Suppose to me America has always been like that older sibling, the pioneer, the rebel, the spy, the confidant, someone you admired, sometimes an ass, a liar, a thief, a nuisance, oblivious.

Historically, were born of the same stock, of the same places, though us with our French and they with the Spanish, with Native peoples on both sides, and mistreated in much the same ways, violent and prejudice to European roots. Of the same religions, belief’s, colonies of the once British Empire.

“Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” 

 Rumi, The Essential Rumi

We kept our ties, as we had nothing the British wanted, frozen wasteland that we were, where only the strongwilled survived, of mostly fur and ship masts and cod, and they, for the most part, left us alone. Those early settlers down yonder though, no, they were not so placid, and were not keen to be thusly beholden, and broke those ties, through rebellion and a vision of something different, something more, something more WE and less ‘I’, feeling the yoke of a king who had no more use for them then chattel to feed the British coffers.

Canadians are milder, perhaps softened by our often harsher climes. They with their brash voices, hot tempers, their pride of place, of admiration and patriotism to an ideal, pilgrims to a cause, an idea, a sound, a creative spirit, born of the melting pot that made them so, traipsing all over the world, cocksure and fancy-free.

On 9/11 when they were hit, we were hit, and the kind-hearted east coasters took the many in who had no were else to land, into their homes, arenas, hotels and fed them, made them safe, warm, and huddled around the TVs with them and watched as everything we thought we knew morph into terrorist alerts, more troops in faraway places, and the war machine steams through the middle east still to this day.

In this age, I don’t care how tactically or operationally brilliant you are, if you cannot create harmony—even vicious harmony—on the battlefield based on trust across service lines, across coalition and national lines, and across civilian/military lines, you need to go home, because your leadership is obsolete..’

Gen. James Mattis – At the May 2010 JFCOM Conference Ares blog, Aviation Week (June 2010)

We followed them in the one but bowed out for the other, that was their war not ours, that other, Iraq. Well, sort of, we helped, but not much.

In time we both felt a bit less safe, less sure, less innocent, no longer ignorant to the hatred some had towards the things that made America what it is, those who felt very threatened by what they view as aggression and a flood of immorality and western arrogance at its height, its pinnacle, and a target because of that. A far off something different that threatens a dying world, something not like them, a fear of what they don’t understand. Seeing a desire to rule the world and remake it into their image, and that idea lingers to this day, with the foot of Saddam off the ant hill that was Iraq, Afganistan in ruins, and Syria a mess, no one is winning, as everyone loses to the dual despots of Russia and Iran, trying to take it all, if they can. Rule the world.

Though I do have to say, the ol’rumpTus is certainly doing his level best to dissuade the haters that they don’t got der shite together no more to be bothered ruling the world, they can’t even seem to keep a handle on their own president. Not exactly a real threat, as they are all busy yelling and screaming at each other, build a wall, don’t build a wall, corruption, greed, and governance by talk show host, and the circus is in town, too busy, come back next year. Their job is done.

“The man of thought who will not act is ineffective; the man of action who will not think is dangerous.”

 Richard M. Nixon

Looking around it is not hard to miss, least for me, looking back these seventeen years, before terrorism arrived on our shores, almost an innocence lost, and who are we now? How changed, how fearful, dictatorial, shoving our selves at each other, forcing our ideas, our beliefs, and squandering the multitudinous strength that has grown, sown, inspired, yet, even so, we learn, we change, we understand, make mistakes, and change again.

You know, one thing that is also sibling like is how when the one is in need the other is there, by your side, at your back. A bond of blood and maybe a certain understanding, a person you see that no one else can, the part of them you grew up with. Well, then course turn around when everyone’s out of earshot and give em hell for being such a stupid arsehole, falling for that selfish bastards crap, you’re better than that.

I know, I’ve been that sibling, blessed with a little sis who I know has my back, the one to turn to for a little truth you may not like, but sometimes really need to hear.

“If a man’s character is to be abused, say what you will, there’s nobody like a relative to do the business.” 

William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair