A Lament: Can you be an Odyssey Fan and live in Canada?

In a word, no.

The older I get, the more I understand that being an Adventures in Odyssey fan who lives in Canada is difficult. Recently, the official site announced that the newest Adventures in Odyssey album "The Green Ring Conspiracy" is available for download. When I heard this, I couldn't believe my ears. Excited, I grabbed my wallet, pulled out my credit card, and quickly opened my christianbook.com account to download it.

And then this message came up:

You appear to be connecting from a location outside the United States. We have removed the downloadable content from your shopping cart. If you are within the United States verify that you have cookies enabled and try again.

I tried again, again and again. Nothing. I even tried inserting my aunt's billing address, who lives in Chicago, to see if that would work. Nope.

And now, defeated and disheartened, I roam the message boards, the official site, and the Odyssey scoop, reading other people's cryptic reactions to the album--not to spoil myself, but to give myself a taste of what I'm missing. I'm missing something, but it'll take a full month to find out what.

This experience has taught me two things; First, I've realized that I haven't reacted like this in a long time; finding out that the album was suddenly available to download was something like winning the lottery--a sensation I hadn't felt since I was young. Back then, getting the latest album for Christmas was a better than any other present. The show has somehow, through its advertisements, interviews, and promos, tapped into that same childhood excitement. And for that, you have my deepest thanks, as well as my congratulations, Adventures in Odyssey.

The second thing that I learned is that being Canadian and also an Adventures in Odyssey fan is no picnic. Due to the fact that a portion of my family was born in the States, I am also an American citizen. As a result, my identity tends to switch back and forth. For instance, when American elections are happen, I do my civic duty, and cast a vote. And when a tragic event occurs in the States, I become emotionally involved in the situation. However, when American politicians do something that I find despicable, I look at the States disapprovingly as a foreigner. I guess you can call me an American flake. Or maybe I am just a hypocrite.

When I listen to Adventures in Odyssey, I sometimes wish I was a pure bred American. As most know, when the show first began, it was named "Odyssey USA"; however, it sometimes feels like the program never shed itself of that name. Throughout the years, we've been bombarded by American historical episodes; "By Dawn's Early light" is about the creation of the American anthem, "The Day Independence Came" is about signing of the Declaration of Independence; "Columbus: the Grand Voyage" is about the discovery of America; "Lincoln" is about America's 16th president; "The Midnight Ride" is about that American quest for independence; "East Winds Raining" is about the attack of Pearl Harbor; "An American Revelation" is about, well, you know. And on and on the list goes...

I'm certainly not complaining. I love historical episodes. But I wonder whether Adventures in Odyssey has a responsibility to depict and tell historical events from other countries that also show the workings of God. Or has the show given the impression that God only lives in, and fights for, America? Take a few minutes and think about that question, and then tell me what you think.

Last summer, I went tree planting in British Columbia, like I do every year. This time, I planted alongside a friend who fought in Afghanistan a few years earlier. He never liked talking about the war and so I never questioned him about it. He also just so happened to be an avid Odyssey listener who, due to his experience in the war, had a problem with the episode  "Memories of Jerry". Bordering on propaganda, he said "Memories of Jerry" is a somewhat mistaken, and dangerously misleading episode that communicates that an American who fights for their country is also fighting for God. After he explained his thoughts to me, I went back and listened to the show again. In it, Jerry Whittaker says, "For me, running away to Canada wouldn't be living, not if it meant betraying God, my country, my family. [...] Living is about honoring my commitments." Nowadays, I have trouble fully enjoying "Memories of Jerry", including Jason's penultimate sentence in the episode, "Never forget: Plato was wrong". I understand that the show was trying to make a point about honoring commitments, but the message is confusing. By no means am I advocating anti-patriotism, but is following a sense of duty worth it when you must go and kill someone? These are the same questions splitting even Christian opinion with the recent events in Iraq. When is war worth it? Is it ever?

The episode bothers me, because, as a Canadian, I never quite understood why Plato was wrong for running away. One reason may be because Canada doesn't impose the draft. I understand why Jerry thought he was right, but I saw no problem with Plato not wanting to be forced into a war. Could an American understand this issue better? In other words, does the "Canadian" in me prevent me from understanding this topic fully?

I've recently taken a look at the other Vietnam-themed episode, "The Price of Freedom". It acknowledges both sides of the Vietnam issue: the value of heroism, and the danger of glorifying war. Some issues are difficult to tackle and this episode wisely decides that ambiguity is "the best policy". On the one hand, the episode presents Mr. Altman, who viewed the Vietnam war as a wasted cause; on the other, the episode shows Mr. Whittaker who says, "Mr Altman, here in Odyssey we still take words like honor, and duty, and heroism. They still have a meaning here". That last line stuck out to me. It sounded a lot like Jerry's words to Plato: "I volunteered, as a matter of principle; a principle of duty, of honor. You used to know about those things, Plato". I know I'm usually supposed to adhere to what Whit says, but I wasn't quite sure what was so wrong about Mr. Altman teaching what he believed to be a legitimate view of the war. Meanwhile, in Canada those words, "honor, and duty, and heroism", don't have the same weight. I can't help but wonder whether these are Biblical values or largely American ones. There are moments where my Canadian identity prevents me from fully grasping the content of the show, as with "Memories of Jerry" and "The Price of Freedom". 

A difference in perspective is not the only thing that makes a Canadian fan different from the rest; the other reasons, I suppose, are slightly more trivial. For instance, I consider myself the greatest Adventures in Odyssey fan out there (every fan probably thinks the same way about themselves), but because of how far I live from Colorado, I have never had the opportunity to visit Focus on the Family, nor have I been to a live show, and nor have even come into contact with anyone who works for the show. I think back, and ask myself: how much of a fan am I?

And neither have I had the opportunity  to curl up next to the radio and listen to the latest Adventures in Odyssey as it first airs. The truth is, Christian radio stations in Canada are scarce, and Christian book stores even more so. Because of this, before shows were heard online, I had to endure hearing the episodes a half a year later than everyone else. I'm pretty sure I was the last one to find out that Hal Smith died. 

A Canadian AIO fan has plenty of other things to feel sorry for. For one thing, mail sent doesn't go directly to the Focus on the Family in Colorado. Instead, it gets rerouted to Focus on the Family Canada. I remember one of the show's producers mentioning: "...We respond to every single one of your letters". Not every single one. Here in Canada, we get a response from someone at Focus on the Family Canada saying "Thanks for your mail! We'll be sure to send it to them". Needless to say, that type of response feels a lot less satisfying, and personal. Wouldn't you agree?

And, presuming Odyssey is located in Ohio (as revealed in "Odyssey USA"), I wonder why Canada isn't mentioned more often than the scattered references in "The Underground Railroad", "Memories of Jerry", and "And the Glory".  Did Bennett Charles really need to run all the way down to Mexico in "Here today, Gone Tomorrow"? According to my knowledge of geography, Canada might have been the quicker option. Also, why are there so many more references to Spanish heritage, language, and characters than Canadians or French-quebecers? Instead of "The Cross of Cortez" it could have taken place in Canada, and with a little imagination, be called "The Cross of Cartier" in honor of the St. Lawrence river explorer. And I suppose every Canadian felt hurt when the show picked Alaska for its northern setting in "The Black Veil" instead of the hundreds of miles (or should I say kilometers?) of equally cold locations in Canada. Perhaps Novacom thought Canadian brains weren't worth controlling.

Americans may not pay much attention to Canadians, but Canadians sure pay a lot of attention to them. And if you don't believe me, then watch one of your American icons, Tom Brokaw, explain the close relationship between Canadians and Americans:

Don't get me wrong; my point isn't that I want Adventures in Odyssey to feature more scenes in which someone wanders into Whit's End asking for poutine, or where kids play hockey, or someone saying "that Canadian health care system is pretty good, eh?" It isn't a issue of being politically correct and changing the show to attract and allure a greater audience (i.e: Look at us! The Parker family has a Spanish mother!); rather, it is about occasionally acknowledging an existing audience. It is also about being aware of when Christ ceases to be a universal message, and becomes a message molded by country and culture, and values distinct to that culture.

After "Odyssey USA" was released, the vice president of Family Brodcasting suggested that featuring "USA" in the title would alienate non-American listeners--he was smart in doing so. The town is called Odyssey, for it is a uncharted, mythological sort of place. It defies specific location and perhaps, that is its allure, that is its power.