Our Resentful Little Brother

September 29, 2002

by Brian W. Peterson

Little brother doesn’t like to be ignored. Pay attention to him or take him to a ballgame and he’ll be content. Don’t pay attention to him or beat him at a video game and he’ll whine incessantly.

The relationship between Canada and the United States is like that of an older brother and a little brother who knows he will always live in the shadow of his big brother. Big brother is muscular, good-looking, and loaded with cash. He’s independent and inventive.

Little brother is not a bad guy by any means. But he is skinny, short, and not nearly as popular or important amongst his friends. He has a lot of talents and other positive attributes, but he’s dwarfed by the aura of big brother. Little brother has an esteem problem.

Having known many Canadians over the years, I have found our northern neighbors to harbor affection and admiration toward our country. During two trips to western Canada, my experiences have been nothing but positive. Yet politically, the collective relationship between our countries features tension just below the surface.

Like the US, Canada has its own inner turmoil: English speakers versus French speakers; western Canadians versus eastern Canadians; everyone versus Toronto. Some of the turmoil is innocuous, such as the disdain for Toronto. Some of the turmoil is potentially explosive, such as the multilingual tensions that have nearly torn apart the country.

Canada is our friend, yet- playing the part of little brother- it is resentful. They resent our collective wealth and all the trappings that make us a superpower. Like the little brother, they love us and resent us at the same time.

Before any of our northern friends find the little brother/big brother analysis to be nothing but typical American arrogance, I will point out to the reader that a friend- a Canadian- spelled out this "brothers" analogy to me.

Canada benefits from our military strength by not having to protect its borders from invasion. No one doubts that we would rush to their defense if the need arose. Being close to big brother has its advantages.

Because of the close relationship, many of us in the States find it appalling when people such as Prime Minister Jean Chrétien fault US policy for attacks waged by terrorists. Funny that Chrétien and other critics (including Americans) divine Osama bin Laden’s intentions far beyond what the Saudi himself gave as "reasons" for slaughtering 3,000 of our people.

Criticizing the US serves Chrétien well. He and his Liberal Party are well to the left of the political spectrum. His moral relativism, so prevalent on the left, plays to his base. Besides, how is the US going to retaliate? We’re not going to move.

Many in the American media have stated that, so far, our most loyal ally since September 11 has been Great Britain. Not only is this observation accurate, it is unfortunate that Canada cannot be mentioned in the same breath. Despite Canada’s socialist leanings, we have a lot in common and we have a great future before us.

But now is not the time to test that relationship. Just as the decision by some American politicians to play politics with our war against terrorism is harmful, so is the same decision by Chrétien and other world leaders harmful. Now is not the time for moral and intellectual vacuity on the part of our allies. Now is not the time for our friends to lose their backbone. We need resolve to stream from allied capitals, not moral relativism and leftist theories of why evil people are not responsible for their actions.

Little brother needed some attention and he got it. Now its time for little brother to remember all of the benefits of standing in the big shadow of big brother.

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Brian W. Peterson writes a political column for the Antelope Valley Press (circulation approximately 60,000) in Palmdale, California. He is a graduate of Oral Roberts University, where he majored in TV/Film. Brian’s weekly commentary and newspaper columns can be found at www.LifeAndLiberty.com.

Send the author an E mail at Peterson@ConservativeTruth.org.

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