Goodbye USA, Hello Canada!

Today I got my Permanent Residency, which means that I can now live in Canada for the rest of my life. I've waited many years for this (practically since childhood!), and I am very happy. When I crossed the border almost three years ago I felt my life had really begun anew; now that I can relax knowing that I will never have to return to the states I feel I can at last become the person I want to become, something I never felt was possible for me in the states. (But that's another story for another time.) I was euphoric when I saw the word expiration officially crossed out in my passport by Danielle, the lovely green-eyed immigration officer who processed our permanent landing in Canada.

This caps some very intense weeks for me, very rewarding and fulfilling weeks, including a few peak experiences amidst the prosaic stresses of the daily grind. When I can finally catch my breathe in another week or two and start blogging again I'll discuss one of them.

Plus the timing for obtaining our landed status here couldn't be better: since BushCo and the Republicans aren't doing so well in the polls it won't be so easy for them to steal the next election; that's why something very wicked and very tragic will soon befall the states, with grim repercussions to be felt around the globe.

What is happening in America today is something that has never happened before in recorded history: Total confrontation. The lies are obvious. The machinery is laid bare. All Americans are being shoved by the deadweight of a broken control machine right in front of each other's faces. Like it or not they cannot choose but see and hear each other. How many Americans will survive a total confrontation?      —William S. Burroughs, Exterminator!

Canadian citizenship recognizes differences. It praises diversity. It is what we as Canadians choose to have in common with each other. It is a bridge between those who left something to make a new home here and those born here. What keeps the bridge strong is tolerance, fairness, understanding, and compassion. Citizenship has rights and responsibilities. I believe one responsibility of citizenship is to use that tolerance, fairness, understanding and compassion to leaf through the Canadian family album together.      —Denise Chong, "Being Canadian" in Who Speaks for Canada?