The author reflects on their bittersweet memories of America, describing it as a place characterized by 'gentle carelessness' and playful magic. Growing up, crossing the border from Canada to the U.S. was easy and carefree, but recent political and social changes have overshadowed those experiences. The rise of arbitrary detentions and a more restricted atmosphere has changed the way borders are perceived, leading the author to lament the loss of the America he once cherished for its whimsical beauty and openness, now replaced by a more guarded reality.
Donald Trump has blown himself into a bubble of gilded ceilings, ersatz Roman murals, sycophants on tap and midnight rants of imperial conquest on personally owned social media networks.
America was a country of bubbles. I loved it as one loves anything that is both real and fantastical.
In Canada, wilderness is wilderness. The northern forests I come from resist interpretation; that is their power.
You didn't even need a passport to enter the United States until I was 33. You need clear eyes at the border today.
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