daylia, truly sorry to wilt the maple leaf there with my "icing", don't know if its a national trait or just perversity on my part, but whenever I get truly pumped and proud of my country, eventually this little naggling feeling crops up and a little voice says "not so fast, hosehead" and I eventually throw my own wet blanket on my enthusiastic nationalism. Not that I would want to live any where else in the world for moment, but my wholehearted enthusiasm for this country rests more with the outright, overwhealming, awesomeness of the land itself and a bit less with it's political machinations.