When I was younger, wishing anyone a happy Canada Day was rightfully loaded, especially before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which *began* our work of reckoning with cultural genocide.

But I'd always frame it this way:

I think of the children and migrants who are given an ideal to aspire towards, and I think of the people trying to improve on the social contract that we have, and I see such days as a chance for us all to imagine building better from the rough roots we've been given.