Surprise, Mr Harper! Canadians Are NOT Americans!

On Kyoto, 59% of Canadian believe the government should continue to meet its obligations. Just 31% said that it doesn’t matter if we stick with Kyoto as long as we have an alternative plan (which we don’t). Quebeckers back Kyoto 66% to 27%. At the other end of the spectrum is Alberta where 50% back an alternative versus 41% that back Kyoto — hardly a resounding rejection of Kyoto even in Harper’s Conservative base. What Harper has to realize, sooner if he wants to survive, or later if he doesn’t, is that Canadians are culturally different from Americans — it’s taken me eight years living in the U.S. to figure it out, but I’m pretty sure it’s a fact. Americans are not as a whole impressed with international obligations — Kyoto, the international criminal court, the landmines treaty, small arms treaty, etc etc etc — they just don’t hold political or emotional clout in America. So, Bush’s withdrawl from Kyoto was met with barely a notice by most Americans (those with a global environmental conscience notwithstanding). Likewise, the military is a powerful symbol of unity in an otherwise fractious nation in America, so rallying support behind the military is a sure-fire way of gaining support for Bush. Not so for Harper. Canadians deeply respect, admire, and appreciate the courage and sacrifice their troops make every day in Afghanistan and elsewhere, but they do so not because they are proud of their strength in combat, but because they are believe their missions promote peace, prosperity, and stability. If Canadians stop believing that, if Canadian troops are intended merely to kill Taliban rebels, you will see Canadian support drop even further. Article found at: http://democraticspace.com/blog/2006/06/surprise-mr-harper-canadians-are-not-americans/ "I want to thank all the Canadians who came out today to wave to me - with all five fingers!" ~ President George W. Bush (during his first visit to Ottawa Nov. 30, 2004) "The US is our trading partner, our neighbour, our ally and our friend... and sometimes we'd like to give them such a smack!" ~ Rick Mercer God Bless America, but God help Canada to put up with them!

Note: http://democraticspace....