Well, another Canada Day come and (almost) gone. I am rather unusually unenthused this year.

I mean, I still wore my "Canada Kicks Ass" shirt, but more because (a) it's tradition, and I take tradition seriously, and (b) I just wanted to blend in, which I've done a lot of since moving to Victoria. Thank goodness we're moving back to Alberta soon.

In any case, my heart is just not in Canada Day this year. Usually I see people driving around with flags on their cars or walking around with flags and I grin or give them a (non-sarcastic) thumbs up. This year I mostly just rolled my eyes at people. I have no patience for the self-congratulatory anti-American "patriotism" these days.

I've been feeling rather disconnected from my country because of all the things that have been happening politically in the past few months. There are some serious, serious problems with the Liberal government. Blowing off parliamentary traditions shouldn't be taken so lightly. They are very important in our system of government, since we don't have the checks and balances that other systems have. The way power is continually concentrated in the PMO should be a huge concern for all Canadians. Let's face it, unless your MP is, at the very least, in the Liberal cabinet, they're not going to make much of a difference on the Hill. This isn't the way it should be - MPs should be free to speak out on issues that matter to them and to their consistuents. The government should have the decency and humility to admit their defeats, their mistakes, and their errors in judgement.

Plus, let's not forget the kickbacks, fraud, money laundering and death threats.

Have I reached my tipping point? Maybe. It's more likely that a string of grey days and staring at my thesis have made me pessimistic about our country's future.

I came across the Canada Pledge today at Dust my Broom; reading these words gives me hope for what our country once was and hopefully can be again.

I am a Canadian, a free Canadian,
Free to speak without fear,
Free to worship God in my own way,
Free to stand for what I think right,
Free to oppose what I believe wrong,
Free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom, I pledge to uphold,
For myself and all mankind.

I will leave this off with my one real nod to patriotism today - the rockingest version of O Canada that exists. Thank you, Big Sugar, for reminding me of one reason why I love this country: we have the best bands anywhere. Take that, Americans. (Am I blending in enough yet?)