Past Tense, Present Echo

If a friend told you they just read an interesting article listing Canada’s assets and strategies to secure our resources to help us fight economic pressure, or God forbid, open invasion from the US, you might think it was written this week, or any week, really, in the last couple of years.

I couldn’t be the only Canadian who’s had a moment, lying in bed late at night, wondering if ‘it’ could actually happen. Or had hushed conversations along the lines of, “Surely it would never happen, but what would you do if…”, or, “It might seem extreme, but I’m looking into a Canadian brand to replace…”. 

I don’t know if I’m horrified, or fascinated (probably both) by the fact that we’ve had these same conversations before. America has tried to invade us at least twice, most notably in the War of 1812. Most of us weren’t happy about it then, nor so now. I really like being a Canadian and want it to stay that way, so what to do about it? For those of us that are extra passionate, we might go on our socials to proclaim #Elbowsup, watch and discuss the news with a little more gravitas, perhaps make a point of listening to a little more Canadian music. 

But what else? 

For me, to find context, I look to the past first, because the reality is, we’re not that unique. In a society that likes to think in whatever ‘now’ our rectangles are showing us, I invite us to slow down and reflect on old ideas written about our tense past. Not because we should think in the past tense, nor celebrate it, simply acknowledge we’ve been here before, that our nation survived, and we can do better this time. Recognize our successes and shame—acknowledge what our hate has done. Find the scraps of love. Let it whisper echoes into our present hearts as Canadians start finding the answers to the questions: what we want, who do we want to be, and most importantly, how do we ensure the freedom to follow through?

Let’s invite rational talking points, and love, into our present echo chambers.

So allow me to be ‘that friend’ who has thoughts on an interesting article, you know, about keeping the Americans at bay. Except, it was a chapbook published in 1813. And not by a known editor or famed journalist, but by ‘A Querist’ (aka John Fleming Esq.), some guy a little worried about what was going on and wanted to give some comforting remarks to Canadians worried about losing their homes and sovereignty. You might call chapbooks really short magazines—both fiction and non-fiction—their version of ‘socials’ for old-timey people who were lucky enough to be literate, who liked really long titles, too many italics, and a lot of exclamation marks.

What are we reading? Mr. Fleming’s self-published ‘chapbook’ title has a lot of words, as they often did at that time, “The Resources of the Canadas; or Sketches of the Physical and Moral Means, Which Great Britain and her colonial Authorities will successfully employ in securing those valuable Provinces from open invasion and insidious aggression, on the part of the Government of the United States of America” (I told you it was a mouthful).

This article will be the first of a short series of comparisons to thoughts then and now. We’ll start just by examining the introduction and what his four main topics will be. I’ll discuss those in other articles, because I don’t want to bore the shit out of you.

Here’s his introduction:

Montreal, 12th August, 1812 [almost two months into the war]

“At the present moment, when our Country is menaced with invasion, every thinking man reflects with solicitude on our means of defence, and eagerly seizes every idea of strength and resistance, which the circumstances or the Canadas suggest. After meditating on the subject, he naturally wishes to talk it over with his friends, and lastly to communicate his thoughts to the public.” (Fleming, 3)

So your country is being invaded, you’ve got thoughts you need to share. Sounds familiar.

He goes on to remind the reader that: 

‘...the bulk of the community cannot read...But even the most ignorant inhabitants can hear…the most prudent and wary have, in some measure, been taken by surprise, and experience all the inconveniences of an unexpected emergency arising from the insanity of an unprincipled foe, —an emergency which ought to call forth the exertions, bodily and mental, of all to whom life, property, and kindred are dear.” (Fleming, 4) 

(Italics him, bold is mine).

We have a higher literacy rate now, but this notion still holds water. Take a quick look around and it’s evident that not everybody is truly reading. We skim the news. Our attention span is decreasing. We are angry. He is saying in 1812 what I hear people saying now: we need to remember to listen. Listen to each other, listen to the noise, listen for what the moment is communicating, listen to the manifestation of the echoes.

In the next couple of months I will look at his four topics (see below), so join me in marvelling at how eerily similar some of it is.

1 - The powerful protection of Great Britain, —her inexhaustible means of carrying on a defensive war in the Canadas, and retaliating, on the coast of the United States, any enormities committed by that enemy here.

2 - The internal resources of the Canadas, arising from the character of their population and institutions, their local situation and other circumstances.

3 - The reputation and talents of our Governor General; —his extensive authority, in times of danger; —his knowledge of the Country and of the genius of its inhabitants; —and his sagacity, in selecting fit characters, to execute his designs.

4 - The goodness of our cause, rendering us unanimous and strong against an enemy weakened by disunion. —A brief Recapitulation, and a few general remarks, adapted to the existing circumstances of the Country, will conclude the discussion. (Fleming, 4)

Some topics are a little outdated, but others are not, and when you start examining his explanations, things get weird.

Anyway, I’ll continue to digest these ideas. Please look for further articles about this. For now, read some romance, believe in love, and also, ‘Trust in God, but keep your powder dry’.

Jessica Fitz

*It goes without saying that an article from over two hundred years ago will have outdated ideas and some that just don’t make sense to our modern brains, and even though there are many interesting things in Mr. Fleming’s chapbook, he does use outdated and racist terminology, so I will replace these terms with the modern appropriate ones. I am in no way endorsing their use. I am merely pointing out that, as stated above, this is an exercise to see how people dealt with this the last time this happened.

**If you’re interested in reading this yourself, you can make a free account at archive.org and digitally borrow this text and perhaps throw a donation their way, or, you can get a cleaned up print version from Printer and Chapman Orien Duda of Empire Books & Toys at empirebooksntoys@gmail.com. He makes historically accurate, beautiful little chapbook reprints from across the centuries on all manner of topics.