Parents Talking Values, International Values

I remember from the time I was very young, as far back as my memory goes, my parents teaching us kids the values they held dear, values that reflected the best of both Canadian and American society. Being American themselves, they had a natural pride in where they came from and the ideals they'd grown up with.

"Whenever there's trouble somewhere in the world," they'd tell us, "America and Canada are there, helping out." That's what they believed, and they wanted us to believe it too.

But they weren't naive about it.

As people of color, both of them had faced their share of hardships in both countries. They knew firsthand that neither place was perfect. "No society is," they'd say. "But here, if you work hard and try to do good in this world, you can build a better life." That resonated with us kids, to our soul.

They were blunt honest, "no sugar" as my Kokum would say. Things got real fast.