'For Canadians, the issue of visas has become more than a credit card question. For Americans, the concept of a "post racial" society has been demonstrated to be a myth,' says Jones.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—We think of summer as a time for indolence rather than learning.

To be sure, there is “summer school” for those that must catch up with inadequately mastered academic material and for those few who want to forge ahead scholastically. And there are the athletic and craft skills learned at various camps and specialized programs.

But by and large, summer is a time—if not for active forgetting—to set aside the mundane grind, kick back with some lighter (if not trashy) fiction, and give the hissy fits of quotidian politics a respite.

Nevertheless, this summer, as well as teaching Canadians how wet Ottawa can be and Americans how hot the Pacific Northwest can become, has had its share of social/cultural teaching moments. For Canadians, the issue of visas has become more than a credit card question. For Americans, the concept of a “post racial” society has been demonstrated to be a myth.

Vagaries of visas

Nobody has a right to enter a country other than his/her own. A foreigner’s presence is a revokable privilege; even an accredited diplomat can be denied entrance. Nor is a visa a guarantee you can enter a country—it provides only the right to present oneself at a point of entry for final decision by immigration and naturalization officials. Although unusual for a traveler with a visa issued by a consular officer to be denied entry, it is far from unknown.

Building on that reality, the reciprocal privilege of visa-free entry between countries is conditioned on good behaviour. Over the years, neither country has taken advantage of the other’s hospitality. It might be akin to the traditional community in which doors are unlocked and neighbours’ children freely flow through each other’s homes. But if you find your refrigerator regularly raided (with nothing replaced) or small items “disappear,” you are likely (albeit with a sigh of regret) to start locking your door.

And such has been the case for the Czech Republic and Mexico: clearly sufficient numbers of individuals entering visa-free from these countries have taken advantage of Canadian hospitality to require action—unless you want your current reputation for casual refugee admission to deteriorate into being total chumps. Circumstances change requirements; in the aftermath of 9/11 when a disproportionate number of the terrorists were Saudi citizens, USG consular officials interviewed personally every Saudi applicant. Perhaps it was post-horse departure barn locking, but not to do so would have been irresponsible. To be sure, it was inconvenient and time-consuming—as it will be for Canadian consular officials in Mexico and the Czech Republic, but it is a protective, not a hostile, act. Once the posturing is over, normal relations will resume.

Racism Lives in Cambridge

For the United States, the summer has demonstrated that much as citizens may have hoped, we are far from the “post racial” society hypothesized with the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Indeed, even in the achingly politically correct cloisters of Harvard-Cambridge, racism is quite alive.

The basic facts are well known: Iconic Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates returns from a trip and is unable to get into his home. Assisted by his driver, he eventually gains entry; however, these ostensible “break in” efforts are observed and called to the attention of local police who respond. Police sergeant James Crowley and subsequently other Cambridge police identify Professor Gates as the resident—but the situation deteriorates with Gates becoming high decibel insulting to Sergeant Crowley. Gates is arrested for disturbing the peace, but released and charges withdrawn. But it doesn’t end there; at a press conference the President, admittedly knowing nothing of the details (but identifying himself as a friend of Gates), declares that the police “acted stupidly,” i.e., implicitly Sgt. Crowley is stupid.

And here you have classic racism. The African-American professor demonstrated prejudice against another minority (those wearing blue uniforms) and reportedly offers personalized insults referencing the sergeant’s mother. For the unwitting, such references imply that a male is engaged in incestuous acts with his mother—perhaps the most inflammatory insult available between males. The President adds to the racism by his implicit assumption that interaction between a white policeman and an African-American likely reflected racist behaviour by the policeman.

Unfortunately for reflexive critics, Sgt. Crowley was the epitome of PC policing. He had taught a course for police officers in racial sensitivity for five years—a position to which he was appointed by an African-American commissioner. His character and actions were universally supported by his police colleagues, including an African-American woman who declared that she had previously supported Obama but would no longer.

There was vigorous backtracking by the President, spinning like a whirling dervish, who inter alia arranged to have a beer with both Gates and Crowley (a session that should have concluded by singing a verse of “We Shall Overcome”). But perhaps there has been significant racial progress: a generation ago that level of expletive exchange between police and civilian of any race, would more likely have resulted in a clubbing (and no discussion worthy of 251,000 hits on Google).

David Jones is a former diplomat who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa from 1992-96