[Guest]

Thank you for your comment. Only someone who lives in Canada could have made it. Some comments can only be made by Canadians, and concerning the US, some comments can only be made by Americans.

[Jesse]

The US president is often referred to as "The most powerful man in the free world". I have never once heard the Canadian PM referred to in that way. You'll note that I was making a comparison, not saying anything about the absolute amounts of power in either case.

Nor did I say that any of these things were necessarily something to be proud of; nor did I say they were things to be ashamed of. Whether you like them or not, they are valid comparisons.

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Your mantra has been your opinions are stifled due to their contrary nature, when they are actually stifled for being without perceivable foundation.

[Guest]

I like the short list.

[Guest]

Too bad it's just a fantasy list. All made up and all lies.

[Dave Ruston]

I travelled my country this summer. It was wonderful! My wife, daughter, and I scraped up some dough over a long, long period in order to drive from deep in the heart of Ontario to the east coast, the heart of Canada! Drove through beautiful Quebec, New Brunswick, and then on to PEI and Nova Scotia. We visited Charlottetown, the birthplace of confederation, and Windsor, Nova Scotia, the birthplace of hockey. I took an empty waterbottle and scooped up some holy water from long pond where the world`s greatest game was first played 205 years ago. And the beauty of the Cape Breton highlands is second to none! Oh, I also brought back some of that red PEI mud! T`was a pricey trip, which forced me to put off renewing my internet, among other things, but I`m glad my family was able to see our beautiful country!! My daughter wants to move to PEI!!! Oh, and, whatever the personal feelings of many a Quebecois, there`s no denying the beauty of Quebec!!!

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Dave Ruston

[Guest]

"- differing views on the role of government (whether or not the respective governments are playing those roles)"

I suspect that Ted Kennedy's opinions on the role of government are more in line with yours than they are with mine, despite the fact that I'm Canadian, and he's not. Albertans are probably more "American" in terms of this than residents of Massachuesetts are.

"- more emphasis on regional differences in Canada, good or bad"

Funny, since "the South" in the US still thinks of itself as distinct from the northern states

"- differing ideas about liberty vs equality; Americans value personal liberty more highly, while Canadians value equality more highly"

Once again, a Ted Kennedy or Michael Moore is probably more "Canadian" (by your definition) in their thinking than I am.

"- different political model; the Canadian system has less concentrated political power, while the US system has greater powers set against each other as checks and balances"

The PM controls the legislative, executive and (less directly) judicial branches of government.

"- independence gained through peaceful means; foreign policy since that time reflects this."

Can't argue with this one, especially as you expressed this in such a value-neutral manner (a tough thing for a nationalist to do when comparing Canada and the US).

[boflaade]

I travelled my country this summer. <<

I envy you Dave. The last time I went across Canada is when we had passanger rail service before Via rail. It was also the first time I came to BC. The Rockies were/are breath taking. So few Canadians realize the raw nature only Canada has. I have flown many times since and that shows great landscape as well.

[Brother Jonathan]

<p>Anonymous,</p> <p>I’m curious; why do you consider the name <i>Veterans’ Day</i> to be boastful and arrogant? I agree that this name is humanocentric — but doesn’t the name <i>Remembrance Day</i> also honour the memory of humans?</p> <p>Perhaps one reason for our particular renaming of Armistice Day is that we had already had a Memorial Day for half a century before the end of the Great War …</p><p>---<br>Shatter your ideals upon the rock of Truth.<br />
<br />
— The Divine Symphony, by Inayat Khan<br />

[Brother Jonathan]

<p>Yes, there is a wide range of opinions throughout North America on what the proper rôles of government are. The distinctive difference between our countries on this topic probably boils down to where the centre of each country’s political bell curve lays.</p> <p>I don’t know the full extent of regional differentiation in Canada, but it certainly does exist on this side of the border. Some years ago there was a Southern comedienne of Asian ancestry (whose speech was unmistakably Southern) who had a bit about a trip to New York City, where she described an encounter with a native: <i>Youse guys from da Sout’ sound so stoo-pit!</i></p> <p>I disagree that liberty plus equality is a zero sum. The two concepts are not mutually exclusive, unless particularly restrictive definitions of each are used.</p> <p>My understanding of the fundamental theoretical difference between the two political models is that the American federal government is a construct of sovereign states, while the Canadian federal government is not a construct of sovereign provinces. (If my understanding of provincial sovereignty is wrong, please let me know!)</p> <p>Were Canada’s population ten times that of the USA, I wonder if Canadian foreign policy would still reflect its peaceful means of independence from the UK?</p><p>---<br>Shatter your ideals upon the rock of Truth.<br />
<br />
— The Divine Symphony, by Inayat Khan<br />

[Guest]

>. It's a shame Australians feel they have to follow Americans around like sheep.<<

The Aussies don't feel that they have to "follow" anyone. They do the right thing when they see it, regardless of whatever the USA is doing. If there is a problem in their own back yard (say East Timor for instance) they roll up their sleeves and go fix it. They don’t whine to the USA to go take care of it and then whine that the USA is in everyone else’s business when we do.

In short the Aussies don’t want a free ride at someone else’s expense. Even if they did get one, I doubt that they would endlessly complain and moralize and whine while they were getting it. That is why people have respect for them.

>>Kiwis nd Canadians do have a lot in common.<<<

New Zeeland is tiny and really couldn’t have an effect on world events even if it wanted to. What is Canada’s excuse?

[Guest]

>>Please take the next boat back to that wasteland you call Australia.<<

Gee, You sure showed him you are not a “limp wristed pommy bastard”…

Let him know he hurt your “inner child”, that will the mean old Aussie.

[Guest]

>>Make sure that you pick up a bone for GWB's lapdog...Mr. Howard.>>

Meanwhile, Paul Martin is boning you…

[Guest]

>>>That the question need be asked is an answer in itself.<<<

Wow...

[Jesse]

All of my statements were meant to represent the average opinion across the countries; I am certainly aware that there are regional and personal differences in both. <Blockquote> I disagree that liberty plus equality is a zero sum. The two concepts are not mutually exclusive, unless particularly restrictive definitions of each are used. </blockquote> I agree that they are not mutually exclusive, but in practice, any laws guaranteeing equality curtail personal liberty to some extent; the same is not true for the reverse. However, the loss of personal liberty is often cited as a reason not to bring in measures to further promote equality. Perhaps I should have said "equality is valued before liberty in Canada", to be more accurate. <blockquote> My understanding of the fundamental theoretical difference between the two political models is that the American federal government is a construct of sovereign states, while the Canadian federal government is not a construct of sovereign provinces. (If my understanding of provincial sovereignty is wrong, please let me know!) </blockquote> Canada was built via Confederation, wherein the various colonies joined into the Dominion of Canada. They did lose sovereignty in the process, becoming provinces (territories are different, of course, in that they never had sovereignty to lose). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Confederation">Wikipedia on Canadian Confederation</a>. <p> Interestingly, while US states were considered sovereign at first, they delegated most sovereign power to the national Congress under the Articles of Confederation of 1781. So, neither country is truly a construct of sovereign states. It would be impossible for Alberta or California to declare war, for example. <p> So, the fundamental difference at the time of creation was what you stated. The fundamental difference *now* is that Canada is a constitutional monarchy, while the USA is a federal republic. Which is just another way of saying "we have different political systems, with powers distributed differently". <blockquote> Were Canada’s population ten times that of the USA, I wonder if Canadian foreign policy would still reflect its peaceful means of independence from the UK? </blockquote> For that to have happened, various other historical differences would also have occurred, so I doubt that we would be able to draw any conclusions with so many variables. It is still an interesting thought though; I would like to think that, without a war of independence and a civil war, Canada would still avoid the path of war when possible. This is pure speculation, however. <p>---<br>Your mantra has been your opinions are stifled due to their contrary nature, when they are actually stifled for being without perceivable foundation.

[Jesse]

"Remembrance" is not humanocentric; it is the memory of the people involved, as well as the death and destruction that came as a result. You can remember a great variety of things besides veterans. Even though it is just a name, it does serve to remind people that there is more to war than valiant soldiers.

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Your mantra has been your opinions are stifled due to their contrary nature, when they are actually stifled for being without perceivable foundation.