Although I’m no fan of the woman who served a partial term as governor of Alaska and was chosen by John McCain as his running mate in his 2008 bid for president, to be fair, it is important to say that she never said one of her most famous quotes. “I can see Russia from my house” is a line delivered by Tina Fey in a Saturday Night Live sketch. The sketch based the line loosely on an interview Palin gave to ABC News in which she said, “You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.” This is true, even though Palin never lived where she could see Russia from her home.

On the other hand, you can see Canada from my home. The mountains we can see from our bedroom window are in Canada. When we walk to the bay, less than a mile from our home, some of the islands we see are in Canada. When I ride my bike to Semiahmoo, White Rock, British Columbia's skyscrapers are visible across the bay. Our mailing address is a border town where a park stands on the border. The people here are proud of the friendship between Canada and the United States. There are a lot of families who have members on both sides of the border. There are a lot of people who have dual citizenship. Married couples have one member who is a citizen of Canada and the other a citizen of the US.

Our town is a tourist town. Many beach cottages, mobile homes, and condos are second homes for people who live in other places. I do not know the current statistic, but the local lore is that at one time, 40% of the homes in our village were owned by Canadians.

We notice when things change between the two countries. These days, when I ride my bike along Birch Bay Drive, there are many empty parking spaces, and most of the cars I see have Washington license plates. This is a season of quite a few days with dreary weather, not the height of tourist season. Still, we are used to a healthy mix of vehicles and customers from Canada stopping for meals at local restaurants and making purchases at local stores. That mix is missing these days.

In late November, the incoming U.S. President told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Canada should become the 51st state. It is a ludicrous idea that ignores the geographical size, the population, and the sovereignty of Canada. Still, it was just the start of growing animus between the two countries. The president has threatened a trade war and announced that 25% tariffs on Canadian imports would go into effect on February 3. He later issued a 30-day pause, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was focused on making sure tariffs did not go into effect. Tensions expanded. Some Canadians booed the U.S. National Anthem at a hockey game in Montreal, though not as many as U.S. Citizens who booed the Canadian Anthem at the championship match of the Best of 4 Nations tournament in Boston last week.

The tensions are affecting everyday life here. Canadians are being encouraged to boycott U.S. products. B.C. Premier David asked citizens of his province to think carefully about spending money in the U.S., and Canadians are taking his advice seriously in the short term. Gas prices are generally lower on the U.S. side of the border, but local gas stations have seen dramatic decreases in sales as many Canadians have ceased driving across the border to buy gas. Grocery stores are reporting similar declines in sales. A local restaurant, Peace Arch City Cafe & Bar, has had to cut back staffing as business has dropped nearly 30% amid the tensions. Local business people are used to checking the highway signs that show the wait times for border crossings as a sign of how many customers to expect. However, the signs have been displaying the minimum wait times for weeks. Border crossings are down significantly. President’s Day weekend crossings were down 40% compared to last year.

These are the effects of rhetoric and threats. The tariffs are not yet in effect. If they do go into effect, things may become worse. People on both sides of the border are frustrated. We are used to being friends. Displaying a Canadian flag used to be a common occurrence in houses and businesses. Now, people wonder if a Canadian flag displayed on our side of the border might be misinterpreted as a sign that the home or business supports the idea of annexing our neighbors. We can see several new large Canadian flags flying at White Rock, and the White Rock museum gift shop reports record sales of t-shirts and bumper stickers displaying the Canadian flag. I’m not a drinker, but there have been rumors about US brands disappearing from Canadian stores and bars.

While Sarah Palin was misquoted in a comedy sketch, she was making a point about Russia and the threat posed to American security by the totalitarian state with expansionist tendencies. She made the comment as a show of strength in the face of a perceived enemy. These days, Republican politicians are afraid to criticize Russia or its dictator, Putin, while the leader of their party seems intent on increasing tensions with our closest allies. It is hard to believe that an entire political party could have switched sides, but it appears that is the case.

Meanwhile, those who live near the border know that the people across the line are our neighbors and friends. We know that our crossing, which is the third busiest between the two countries, is not a pipeline of illegal immigration and drug smuggling. We see the border crossing guards as diligent and good at their jobs, and we trust them. We are embarrassed by our president's comments.

I understand our neighbors’ hesitation to cross the border and spend money in our community. However, I plan to continue visiting their side of the border and making purchases in their restaurants and shops. Despite the rhetoric from Washington, D.C., we are committed to peace with our neighbors here in Washington State.