Archive for USA
July 4, 2025
When I lived in the States, July 4 was always my second-favourite holiday, after Thanksgiving. There were no particular requirements other than conviviality: hot dogs and frisbees in the park with friends. Even after I moved to Canada, that buoyant mood always came upon me on this day. Today, however, is poignant to a painful degree. I’m sending love to my American family and friends.
Image: “Three Flags,” by Jasper Johns, in The Whitney Collection.
American scholars move north
Brynn Tannehill writes on Twitter this morning:
I’m going to break my personal rule about not posting on Twitter anymore because I need to get out this warning: Timothy Snyder (On Tyranny) and Jason Stanley (How Fascism Works) have left the US. I’m on my way out too. The experts know what this is.
She links to Leiter Reports:
Jason Stanley (philosophy of language, epistemology, political philosophy), Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, has accepted a senior offer from the University of Toronto, where he will be three-quarters in the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and one-quarter in the Department of Philosophy. Professor Stanley tells me the primary reason was the deteriorating political situation in the United States, with the capitulation of Columbia University sealing his decision. (The well-known Yale historian Timothy Snyder has already moved to the Munk School as well.)
The arguments in Jason Stanley’s “How Fascism Works,” from 2018, were persuasive, and his exposition of history was plain as day.
Neighbour
Yuval Noah Harari said on a fairly recent episode of Bill Maher that it takes much longer to build institutions than it does to tear them down. Hearing that, I had that uncanny experience of reaching an accurate comprehension of something really, really obvious but also hidden within plain language. Perhaps it was the timing of his message.
One of my sisters used the film’s last line as her .sig file for a time back in the nineties.
[Related.]
Happy American Thanksgiving!
Even though I live in Canada, there is no holiday more meaningful to me than American Thanksgiving, having been raised south of here. I always obey the name, and spend the day reflecting in gratitude.
Today will likely be the last time I teach a first-year class at Kwantlen. I was assigned this class by surprise right before this semester started. It was a fun challenge getting back up to speed! These students form such a delightfully keen and courteous group. I’m grateful for the opportunity to stand in front of them one last time.
Simplicity is beautiful*
Filling out the customs form before crossing the border north into Canada this Sunday, I noted that I was bringing some food back. When the customs officer asked me what food I got, I explained that I had a carton of instant mashed potatoes and two boxes of Grape Nuts breakfast cereal. He said, what the heck are Grape Nuts? So I showed him the boxes. Then I added: “I am so pathetic that my girlfriend had to buy them for me!” and got a laugh. (I think I’ll quit while I am ahead – not gonna try to make a custom officer laugh again!)
A few months back it dawned on me that one could no longer purchase plain “potato flakes” in Vancouver. Each variation of instant mashed potatoes was “flavoured” and was filled with everything from soy, milk, citric acid, and wheat to pyrophosphates and silicon dioxide. I wanted hardcore *plain*. It felt ridiculous that I couldn’t find any! I found out about “Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods” on Amazon, but it would cost an arm and a leg to ship their potato flakes to my place north of the border. That is where my partner stepped in.
During my visit she also guided me to a local Safeway so that I could stock up on Grape Nuts, that weird and crunchy cereal that was discontinued during Our Time of Covid. It has reappeared in parts of Canada – allegedly! – but certainly nowhere near me. I have long truly treasured Grape Nuts. During times of real poverty, I used to eat them with warm water instead of milk – and felt like I had just won something.
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* The title of this post comes from Juliana Hatfield’s very fine song of the same name. Love these lyrics:
Blues soul rock country
Red green blue yellow
Morning laughing talking walking
Bread rice water fruit
It’s a simple feeling
Hold feel save me
Baby brother sister parent
Apropos
My colleagues and I at The Spectrum – the University at Buffalo’s student newspaper – published a special issue in May 1979 to commemorate the demonstrations and police presence that took over the university at the beginning of that decade. We republished this searing editorial, written by Linda Hanley, from February 1970:
Crossing the Fraser River in the early morning
There is almost nothing I love more than taking the Amtrak Cascades train south and across the border. Coming back up north, to Vancouver, comes close, though.
Canadian Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday, one whose name I obey, happily, twice each year.
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