The Americans are coming! The Americans are coming!

Canadians in this part of the country are pretty clear on it: the U.S. and Canada were once at war! Many seem convinced that American imperialists had their eyes on the northern shores of the Great Lakes and the rich farmlands to the west.

I never considered the idea that there might be a few Canadian heroes who are remembered for having helped defend their land from the invading Americans. But that’s a part of local history.

Technically, the War of 1812 was between the U.S. and the England. But as an English colony, Canada was part of England and thereby fair game for our attacks and a springboard for invasions into the States.

Despite the fact the blood was shed, there don’t seem to be a lot of hard feelings about the events. Like the folks I met in the Prairie Provinces, eastern Canadians seem friendly and neighborly toward Americans.

The U.S. vs Canada epiphany came during a visit to an historic printshop near here – at Niagara on the Lake. I saw a 200-year-old wooden press that had been burned in a fire set on Canadian soil by American troops.

Two university students hung out well beyond the call of duty and rapped with me about history – which is both of their majors. It was great fun for me and they seemed to enjoy our time together, as well.

I’m meeting seniors on this trip at a ratio of about 20-to-1 as compared with younger people – this because there is a large supply available at meal times and approaching them is easy; but I’m enjoying my less frequent visits with younger folks and am generally encouraged by their basic goodness.

There seems to me to be a growing sense of duty. This manifests itself most often in volunteering in caregiving or educational settings; but I’m hopeful that it will translate into more active citizenship. So much information is available now, it seems logical to hope that the people will soon begin making better use of information when they choose their leaders.

Ah, I’ve climbed back on the soapbox again. I may have been inspired by the fiery redhead who operated the printshop I visited yesterday morning, William Lyon McKenzie soon moved on to York (which became Toronto) and a life in politics.

As for the dispute between Canadians and Americans, I suppose it’s only right to accept that our neighbors should celebrate the bravery of their ancestors – even when that bravery cost American lives and led to a military setback that may have prolonged the war and cost even more lives.

And if there were Americans “back then” who believed it to be our destiny to rule all of North America – clear to the North Pole – then it’s just one more ambition to live down. The good news is that we didn’t, or weren’t able to, follow up on such ambition and don’t need to add Canadians to a list of victims that already includes hundreds of tribes of Native Americans, some French and Spanish and a whole lot of Mexicans.

Hopefully our current adventures overseas will help drive home a message: now that the whole world has been divided up, a nation’s destiny probably ought not extend beyond current borders.

I’m not done investigating this facet of our history. Meanwhile, hold that line.