Teens Skeptical Of America's Influence

The only conclusion I can draw from this is that the left-leaning public school system is doing the job it assigned itself quite effectively. I probably thought the Americans were evil for a while myself when I was between the age of 14 and 18. And then I grew up.

Anon maybe your right.

But personally I think your totally way off on this. I'm not sure what public school you went to or even if you went to school for that matter. But the public school I went to, and the public schools people I know have went too have never taught anything regarding the U.S being evil in any way.

When I look back when I was in the public school I recall that I learnt more about American history then Canadian history. I also find that our schools have actually lacked in giving us the real outlook about the U.S. I never learnt much about American invasions of Canada in school. I had to learn it from a book I read last year. They also didn't tell us in school that the U.S didn't get involved in the war against Hitler until they were threaten themselves. I grew up actually thinking Americans won that war and Canadians played a small role. But its actually the other way around. If anything our public school has been molding us into American culture.

Its so strange that you would blame it on the public school system that these youth have these views. Did you even go to public school or what? Youth in Canada today get more American culture "in their face" then they do of Canadian culture. So if their having these views it makes you wonder why they would view the U.S this way, considering they are growing up with more American content today then we ever had.

Kevin

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"Love actually, is all around us" --From the movie Love Actually.

I don't think any school is left-leaning. Try to think of the other institutions of society where attendance is mandatory (prisons, mental hospitals & nothing else). I just read a story about the Valedictorian at a school in the USA who didn't get given her diploma & got kicked off the stage because she gave a speech at the ceremony harshly criticising the school's admin & how they let the school go to shytte. I bet the people who got nothing but Ds & barely graduated didn't get in trouble like that. Shows you what's really important to learn in schools. That's in the USA but Canadian schools aren't much different. I remember learning about "54'40 or fight" & "manifest destiny" in grade 10 social studies though. That doesn't mean that schools are leftwing.

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"These Yankee politicians are the lowest race of thieves in existence." - Sir John Sparrow Thompson

I saw that in the newspaper too. Interesting. The commentary on it noted an upsurge in nationalism among young Canadians.

Actually, what they teach in school (and how they teach it) depends a lot on the teacher. I remember hearing news reports of a Canadian history teacher denying that the Holocaust even happened. Obviously this is an extreme.

My personal experiences (I just graduated two years ago) are not that the school system is left wing. Rather, the corporate infiltration of my childhood has forced me leftwing. You have to realize that most youth are completely oblivious to politics. Yet we are subconsciously aware of the constant American takeover of Canadian companies. We have no stats to back it up, but the more we look around, the more we see Walmart, MacDonalds, Starbucks, Home Depot, etc etc. And we watch the news and see Bush talking about how invading Iraq because of their Weapons of Mass Destruction and because Saddam Hussein is a tyrant.

And yet the US incarcerates 700 000 civilians every year JUST for marijuana possession. And they possess enough nukes to kill everyone in the world. And it's the US that unilaterally invaded Iraq.

Kinda makes me feel like it's the US that has Weapons of Mass Destruction and a tyrant for a leader.

Just because the US's most aggressive takeover method is economic in nature doesn't mean it won't harm people. You bring in a Walmart and locally owned and operated businesses go under. And the profits get moved to the US and the jobs to Mexico or China or Taiwan.

Do you think it's lost on the youth that the "Proudly Canadian" t-shirts for sale all over Jasper have a "Made in China" tag on them?

Do you think that the Canadian youth don't understand why it is that Canadians are welcomed with open arms around the world while Americans are shunned?

When I grew up, Canada was the greatest country in the world. And since then we've slipped a few spots. I think we're around number 5 or 6 now. And on some scales we're in the high 20's. And all this at the time of greatest US-Canada integration.

We're not as gullible as you think.

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Kory Yamashita

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Surveys like this point out the influence of the massive amount of negative media that is directed towards the United States, ignoring the real atrocities committed by other countries, and the failure of the education system to teach critical, as opposed to simply cynical, thinking skills. It is obviously far easier and more immediately relevant to people here for the media to report on the poor policy outcomes of Western nations whereas the fact that the government of Sudan is slaughtering black people is a more difficult story to cover and the media just don't really seem to care that much about it.

Actually ! The Real only conclusion to Draw is that these Young people make more sense then their grand parents do , heading off to the polls to vote for Harper and Cartel . This has nothing to do with the public school system at all , It has to do w/ free thinking and not being brainwashed by the media or political spins of any Group . I actually applaud these young people for seeing what and who is the problem , not the american people ( as they are waking up as well ) but the Corporations , the Privately owned Mass Media and the best puppet politicians money can buy !

Anon what youth do you know that sit infront of the TV to watch the news? I can't say I know of any. Youth spend more time watching American movies, which actually should make Canadian youth like America more since all their movies actually make them look like heroe's every the time. They do have their heroes but just making a point.

I bet if this same poll was done in the U.S they would get the same result. It isn't who's to blame for their negative view of the U.S, its more like we should just realize that the youth today are not dumb. They actually show more intelligence then most adults today. Their able to read into things better then adults who's minds are clouded by false perceptions. The youth perceptions are still fairly pure.

Kevin

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"Love actually, is all around us" --From the movie Love Actually.

'youth perceptions are pure' - you're kidding right?

Looking back, I feel that much we were taught in school omitted much Canadian history, as well as omitted much of the bloody US foreign policy. I think schools then and now are engineered to try to socially condition people into thinking that the United States was and is, as they like to call themselves 'Santa Claus to the world' when actually they are more like a scrooge on steroids!

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Dave Ruston

Anon, you have to realize that youthful innocence is much different than aged ignorance. And the youth ARE intelligent. Think about the fact that kids learn their native language through osmosis without any clear common form of communication to begin with.

Ever notice how quickly a 12 year old can open a "child-proof" medicine container that you can't open? Or how much more proficient with computers a young teen is? It's because the younger generation is quicker to adapt to change. And with the power structures of our world changing at a constantly accelerating pace, it is the youth of the world that first recognizes the real problems we face.

Yes, the Sudanese are suffering. No question about that. But so are the American people. Their society has a malignant cancer and it has gone unnoticed as of yet. Just look at Moore's "Bowling for Columbine". The USA is a society of fear. And large corporations use that fear to control the people.

And youth are good with numbers these days. We hear that the US has more murders than any other industrialized nation.

And they have a problem with obesity. And this, I think, is more symbolic than any other stat. The US overconsumes. "MORE FOR LESS" scream advertisements. Would you like to Super-Size that?

Oops, our Hollywood elite need more electricity to heat their pools. Better get it from Canada and Mexico.

Oops, we're out of water. Better import it from Canada.

Oops, our loggers can't compete with Canadians. Better impose illegal one-sided lumber tarriffs.

Oops, our West Coast fishermen have depleted a bunch of Alaskan stocks. Better move the "A-B" line South without discussing it with Canada, essentially taking over Canadian waters, and then fish right on the border of that to target Canadian-bound salmon. Oh, and then we'll ship them to Canada and can them in "Made in Canada" cans that reflect Canada's higher quality product.

Oops, we pissed off some Middle-Easterners by oppressing their people for cheap oil. Well, lets build a Star Wars missile defense system to stop their Exacto-knife hijacking terrorism. And heck, lets build it around Canada too so that Canadian resources are already within our military control. Oh, that will make other countries as bitter towards Canadians as they are towards us? Big deal, we need the resources.

Anon, don't be so utterly naive. The critical thinking of the youth is extraordinary. They recognize intuitively that multi-national and global corporations have more control over Canadians than our government does. They have the same rights as a Canadian citizen, but none of the responsibilities. Even our domestic corporations don't have as much power as foreign ones do.

I'm ecstatic that the youth have noticed this. I just hope more will make the connections and then put an X in the right spot and drop that ballot in the box.

-KY

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Kory Yamashita

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

I think this is the article: <a href='http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/soundoff/story.html?id=9848cd3a-c74a-41ee-8595-ddaa9c40ba0e'>Ottawa Citizen</a> <p>Anon, thanks for the laughs about "left-leaning schools." School never taught me the US was evil, I had to go figure that out for myself. It was an uphill struggle, too, because school had so warped and deadened my perception of history. If anything school tried to teach me the US were the good guys. <p>This isn't ignoring the atrocities in other countries. But it is noticing that the US often incites and materially supports those atrocities, and then expects to loved and adored and worshipped for it.

Kory,

I've told you this before but I want to say it again. I feel safer knowing you are on the planet. I only hope that when I need to be in a nursing home you'll be PM and there will be a home for me to go into.

<br><br> <blockquote>'youth perceptions are pure' - you're kidding right?</blockquote> <p>I like how this Anon jumped on this comment of mine. He even repeats what I said leaving out a word that changes my meaning. <p>This is what I actually said, one word he missed but makes a difference in the meaning. <blockquote>The youth perceptions are still fairly pure.</blockquote> <p> I ain't taking what I said back neither. I stand by that comment and no Anon its no joke. <p>Society poison's our mind. We get molded into the society and start believing things that are not even fact and have no truth at all to them. Unless one never watches TV, never listens to Bush, never listens to politicians, never listens to the radio then we can't say this hasn't happen to us. Its impossible to say none of our beliefs have never been molded into us over time by outside sources including our own family. We can deny that its ever happen but it really doesn't matter. <p>Kevin <p>---<br>"Love actually, is all around us" --From the movie Love Actually.