• July 27 — The Toronto Star on American envy of Canada:

Somewhere in the Canadian psyche is a residual puritanism, a cast of mind H.L. Mencken defined as the haunting fear that somebody somewhere might be happy and doing well.

Even 150 years after Confederation, it remains a national pastime to scan the landscape for tall poppies, ensuring none of us get above ourselves.

We admire success. But too much flamboyance in the achieving of it, any straying from a sort of Sidney Crosby “aw-shucks-another-trophy” in response, elicits a chorus of school-marmish clucking.

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau learned again recently.

Thanks to motley rock’n’rollers Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, the epitome of pop-culture status over the last 45 years has been getting one’s picture on “the cover of the Rolling Stone.”

In the latest issue, Trudeau made it. Hugely. His image mavens couldn’t have written it up better themselves.

The American magazine asked on its cover, “Why can’t he be our president?” A headline declared him “The North Star.” The photo array made him appear God’s gift to fitness, virility and, of course, hair.

The story ended, nodding to the ongoing tempest in the White House, by saying Trudeau’s Canada looked like a “beautiful place to ride out an American storm.”

Naturally, this being Canada, harrumphing duly ensued, along with mutterings at home that Trudeau get back to work and stop being so darn photogenic and popular with international media.

Conservative MP Lisa Raitt went so far as to say the magazine fluff might jeopardize free-trade talks between the two countries by upsetting the volatile President Donald Trump and Trudeau shouldn’t have risked it.

Nonsense. That’s the attitude of the enabler, saying the sane world should contort itself so as not to provoke those who would abuse their power.

How quickly we take the favours of fortune and elections for granted. Until recently it was the United States that had the cool, progressive president, while Canada was led by a chap of surpassing gloom and resolute unhipness.

In the last two years, that’s reversed, utterly. Canada is led by a feminist in flashy socks. America is presided over by an erratic tweet freak. As the good Dr. Hook sang, “it’s all designed to blow our minds …”

Raitt and her dour ilk would do well to fret less and enjoy the fleeting moment of American envy of Canada. It won’t last.

The PM has a famous lineage to live up to, huge expectations and promises to meet. Reckonings will come.

Meanwhile, let’s hope he buys five copies for his mother.

Online: https://www.thestar.com/