I Want to Be a Nation Too

A couple of years ago I decided that I wanted to be a think tank. I think. My brain contains various opinions. Ergo, I am a 'think tank'. Now, I'm not a widely recognized think tank and I'm not funded by anyone but that's beside the point. I still fit the definition.

So, with all of this 'nation' talk in Canada lately, I've decided I'd like to be a part of a nation too. I'm not sure if I qualify for the 'Quebecers' nation because, although my parents and all but one of my siblings are Quebecois, I was born in Saskatchewan. But, I was raised with that Quebecois culture too. Not only do we need a definition of 'nation' - which everybody and his chien is now busy trying to decipher - we also need to know who would be a part of this 'Quebecers' nation: People who live in Quebec? People who live in Quebec and are French? People who were born in Quebec and are French but live across the country? People like me? I'm confused.

BC premier Gordon Campbell said today that First Nations people should also be declared a 'nation'. Makes sense. They were the first nationers in Canada, obviously. I've probably got some First Nations blood in my ancestry along the way, but I don't think I'd qualify for First Nations nationhood status. Who knows though? Maybe I could be a member of the Quebecers nation and the First Nations nation.

I live in Alberta where some people would like to see this province recognized as a nation too. But, as I said, even though I've been here for over 20 years, I'm originally from Saskatchewan. So would I be a part of the Alberta nation just because I live here or does the Alberta nation idea only include born and bred Albertans? Who knows?

Therefore, considering the fact that no one seems to be able to agree on exactly what this 'nation' status idea means and because it's obvious that it's merely a debate in semantics without any real benefits anyway, I think I'll declare myself a nation and be done with it. If Stephen Colbert can have his own nation, I can too.

Welcome to catnip's nation.