Riddle of America, The - Waldorf Research Institute

North of the BorderbyPhilip ThatcherAt the age of 21, on my way from Massachusetts to summer work inBritish Columbia, I traveled via the Canadian Pacific Railroad from Montrealthrough the Canadian Shield and along the north shore of Lake Superior,across the prairies, and into the mountain ranges of Canada’s most westwardprovince. The images from that first journey across what has since becomemy country by adoption continue to work into my picture of Canada itself,and into the question, what are the differences, as well as the similarities,between my country by adoption and my country of birth, which lies southof the 49th parallel?Before that first trip, my image of Canada was like that of manyAmericans—a non-image. As a Washington, D.C., bus driver expressedit, “Canada? I don’t know nothing about it. This bus just goes to FarragutSquare.” Or the store clerk in Albuquerque: “Canada, that’s up north, nearNew York State, isn’t it? Only it’s not a state, it’s a whole country. Is thatright? Do I win a prize?” 1Indeed, Canada is up north, a whole country, and not simply anextension of its southern neighbor. But, one might ask, why not? Why isthere an English-speaking, French-speaking country in the northern part ofour continent that throughout its history has refused to join its destiny withthat of the United States? What has been, and what might become, Canada’stask within the world community of nations—within the cosmic communityof folk souls, or to put the question in the light of Anthroposophy, in thisMichaelic time? In the course of this article, I want to make some observationsthat may give these questions clarity and resonance.55