Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.

Ronald Reagan–Jan 5, 1967

I love my country, I truly do. The United State of America is one of the most remarkable countries in the entire world.

I believe in my heart that this country was led to be founded by the Lord Almighty, going back to the planting of the cross at Cape Henry in Virginia by English settlers on April 27th, 1607. The covenant that this country’s forefathers made with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is one of the reasons that this nation has flourished in such a short amount of time compared to all other countries in world history.

Yet I also know that men and women who were formed in the image of our creator tend to fall way short of His glory. This is a universal truth not only in this land but in all others. This is why I also keep another much more secular belief rattling around in my noggin that is a great perspective for a nation as large and diverse as the United States.

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.— Mark Twain.

Yesterday in Ottawa, Canada, and truly throughout the whole of the “Great White North,” a melting pot of human beings from all different backgrounds came together to bring Twain’s famous quote above to life in a way that I have not seen in quite some time. The Truckers Rally for Freedom 2022 might have started out as just those who are the backbone of any nation, the truckers who work 24/7, 365 days a year, to make sure we have food and supplies to purchase at our convenience. Yet it seems to me that it has morphed into something much more.

Canada has shown the world how to hold a protest to address grievances against an overbearing government in the 21st Century. Quite frankly, they may have not just written a new chapter in the book on how to protest to protect our freedoms, but a whole new edition on how to do it the Canadian way.

As an American who relishes my country’s past of being a little bit too itchy for a fight at the drop of a hat, I have to admit this surprises me in multiple ways. Yesterday, average, everyday Canadians showed the world how to not drop a hat and look for a fight but to wear wool hats snuggly and securely while demanding their right to be heard by their government in almost sub-zero temperatures.

The mandates have, of course, gone too far, once again giving life to one of the oldest sayings the world has ever known because of its inherent truth: Give an inch, and they (in this case, government) will take a mile.

Truckers are the lifeblood of any country and the federal government of Canada had zero issues with “essential” border crossings in all of 2020 and 2021 with no vaccine mandate. The mandates are not based on anything scientific but are just the will of some overpaid employees working for a faceless bureaucracy who believe their authority is supreme. These overbearing mandates have spread to businesses still being closed and set to reopen at an arbitrary date set by Ottawa and extend to school kids wearing masks in gym class.

This is not about the safety and well-being of citizens but willy nilly policy crafted by bored bureaucrats with the force and the full weight and enforcement power of the Canadian Federal Government. They can and have been making average Canadians’ lives miserable based on a hunch and the result was Saturday, January 29th in Ottawa.

Canada has had enough.

The quote above from then-Governor Ronald Reagan is something that many of us Americans will bandy about at times to try and remind ourselves that the freedom the generation before handed off to us is something truly worth preserving. We read the words but don’t always grasp the true meaning because we have become a bit fat and lazy while feasting on the freedom buffet we were born into but might not have really earned.

Yesterday, Canada showed us how to start earning it and, my Lord, it was a marvel to watch. As an American, this is not the position I thought I would  ever find myself in, praising another country on how to do the “freedom thing.” Yet here I am, and I am incredibly grateful to our Canadian cousins for the lesson brought to us from them.

If you value your freedom and believe that it is just one generation away from being taken away from you, as Reagan so eloquently warned, then today you stand with Canada and her patriots who love their country but do not support its government’s policies.

Today, that makes us all Canadians.

Aujourd’hui, qui fait de nous tous des Canadiens.