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Frank McKenna our ambassador to the US says in the news today that we as Canadians need to quit being so smug and get the chip off our shoulders when it comes to our American neighbours....When I first read that I was pissed off, how dare he tell me I have a chip on my shoulder or that I am smug, but after reading the article I started feeling sorry for my Southern neighbours. He went on to say that because of the horrific events of September 11th 2001 most Americans are obsessed with the threat of terrorism. Is this true?
I started thinking on what irritates me about some American's....the government was first on the list, but after that the one main thing that bothered me was the majority of American's that I have met is their lack of knowledge when it comes to my country and the people in it...Like Frank McKenna also stated, the American's don't think of us much if any at all....why is that?
In our schools we are taught about Canadian history as well as American history, we are taught about globalization and that we are a country among many. Do the school's south of the Canadian border not teach about globalization? The US is one of the most powerful countries in the world but they aren't alone in the world. Yes I detest the present US government but I have enjoyed every friendship and love affair I have had with my American neighbours. I hope one day that the powers that be in the US decide to open up and teach their population about the rest of the world. If that sounds smug then I don't understand what the word means.
posted by michelle at 8:59 a.m.
2 Comments:
Not much difference between us.
Most of us hate our U.S. government too! (We love our country, just hate the oppressive and inept boobs who want to run and ruin it.)
The fact that we spend little time learning about our northern, and absolutely FAVORITE neighbor, is a compliment, not a snub.
We see Canada as being the same as us. Not better, not worse, not even particularly different.
To study Canada and it's history would turn out to be an examination of our differences, which leads to prejudices and bigotry. I would rather continue to see all Canadians as being just like us, only with better hockey and lower temperatures.
I say it's a compliment that we don't study your country because these days, and even in days gone by, most of our civilian geographic research goes into figuring out who and where those countries are that we see on the TV screen each night, the countries who hate us with a passion.
Admittedly, most of us didn't know, and didn't care, where Afghanistan was.
When the towers went down, it led to a crash course in locales like Kabul and Baghdad. And we weren't smiling when we were pulling out those maps.
To be honest, we're a big piece of land ourselves, and sadly, our schools don't even do a good job of teaching where our OWN states and capitals are.
In fact, kids are constantly getting their knuckles rapped for referring to Toronto as an American city.
(Which isn't such an egregious error, considering the Blue Jays are in baseball's AMERICAN league.)
Within our own borders, we don't spend much time learning the cultural differences between New Englanders and Southerners (and believe me, the differences are ENORMOUS), we simply accept that different folks from different areas are going to be different, and it's okay.
Much like Canada.
And don't get too nation-centric.
Without Google or Mapquest, can you tell me where Mesquite, Nevada is? Know anything about our customs, crops, or products?
I've lived in Maryland, Florida, Utah, and now Nevada. Trust me, they are like points on the compass, each completely different from the other. And no amount of "book learnin'" could have prepared me for those differences.
Now on to the issue of terrorism.
Are we obsessed with the threat of terrorism?
Nah.
Most of us don't even give it a thought in our day-to-day worlds.
And at this point, I don't think it's the "threat" of terrorism that even enters our minds.
It's the rage and frustration.
We're not afraid of the terrorists, we're just pissed off because they are sneaky, cowardly little bastards with no honor and no courage who think it's victorious to blow up women and little kids.
We're not afraid, we're frustrated because we want to find them and beat the crap out of every single one of them, but they are so chicken-s**t that they hide behind the very freedoms and protections afforded them by the Constitution and the Geneva convention, documents they profess to hate.
They strap bombs to themselves and blow up innocent non-combatants, including their own people and members of their own religion, then want to get indignant because we refuse to let their comrades out of Guantanamo.
Every day, they are burning our flag in public and hanging effigies of our political leaders for the cameras, then go out and justify killing their own innocents and children because of a report that we may have mistreated a book in the course of private interrogations trying to get information that might save lives. A book!
I don't go on and on about that to justify our actions. To be honest, some of our actions have been extremely objectionable.
But I am trying to paint a picture of why Canadian geography might not be high on our list of priorities right now.
And again, maybe it's just arrogance on our part, but most of us sincerely consider Canada and Canadians as brothers and sisters.
After all, we are both born of Mother England.
And like in most families, we don't spend a tremendous amount of time analyzing and studying our siblings. We just accept them and love them and too often take them for granted.
Hope this helps.
*Morris Workman
www.morrisworkman.com
workmanchronicles.blogspot.com
dvtsports.blogspot.com
Thanks Morris for taking the time and answering the questions that were bugging me...
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