Four red maple-leaf flags stand behind a man in a clean suit delivering a message to his people. I watch from my star-spangled bannered chair and admire his speech, honesty and calm demeanor. The man speaks to his people in English and French. Jokes and cunning strategies are visible and easy to comprehend to even the most illiterate minds. I sit in amazement. Far from the maple-leaf, as part of fifty stars in red, white and blue, I long for that type of leadership. Lately, I have been craving the flow of headlines and currents of the broadcasting oceans, however I am struggling to stay afloat in these troubling waters of sass, manipulation and coercive power. All I see and hear is taxes, tariffs, imprisonment, cancelations and unfair dismissal of the people's voice. Is our leader even trying to lead? Why isn't he similar to the man that sat in front of the maple-leaf flags? Why do I feel as if my country is run by a group of "not so know-it-alls" that are competing for the front page of 1970's magazine? Why do I feel as if the working class and any below it is treated like colored people from the 1940s? (No offense intended with that previous question.) Are we failing as a country? Will our country's allies continue to be by our side under this bounce house of power? I believe a day will come when America stands alone at war within and outside its borders as it struggles to maintain a healthy system of any sort under this unjust leadership. I hope I am proven wrong. Then suddenly, I am caught in a whimsical cloud of a heavenly vision.
As the man in his clean suit continues his speech in front of his people and maple-leaf flags, an enormous maple-leaf flag carefully covers the country beneath it. I can hear lakes and rivers. I see bears standing in agreeance under thick, faunal forestry. A state of unknown balance is given to all the people, and I glow from within from this beauty. Quickly, it fades as I am reminded of how my country does not like to be defeated or dominated. For the safety of all people, I make peace with idea that no war means peace. This taboo union that I just imagined will be far from a walk in a national park. The enormous maple-leafed flag quickly withdraws as if the people beneath it started to refuse its coverage. I bow my head out of respect for its unity and shame of its disapproval. My television shows me the posterior of the symbolic maple-leaf man as he makes his exit, and I take my remote and press up on the channel button and proceed to watch an all-American news show. Within in a few seconds, I am confused and no longer able to keep up with the hidden and obvious message from the anchors. Everything they say sounds personal and gossipy. Are they are talking politics or emotional ticks? It's more subliminal that expository. Every word leads to an eerie corner in my mind that is far from the truth. I press the power button on my remote. I'd rather sit in my star-bangled chair and dream of the maple-leaf leadership my homeland needs.
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