Going To See Neko Case! (Also This is Actually a Serious Journal) Free Journal #4

So I've been planning to see my babe Neko Case in July <3333!...But there is a pretty big dilemma, as to which show I should see. She plays July 14th in Massey Hall, Toronto as well as in Buffalo a few days later, for FREE! However, as of now to get across the border to the home of our brothers from down south, America - land of the FREE, I need to have a passport. But passports take many weeks to finish, as well as cost lots of $$$. So in a lot of ways, maybe it would be easier to just bus or train to Toronto, and pay up cash for the ticket. Or if I’m feeling lucky go for both, and see her twice!! Though that last option is pretty unlikely.

Anyways, why do we even need a stupid border, or passport?? After 9-11, I can see why there was a huge scare, but in my opinion I think 9-11, really should be renamed to 9-11-01! Though not nearly as nice sounding, its sometimes hard to imagine that the terrorist attack that struck at the heart of Americans happened almost 9 years ago. I remember when the attacks happened, I was in grade 5, didn’t know what a terrorist was, didn’t know what a world trade tower was, didn’t really care. Although this seems pretty naive and cold hearted, in all honesty in the course of history, 1 attack doesn’t seem all that significant. Although causing a trailer for Spider-Man to be removed was pretty harsh. Either way, 9 years is a long time, and things should be a LOT better by now. Canadians have been able to go across the border with just a drivers license or birth certificate for decades, why change it now?

The border is really strict on people, especially Brandon, who tried to cross to Maine on his long journey to PEI, but was turned around. Its also strict on people of other cultures, due to racial reasons and prejudice, which is really unfair. Even just an average journey to the states is really delayed because of the customs and security checks, just the fact that the line is so large, when even a few people are pulled over, many others must wait longer. When my family travels to the states to buy clothes, I usually stay home, because it ends up taking all day, with many hours spent in a really hot car, going bumper to bumper. Sure I can make an exception for Neko Case, but damn, soooo inconvenient!

Also, why even have a border?? What is it that truly separates Canadians from Americans. No matter how patriotic you may feel, in all honesty there isn’t that much of a difference culturally from myself living so close to the border on one side, and someone the same distance to the south. Perhaps farther down there is a more significant separation but even then, in this age of global connectivity and with the powerful influence of the media, in many ways *we are the same*. (new Tragically Hip album title, really fantastic)

Sure as a Canadian I might say Eh and enjoy maple syrup more then barbecue sauce, eat french fries and not freedom fries(these are sterotypes, maybe I‘ll talk more about this in another journal) but that shouldn’t stop me from seeing Neko Case!