Because of their phenomenal success, Americans tend to conduct themselves a little too arrogantly toward other countries. Canada and the United States are definitely friends, but the relationship is hardly equal or reciprocal. America frequently calls on Canada for favours, as it did when Canadians hosted thousands of stranded passengers in the aftermath of September 11, or when Canada joined the United States’ invasion of Afghanistan. However, gracious thanks for such actions almost never come our way. President Bush did not visit Canada until the beginning of his second term, and it took even longer for the U.S. government to acknowledge Canada’s offer of hospitality on 9/11.
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[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on November 29, 2006]
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A Genuine Canuck’S View Of The United States Of America
Posted on Wednesday, November 29 at 10:06 by jensonjContributed By
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Well, your comparing apples and oranges, but let's compare:
- Canada became a country a little over a 100 years ago. The United States has a couple hundred more years of colonization and history on their side. We are one of the newest kids on the block.
- The United States has a population that is 100 times the size of ours. This means 100 times the tax base, the labour pool, the industry development, ect.. ect... There's just no comparision.
- The United States used slavery as the basis for building their empire. This enabled several key families to become some of the richest in history. Canada used Chinese labour to build our railroads, but other than that, has kind of steered clear of slavery, which I am proud of.
- The United States was formed from a violent revolution. They then wrote into their constitution that everyone should own, and is indeed encouraged to own, a gun. This 'gun culture' exists to this day. They are a very violent, militarist country. They have no qualms about using that violence internationally, either. This is not something to be envious of. I am not envious of this. I do still like to go down to the beach and watch an american aircraft carrier sail by, though. It's kewl. By contrast, Canada was formed much later, so by the time we started complaining about wanting our own country, Britain was just about out of the colonial empire business anyway, and agreed.
America was settled by these really uptight puritan religious folks who had no problems with exploiting the natives and shooting them, but had big problems talking about S-E-X. This cultural theme can still be seen to this day in American culture. Sex is pure evil, they impeach presidents over it. Killing is cool, everyone should do it. They vote for presidents who get them into wars. They flame celebrities who show a little titty on tv. They tittilate over sex like a schoolyard boy, or ruthlessly shun it like a Catholic nun.
Canada by contrast was settled by a big mix of European people, a lot of common hardworking folk, Irish, Scottish, British, Germans ect.. There was no common theme riding through these people on social custom, or sexuality, or religion, other than the common average among all working class Europeans. Rather than embrace the 'melting pot' theory of getting everyone to behave the same way as is practiced in the US, we went for the multi-cultural approach, where individual communities were encouraged to promote their own customs. This has it's own set of problems, like Sikh husbands setting their wives on fire for smiling at a man in the street, or Asian gangs dueling with Uzis in the Timmies parking lot, but it also produces a very tolerant, friendly society. We are still quite modest about sex, but we do not treat it as so 'dirty', and we are far more tolerant about homosexuality.
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“The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous, the essential act of warfare is the destruction of the produce of human labour”
And that makes the rest of us, what, cheap knock off Canucks?
"Part of Canada’s anti-Americanism stems from an inferiority complex...The common Canadian stereotypes a typical American as an obnoxious, ignorant, but somehow, unbelievably successful person."
Where the hell did the author get THAT crap from?
"unbelievably successful person"?
Uh yeah...this guy's been watching wayyyyy too much MTV, and and canned "reality" shows by the sound of it.
Canadians are not "inferior" to anyone, and anyone who believes that is obviously not a "genuine Canadian".
Well, there is one person who I can think of would agree with him, the quisling PM, Stephen Harper.
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"and the knowledge they fear is a weapon to be used against them"
"The Weapon" - Rush
And yes, I have seen Hitler's and Stalin's empires and need no lectures from people who have read about them in books. Our dictators may not yet be that violent, but give them time and power.
Ed Deak.
Tell the people who have had a hood thrown over their head in the middle of the night, thrown into a van, and flown out of their country, to a fate of torture or worse, that.
Tell the office workers in Towers 1 and 2 that they lived in a free and democratic country.
No, we haven't had gangs of government provoked thugs burning down mosques and stringing up muslims yet.
But that is the ONLY difference I can think of at the moment between 1940 Nazi Germany and the US.
The German people of 1940 were not monsters, or stupid, or any more racist than we are. They were sold a lie, and they bought it, and they gladly marched off to war, singing. Those who spoke out in dissent were silenced and ridiculed, and labelled 'unpatriotic' and a 'threat to their country'. The media was brought on board to sell them the need for a war to right the wrongs done to them by the treaty of Verseilles. And the media presented them with nonsense about a jewish conspiracy to take all their money.
Just as we today are told that 'islamofascists' hate our way of life and our freedom and seek to destroy us all in a jihad.
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“The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous, the essential act of warfare is the destruction of the produce of human labour”
It's like hearing from an American on what they thought a Canadian would write on this subject.
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Perception is two thirds of what we perceive reality to be.
Difficult decisions are a privilege of rank.
Canadians are appalled with violance where as Americans embrace it. It's part of their culture. One may ask if it's greed or the need to be superior that causes the agression.
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Expect little from life and get more from it.
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Diogenes said:
"I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels."
‘The turn’ is that part where the writer hits hard after the set up.<br />
I don’t see Mr. Chan as a Yankee toady at all, more the inscrutable Oriental. <br />
What ever Mr Chan may be he is not incorrect in his assessment of the well known Ugly American*<br />
<br />
* <a href="http://www2.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall98/uglyamerican.htm">http://www2.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall98/uglyamerican.htm</a> <br />
WILLIAM J. LEDERER AND EUGENE BURDICK<br />
The Ugly American <br />
<br />
The multi-million-copy bestseller that coined the phrase for tragic American blunders abroad. <br />
<br />
First published in 1958, The Ugly American became a runaway national bestseller for its slashing exposé of American arrogance, incompetence, and corruption in Southeast Asia. Based on fact, the book's eye-opening stories and sketches drew a devastating picture of how the United States was losing the struggle with Communism in Asia<br />
<p>---<br>Diogenes said:<br />
"I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels."
Ten thousand comedians out of work and you're tryin to be funny.
OOPS! I forgot, you are funny, in the head.
Walk away indy.
You're getting slaughtered here
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Diogenes said:
"I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels."
Every country has similar assets in its people.
If you give the people freedom like this, it only stands to reason that prosperity will follow.
Warlock
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"The consequence of YOUR freedom of speech, is MY freedom of speech"-Warlock