Posted on 12/29/2004 2:28:35 AM PST by The Loan Arranger
The title of this essay alone is likely to get me into trouble with both Canadians ("We do not!") and Americans ("You ingrates still don't get it."), but someone ought to talk about this. Let me start by dispensing with two myths: That most Canadians and Americans are really very similar, and that Canada couldn't exist without American support and forbearance.
I spend half of my work life working with Americans and half with Canadians. While there are dangers in generalizing, recent opinion polls illustrate fundamental differences between American and Canadian worldviews and value. Here are three major differences:
Americans are unilateralists, Canadians are multilateralists: The latest Environics poll shows that 70% of Canadians still oppose the attack on Iraq, not because they think Saddam was a great guy, but because they think military action against another country must have international support. Seventy percent of Americans now think the Iraq war was justified. That's a huge difference of opinion. The very concept of a pre-emptive unilateral attack on another nation is anathema to most Canadians. And having the majority of a country right beside you support a regime that relishes pre-emptive unilateral military adventures is terrifying. Americans have an authoritarian worldview, Canadians have a conciliatory worldview: A survey taken in 2000 revealed that 44% of Americans but only 20% of Canadians believe "the father of the family should be the master of his own house" and that "good parents make and enforce strict rules for their children". If you buy Lakoff's nation-as-family metaphor for conservatives (strict father worldview) and liberals (nurturing parent worldview), this means that Americans are evenly split (perhaps badly, even schizophrenically split) between conservative and liberal worldviews, while Canadians, like Europeans, are overwhelmingly liberal.
(Excerpt) Read more at movetocanada.blogware.com ...
Canada was not attacked on Sept. 11..America was. This reminds me of the woman brought to the emergency room, half-way beaten to death by a physically abusive partner, only to be accused of being in that condition because she somehow was offensive to or did not meet the needs of the person who just tried to kill her. Furthermore, she is advised to go back and try to appease the monster instead of turning him over to the authorities for the punishment he deserves. This is a simplistic explanation but not very different in it's basic concept from the awful conflict going on now with the Islamofacists. My fictitious woman would be in even more trouble if she was someone envied by the protector's of the perpetrator. Is it possible that Canada's MSM is projecting a minority view of the world's political situations to the people?
"Canadians have a conciliatory worldview:"
It didn't work for Neville Chamberlain before WWII. "Peace with honor" was one of the biggest blunders and cost Europe, Canada and the US dearly in lives and money. If you aren't willing to defend freedom, then don't criticize those who are.
The only reason Canada has not been attacked yet is it is allowing itself to be used as a base for terrorists operating against us.
In other words, Canada is part of the Bush doctrine of a terrorist supporting state. Let them proceed at their own peril.
I have heard all the Canadian rationalizations for their attitude and it all comes down to a "Me too, Europe!" attitude. It is a creaking, backward-looking yahoo state of socialists who wish they could somehow leave this noisy, exciting "New World" and float back to their motherland in Europe. But they can't, so they live like those birds that survive by pulling bugs off the hides of rhinos, tiny-voiced and inconsequential to the decision-making process by the giant it lives off of.
Canadians believe they can give the finger to their neighbor but there will be no hard feelings. They're wrong, and if they became our declared enemy we would crush them in an afternoon and then forget we did it by the next morning because they don't matter to us. They are a perfect example of the "nice" friend who never raises his voice, isn't loud or sometimes gets in fights with you, and is one your mom apporves of for his polite manners...yet as soon as you get in trouble and the cops shows up, he's the one who VOLUNTEERS to rat you out.
Fortunately, Canada is a nothing in the larger scheme of things, so I will do as does the rest of the world (including their beloved France, which treats Canada like the kiss-ass nation it is), and ignore them.
P.S> To answer the question posed by the headline: "Because they're pussies!"
Talk about a clueless world view... The writer of this article is a complete moron.
I didn't have to read further after "pre-emptive unilateral attack." Insult the coalition forces....yeah, that's the ticket. How to make friends and influence people.
Ever visit FRee Dominion? Canadians with hearts closer to our own than most know of. Wonderful people who hate liberalism as much as we do. These are the people I call "neighbors". The rest are just "occupiers".
I expect that it's more of a socialism thing rather than an international support thing. Clinton was one of their own, thus no outrage.
Certainly it's not possible to generalize from such a small sample but I worked with a couple of "conservative" Canadians. Great guys, wonderful people but their conservatism was limited to bitching about taxes. They were agog about the wonderful Canadian medical system, how well the government took care of people, etc.
The above shouldn't be taken to reflect on the hard core conservative Canadians here on FR but my friends, you are in the position I was in when I lived in California in the 80s. Might be time to consider bailing as I don't think that Canada can be saved from socialism. Either way you have my prayers.
I wonder if Mr pollard would like to test this "myth" - as he calls it :-)
Boy, that third paragraph is a dead giveaway!
Any time I see "multilateralist" alarm bells go off. "Multilateralist" is a code word for "Someone who will stand around with others of like mind wringing their hands, unable to make a decision unless if favors marxists, communists, dictators, socialists, cheese eating surrender monkeys or child molesters."
Other than that, I have no opinion on this subject!
Boy, that third paragraph is a dead giveaway!
Any time I see "multilateralist" alarm bells go off. "Multilateralist" is a code word for "Someone who will stand around with others of like mind wringing their hands, unable to make a decision unless if favors marxists, communists, dictators, socialists, cheese eating surrender monkeys or child molesters."
Other than that, I have no opinion on this subject!
Fortunately, Canada is a nothing in the larger scheme of things, so I will do as does the rest of the world (including their beloved France, which treats Canada like the kiss-ass nation it is), and ignore them.
"Amen"
There is hope: http://www.freedominion.ca/phpBB/portal.php
"Diversity" works well, up there, eh?...those happy Quebecers, they just love being part of a diverse, multi-cultural, multi-lingual country..
Canada is a do-nothing, whining, mess of a social welfare state.
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