respect Canada’s ability to right itself from its French baggage overload, resume a steady course as America Jr., and hopefully figure out what’s wrong with their current civil rights policies. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later.