Sometimes I'm ashamed to be American

Many of my fellow Canadians are hopping mad. And who can blame them? Basically, some late night attention-whore on Fox News gathered a panel of like-minded ignoramuses and they all started insulting and making light of Canada, its mission in Afghanistan, and the RCMP.



There's an article about the host's so-called "apology," which by the way essentially amounts to, "I said what I said, and if you're offended you must have misunderstood me. I'm sorry you misunderstood." Gee, it's hard not to forgive this guy, with such a heartfelt outpouring of remorse and all.

Mind you, Canadians have been fighting in the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan, which is why Canadian troops have been dying at roughly twice the rate of American troops. Look at sheer percentages and you'll see this is right. Canada has been doing the bulk of the dirtiest and hardest work while other NATO nations hesitate to get involved - despite their pledges to do so. As if these conditions alone aren't sufficient cause for outrage, this pack of slovenly closed-minded mouth-breathers, in their stupefying ignorance, now have the gall to minimize and make light of these efforts and sacrifices.

They laughed about how it would be a perfect time to invade Canada while our military is out "getting manicures and pedicures," and waxed on about how we don't need a military anyway since we just piggyback our national security on the U.S. military. They claimed not to even know Canadian troops were in Afghanistan, basically saying you wouldn't know it because they're not accomplishing anything. They talked about how the missions last too long because we're too soft and not focused enough on the task at hand. The insults flowed fast and furious with blissfully clueless disregard for reality or facts.

Then they went on to make light of the RCMP, not realizing of course that their references to Canadian law enforcement being performed while riding horses and wearing red jackets as proof that "this is not a smart culture," ironically only serve to showcase their own culture of ignorance.

I really do mean that last phrase exactly the way it sounds. I can state with confidence, from personal experience, that yes indeed - there IS a culture of ignorance in the States. While no country is completely devoid of ignorant people, there is a dramatic difference in the frequency and severity of ignorance between the U.S. and Canada, enough to cause us to experience significant culture shock. There is a minimal education level here, even among the supposedly "uneducated," that still enables them to speak with an eloquence and depth of understanding simply not seen among their American counterparts. I'm not being an ass - I'm speaking of the cataclysmic failure of the U.S. public school system, which I have had the misfortune of experiencing for myself. Were it not for my own thirst for knowledge, and continual lifelong self-education through library books and the internet, I wouldn't have nearly the level of awareness and understanding that I do today. Yes, I have a college education too, and that certainly helps. But before you dismiss all this as anti-American propaganda, take a look at the rates of postsecondary education in the States vs. Canada. You will see that I'm not just blowing smoke up your butt when I say that Americans on average are less educated. Since less of them attend college or university, it follows that more of them rely on the increasingly inadequate public school system for their base of knowledge, and on mass media for supplementing that base.

Which brings me to the abysmal failure of the media to help educate Americans about the U.S.' role in world affairs. News in the U.S. is covered as though the U.S. is the centre of the universe and the American perspective is the only valid one. Yes, world issues and events are covered in world news... but usually in a cursory manner, with little background as to why these things are occurring or discussion of the cultural norms that must be taken into consideration to put them in perspective. The sovereignty of other countries, and the differences of other cultures, are regularly dismissed out of hand or even treated with open contempt. Canada (much less its substantial contributions to the American economy or NATO operations) is hardly mentioned at all, and when it is, it's generally to make fun of it as the 51st state, a lesser imitation of U.S. proper, a land of nothing but frozen tundra and igloos and primitive life, a place and people that just don't matter, and someone to blame whenever there is a lapse in U.S. Homeland Security. So as much as I'd love to claim this latest display of bad taste, ignorance, and contemptuous disrespect is an isolated incident, it's not even close. It's embarrassingly typical. Only now, this outrage is also being directed at those who risk life and limb in service of our country - our troops and our law enforcement. And it's part of a rapidly growing culture of ignorance perpetuated by a failing school system and a mass media that thinks covering the latest Britney Spears escapade is more important than fostering good citizenship or diplomacy and cultural awareness in world affairs.

Sometimes I'm ashamed to be American.

"The best job in the world," and other exploits

There is a contest where people are trying to audition for "the best job in the world." The position is called Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef and is a publicity gimmick by Tourism Queensland Australia. You get paid to live on one of the beautiful islands, snorkel, check out luxury spas and local events, etc., take videos and pictures of it all, and blog about it at least once a week. Rough stuff, I know. Naturally, LOTS of people are applying.

In order to get selected, you have to get the most votes for your audition video. This one's from a guy up here in the Yukon. Too damn funny.



Which got me thinking about the "Polar Bear Dips":





...and the "snow baths" (at about 5:24):





What is it about Canadians and doing insane things in ice and snow? Things that make you wonder just how many marbles they are missing?

That's awesome!

I'm still pretty sick this time around but I hope to join my fellow citizens next year. :-P

O Canada - no, it's not up for debate

N.B. anthem dispute opened divisions in community: parent

Why this has become such an issue completely baffles me. I just don't get why 2 families should get to dictate the protocol for an entire school... especially since that protocol involves removing something as integral as the national anthem. Maybe it's just my American upbringing (ironically), but I happen to believe that you must integrate to a certain extent in your country of residence - because no matter how much your beliefs may differ, some things are not negotiable. Yes, by all means write letters to your politicians, protest, and get involved to change things for the better when people are being wronged and victimized. But removing a key part of the national identity from an entire school just because you don't want to hear it is destructive, unfair, arrogant, and more than a little contemptuous - even more so in a country such as ours, where we are sleeping next to the elephant and our struggle for national identity is intensified.

There is a very simple solution: if you don't want to hear a country's national anthem, leave. But be forewarned: no matter where you go you're going to have to hear somebody's national anthem - and most places wouldn't entertain your sentiments anywhere nearly as long as they have here. They sure as hell wouldn't in the States. They'd kick you in the pants and tell you to put up or get out.

And so help me, I agree.

No country is ever perfect. You may not like its government, prevailing attitudes, climate, culture, religion, foreign policy, crime rate, geography, or any number of other things... but whatever it is, if it bothers you that much you're free to go somewhere else that fits you better. I did. So this isn't just hypothetical rhetoric - the very fact that I've moved back to Canada for good shows that I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is. And if The Star Spangled Banner had bothered me the same ridiculous way O Canada bothers these 2 families, I could take solace in the fact that I only have to hear it during the hockey games.

Rick Mercer's "Photo Challenge"

The original, posted at Rick's Photo Challenge page:



...and with a few minor adjustments.

Canadian irreverence

These are a couple of hilarious videos showing how refreshingly irreverent Canadians are about politics. For those of us who are used to the stiff formality of American politics, these come as a bit of a shock... yet we immediately fell in love with this down-to-earth, politicians-are-people-too type attitude.

A little quick background to set context for non-Canadians: Rick Mercer is a political satirist. All the other people in this video are high-ranking government officials. The lady in red at the gate is Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, who has been trying to get a seat in Parliament but so far cannot because of the failings of the first-past-the-post voting system. The guy whose English is not so good was the leader of the Liberal Party at the time. The guy next to Rick Mercer while Rick is reading the paper is Prime Minister Stephen Harper.



Background: Prime Minister Stephen Harper continually claims to work with the other 3 political parties, while in actuality stubbornly refusing to do so. So the 3 parties finally joined up in a coalition against him where the Liberals and NDP would form the government and the Bloc Québécois agreed to support them. Because of this Harper was going to fail a confidence vote last month and thus be out on his ear, so instead he dissolved Parliament until Jan 26 (chicken!), but he'll still have to face the vote then and is expected to fail. In the meantime the Liberals picked another leader, Michael Ignatieff, who will likely be the next Prime Minister in short order. This video is Geri Hall from the show This Hour Has 22 Minutes getting *very* cheeky with Ignatieff.

As Bush Exits, Expats Staying Put

This article is about Americans who made good on their threats to move to Canada during George W. Bush's tenure.

Before I begin discussing this, let me just say that there are a whole lot of non-political reasons why we moved here. I suspect it's the same for most American expatriates. If you moved every time politics didn't go your way, you'd never stay in any country for very long. That said, U.S. politics and the extent to which the U.S. government neglects the needs of the people have rubbed us the wrong way for a long time.

I can really relate with the gal who said it's not just Bush. A contributing factor is the fact that literally ½ of Americans knew what Bush was about, had watched him in action since 2000, knew what he was going to do, and still voted for him again. Now, despite a truly abysmal presidency full of lies and illegal conduct, fraught with scandals, wrongful deaths, enshrining torture, ignoring habeas corpus and basic human rights, flouting of Constitutional rights and the system of checks and balances, blatantly taking from the poor to give to the rich, gutting the educational system, and so much more... the Republicans still garnered 45.7% of the vote last November. I'll never understand this. Are people taking crazy pills?? This speaks volumes about American society in general and in my mind is just one more symptom of how backward things are over there. (See my discussion of the U.S. South below.)

I can also relate to the lesbian couple, who quite enjoy having the right to marry and full protection under the law. When I've met people here, and they inquire upon introduction who my partner is to me so they'll know how to refer to her, it doesn't even faze them when I tell them. They don't freak out or hesitate or anything. It's amazing! I've always dreaded that moment whenever meeting anyone new in the States, because so many times they'd start right in on us like it's any of their damn concern. I say, don't ask if you might not like the answer! I finally gave up and just started lying and saying she's my roommate, which I really hate doing, because I really don't like lying for any reason and I don't like denying our relationship. But it got so we started doing it habitually, because we couldn't even go out and have a good time at mixed social events because some closed-minded jerk always had to take it upon him/herself to ask the question and then ruin our good time. We had to either go to gay events or face the homophobes.

Mind you, it's not like we were in the Deep South either... this was California, one of the most socially liberal states in the U.S., a leader that has had domestic partnership in place since 1999. So draw your conclusions from there. I lived for a brief time in the U.S. South, incidentally, so I know what I'm talking about, and I can vouch for the fact that the widespread racism, homophobia, condemnation of anyone who is not a fundamentalist Christian, and general closedmindedness were shocking and dismaying enough to convince me to avoid any future visits.

So coming here to Canada, it's mind-blowing and really refreshing when the question comes up about my same-sex partner, who also happens to be of a different race than myself, and nobody even bats an eye. What a difference!

Returning to Canada as an adult has made for some serious culture shock, in so many very positive ways. We love it here! And as we get to know it better, we love it even more. We have a lot of dear loved ones in the States, but we wouldn't dream of moving back.

Canadian police chase

I saw this and just about fell off my chair.



Having just bought my first winter tires this year, after slip-sliding away last winter on the few occasions we'd had to take the car, I watched this and breathed a heavy sigh of relief while having a good hearty belly laugh. There is a straightforwardness here, that permeates everything from the way Canadians talk to each other to the commercials they show on TV. This is no small adjustment for these California gals, but we like it!