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Joel Kotkin: Why the Fourth of July is relevant to Canada, too

Our histories are entwined, and so are our problems — including our vulnerability to self-sabotaging ideology

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The United States approaches its 250th anniversary deeply divided. Pride in the country, at roughly 40 per cent, has dropped to a historic low, notes Gallup, a trend most evident among younger, educated people.

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To be sure it depends where in the U.S. you go. There used to be little difference between the parties, as was evidenced in the 1976 centennial. But, again predating Donald Trump, the gap between Republicans and Democrats has widened, with the latter generally not proud of their country. In deep blue areas like California and New York, celebrations are muted; even the traditional Fourth of July fireworks show in Long Beach, Calif., has been cancelled. Don’t expect much celebratory treatment in left-dominated Hollywood either.

Joel Kotkin: Why the Fourth of July is relevant to Canada, too Back to video

No doubt these phenomena will please some Canadians, for whom hostility to America has created a kind of negative sense of identity. After all, they, and most European countries, are still considerably less patriotic than Americans.

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