Becephalus,

Your Canadian hosts seemed to fancy an armchair guerrilla war against an invading U.S. Were they aware that Canada fought a war against the U.S., albeit as a British colony rather than under the Maple Leaf flag, and had the distinction of joining in the burning of Washington?

You should have asked them if they had voted in the recent U.S. elections. Upon reminding you that they were ineligible for such an honor, you then should have reminded them that this was their problem to solve or savor as they wished. Naturally, some would have bragged about their ineligibility. You could then have pointed out the paradox of their position: on the one hand complaining about their impotence in the face of American might while on the other hand boasting about that same impotence. How would they resolve such a paradox ... or were they savoring it like the intellectual masochists which they really were?