Quotable: Sir John A. Macdonald on US imperialism

Image by Tigana Too.

Yes, my Latin American amig@s, it’s true. Nosotr@s, l@s canadienses, somos el OTRO patio trasero de los EEUU. We’re the US’s OTHER backyard, and we’ve been just as much subject to their imperialism as you. So far, we’ve been luckier keeping them off our necks.

There are two reasons why they don’t send in the Marines and do to us what they did to you. One is we’re geographically bigger. The world’s longest border is undefended for a reason: It’s undefendable.

And the other reason? We’re the only people in history to get away with torching White House.

Mind you, that was nearly 200 years ago. And our current government, for all the lip service it pays to that war, has actually forgotten its lessons on sovereignty. But still.