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This week we celebrate two very important holidays, it gives us time to reflect on how fortunate we are to live in a country that provides us with so much freedom.
I’m talking of course about July 1st, Canada Day and July 4th, American Independence Day.
As a Canadian, I have come to appreciate our neighbours to the south in so many ways. While we do have differences as Canadians and Americans, we do agree on the importance of living a democratic way of live, one that provides freedom for all.
“Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Address to the Canadian Parliament, May 1961,
My daughter had the opportunity to attend university in Missouri on a sports scholarship and there she met her husband. For her it was an amazing experience and opportunity, one she will never forget. Today she and here husband live in upstate New York.
My husband was with the Canadian Air Force for 30 years and then with NAV CANADA for another 13 years. It provides air traffic services in Canada. He worked with so many amazing American service men and women as well as with the very professional members of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) . He respects all Americans and holds them in very high esteem.
For me, I was fortunate enough to work with two amazing American companies when I was in the beauty/cosmetics business. I learned so much and it provided me with the foundation for developing myself as well as my own business. I am so thankful to have had that connection early in my 20’s.
Today, I am associated with an amazing American social business networking company, that I am proud to say has Canadians as President and as Chief Science Officer. The company focuses on health and wellness, giving back to malnourished children with the B1N2 program and they understands the importance of having a “Canadian Connection”.
The company has focused on making the relationship work. Building a company in both countries makes good business sense. And building it in two countries that are such good friends makes even more sense.
The whole concept of a business within the network marketing profession is about sharing your business with people – family, friends, and people that respect you.
It is also a company that recognizes our veterans and serving military members with a special program tailored specifically for them called Hope Heroes.
Why have they done this? Well, because without the service and sacrifice of our service members, both Canadian and American, we would not have the freedom we enjoy today.
The company has it right.
And that is not all it has done. It has a special program for Sports and Wellness Professionals, both Canadian and American called ESWPN.
So why am I telling you all this? Because we sometimes take our freedom and our friendship for granted.
The freedom to travel, to work, to shop, to conduct business in both countries, with ease. We share the longest unprotected border in the world, and it is because of the mutual respect and trust we have for each other.
“$2 billion worth of goods and services cross the border everyday; we do more business with the U.S. in one week than we do with China in a year; we do more trade with Home Depot head office in Atlanta than we do with the country of France.” – Pamela Wallin, Canadian Senator
Our two countries have worked so hard to keep our freedom intact. And because we have done this we have established a close political and economic friendship in the modern era, one envied by many.
So this week, whether you are celebrating Canada Day or Independence Day, think of what we have – the freedom and friendship between our two amazing countries, and the opportunities/ benefits it provides to us both.
We really do have something to be proud of!
“…when I have been in Canada, I have never heard a Canadian refer to an American as a ‘foreigner.’ He is just an ‘American.’ And, in the same way, in the United States, Canadians are not ‘foreigners,’ they are ‘Canadians.’ That simple little distinction illustrates to me better than anything else the relationship between our two countries.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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