One of the more simplistic though popular clichés about U.S.-China relations is that America plays chess while China plays Go. Using board games to explain international relations can be misleading, but if such a comparison can provide insights, then a more helpful analogy is to the game Reversi, marketed as Othello in the U.S.

Patriotism, according to Samuel Johnson, is the last refuge of a scoundrel. If the views of young people in both Canada and America are anything to go by, they largely agree with Johnson. Across North America today, the young are far more conditional in their enthusiasm for their countries than are their elders. This is borne out in polling as well as the largely youthful support for movements such as taking a knee at sporting events, Black Lives Matter, Antifa, the One Percenters, the call to cancel Canada Day and more.