Americans as Canadians?

I was listening to talk radio as I drove back from lunch today and dropped in on a discussion about a New Mexico company that offers, for only $24.95, a package that will outfit the buyer with a Canadian identity for travel abroad. The package includes a maple leaf t-shirt, a lapel pin, a patch for luggage or backpack, and a book called "How to Speak Canadian, Eh."

And sales are booming.

The whole thing made me wish I had a cell phone so I could call to tell them my Canadian flag backpack story. A friend of mine sent me a link to an article about a year ago that expressed the outrage of some Americans at Canadians who advertise their citizenship with Canadian flag shirts and decals when they travel abroad and are treated better than Americans. The voices in this article were calling on Canadians to stop with the flags, already.

Well, shortly before I read the article, I'd purchased exactly what was making these Americans so angry: a backpack with a Canadian flag sewn on it.

Where did I purchase the offending backpack, you may ask?

WAL-MART.

'Nuff said.