I recently moved from Wisconsin, located in the United States of Volatility, to Nova Scotia, Canada. In order to do so, I had to close our three small businesses in quick order and leave everyone and everything I have ever known behind, while making a cross-country trek with three large dogs, two cats and very little room for belongings.
I had to close a retail store that was being threatened with tariffs, a herb and flower farm and an architecture firm my husband and I ran together as partners. My six adult children and our aging parents also had very little time to wrap their heads around our departure as it came with very little warning.
What caused our departure was watching the erosion of a societal moral compass and reaching our capacity for tolerating dissonance on every level. We are boycotting not just with our sacrificial businesses and mindful purchases, but with our time, talent and livelihoods.
Divisions that run deeper than politics
The United States of America is anything but united right now. That division goes far deeper than politics, although I should probably clarify what I am against in that realm. I am deeply and irrevocably against any person or group of persons, entrusted with a position of leadership, who then utilizes that position to manipulate public systems for personal gain. Anyone who does that has clearly forgotten their purpose as well as their responsibilities to their position and the people they are leading.
The loss of moral integrity and the questionable ethics in how we do business as Americans I have felt at first-hand while running multiple small businesses. It was experienced in the expectation that work be done, but payment for said work? Well, that may come eventually or not at all.
I watched contractors and developers start frivolous lawsuits in an attempt to compensate for their financial shortcomings and mismanagement, all while blaming others. I witnessed entitlement in the increased number of retail theft incidents and customer demands for discounts that would jeopardize the health of any small business.
I suffered this after 9 months of carefully growing herbs, putting in far more investment than I would ever be able to charge for as a farmer and then delivering pounds of herbs to a business who received their products on time and in great condition only to leave a mere $22 invoice unpaid, despite clearly having the wherewithal to pay it.
Sadly incidents like these became the norm, not the exception and they started to define my view of community. Over a relatively short period of time, I watched good people become distrustful or jaded. The political division starts at our federal government, seeps into our states and has infested the dinner table of every home. What some have invited to the highest level of leadership is now the example set for our communities and our children.
Canada united in response to tariffs
What does it even mean to be American? How can a country stand together when it can not even agree to what it stands for? Canadians, on the other hand, know exactly what they stand for and I was visiting here when potential tariffs were first announced and watched Canada band together at a pace that would make your head snap.
Formerly working in community development, I spent an enormous amount of marketing on trying to convince people to shop local. I witnessed Canadians needing no explanation of the task at hand and making sacrifices on their favorite wines from California or Florida orange juice effective immediately and without hesitation.
Labels identifying Canadian products went up overnight and there was this innate understanding of the values at play. There was simply no explanation needed to help each other because it is who Canada is as a country and culture.
What was complex is that up until this point, Canada never hesitated to help their U.S. neighbors. But together we were learning what happens when your friend becomes not so friendly and when the very systems put in place to help you suddenly begin to hurt. Yet even in the midst of misconduct, Canada was responding with grace and not completely ejecting the entire U.S. from the game.
Moral integrity, responsibility and kindness
I guess I’ve been “Canadian” since 1997, or at least that is when my adoration began when I went to live in Ireland for a summer where I met people from all over the world, including people from different parts of the U.S. I met several Canadians and they were predictably kind with absolute consistency. Both because of my accent and because I found certain stereotypes as they applied to me to be an unfounded barrier, it became easier to just say I was from Canada.
I admire the Canadian culture in its absolute commitment to personal accountability, care for all things, dedication to our environment and sense of responsibility. The moral integrity of the country speaks for itself no matter where a Canadian may travel or in what capacity they are serving.
A genuine melting pot
Where are you from? It seems like such a basic question until you find yourself in the middle of redefining home and therefore, redefining yourself. It is a deeply personal process to look for a sense of belonging, signs of integration, comfort and safety when home as you once knew it shifts below your feet. To leave a country and take up residence in a new one, even if briefly, is in every sense of the word foreign. Especially if trust has been broken by the very government that was meant to represent and care for you.
Nova Scotia is a genuine melting pot, while showing signs of people also honoring and celebrating their heritage. I meet people daily that have found their home here but are originally from many places all over the world. These people are running restaurants, sharing food from their cultures, flying the flags of their home countries on their home and honoring their religions in safe and accepting spaces. I watched the police kindly escort protests instead of handcuffing participants here.
Home away from home
I may have been born American and be forever considered from away, but I cannot imagine another place where I will ever feel more at home than I do here in Canada. I have rights as a woman again, the air I breathe revives me and the grass is literally greener over here. I take not one second of my time here for granted and deeply respect the culture I have entered because here I know that even a complete stranger will have my back without even giving it a second thought.
Every single person I encounter with consistency opens the door for me and invites me in. I have proudly found myself in a place of alignment and redefined home here in Nova Scotia. I plan to repay the unsolicited kindness I have received with everything I have, in any way I can possibly contribute to society here because I care deeply and miss the value system that used to be mine in the U.S. before its erosion was in full motion.
Elbows up indeed!
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER
HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!
