Canada: What Distinguishes Us from the Americans (No anti-Americansim here… nope… nosireebob!)

The National Post ^ | March 5, 2003 | Mark Kingwell

[quidnunc]

-snip-

Why do Canadians and Americans, the continental cousins, suddenly find themselves no longer friendly? The imminent Iraqi war, conflict within NATO, and friendly fire deaths — not to mention old disputes over softwood lumber, border security and hydroelectricity — have all contributed to a growing dysfunction in this formerly close relationship.

Whatever the Bush administration might believe, the solution is not for us to fall into line but for Americans to spare a thought about why we don't want to. This would be good for both Canadians and Americans, but it will take some doing, and Canadians have to be a little less polite about it. We've grown far too accustomed to letting your policy drive ours just because we don't have any aircraft-carrier battle groups.

It's true that this relationship has always been unequal. Most Canadians, it's fair to say, think of Americans with the mixture of admiration and fear nebbishy boys reserve for their older brothers who captain the football team. With a population roughly equal to California's and a land mass exceeded only by Russia's, its cities strung out in a necklace hugging the southerly reaches, Canada is an unlikely country at the best of times. Naturally a hulking powerful neighbour makes us uneasy and, sometimes, resentful.

The unease grew after the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, which of course included many Canadian deaths. President Bush's failure to mention Canada in his list of thanks to foreign friends was a textbook definition of taking someone for granted. And, predictably, this resulted in paroxysms of self-hatred depressing and familiar to Canadians: One cadre of public opinion excoriated the Bush administration for its lack of regard; another attacked the first as "anti-American," arguing that we deserved the snub because, among other things, our Armed Forces are so puny.

Indeed, the strident pro-Bush voices in this country display a new form of inferiority complex, forever enacting a sick codependency which involves berating the Canadian government and people for lack of guts while reading every criticism of American foreign policy as lack of loyalty. They are reminiscent of colonial elites of old: More American than the Americans, they greet a National Review hack-fest advocating invasion of Canada, or brain-dead "Canuckistan" jokes, with something approaching treasonous glee.

The charge of anti-Americanism, meanwhile, is incoherent: How could opposition to foreign policy, illicit use of power, or even certain television shows, be equivalent to condemning an entire nation of 300-million? No, the only anti-Americans here are those supporters of the current Bush administration who really do equate it with America, then attack critics of the first as enemies of the second.

-snip-

[quidnunc]

Quote:

The old cliché has it that Canadians, lacking an identity of their own, construct one out of not being American. I have never understood why this is considered inadequate or feeble. If you were the only dissenter in a room holding a dozen people, standing up and saying "I'm not the same as you" would be a clear mark of moral courage.

And the fact that you felt the need to do it would mark you as peculiar.

In any event, Canadian identity goes well beyond a game of I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I. For generations, we have been busy creating, in your shadow, a model of citizenship that is inclusive, diverse, open-ended and transnational. It is dedicated to far-reaching social justice and the rule of international law. And we're successfully exporting it around the world not by bucking the UN, but by seeing it for the flawed but necessary agency it is.

In other words, a post-modern, multicultural, citizen-of-the-world polity which takes your destiny out of your hands and places it under the control of an organization many, many of whose members nations are governed by scarcely-civilized thugs.

Listen, we know you don't know much about us, and that you don't really care that you don't. On most days, we don't care that much either. In fact, we find it funny: American ignorance is a staple of our richly ironic strain of humour, which we've managed to sell your way more than once. We like you, and respect you, and sometimes wish we had a little more of what makes you great.

The hint of a Canadian inferiority complex is peeking through here. Every pissant country in the world believes that we Americans should be conversant with their geography and culture. The only way Americans could satisfy them is to know everything about everybody. The fact is that we know what it is important for us to know.

But we don't want to be you. And there are times, like right now, when we wish you had a little more of what makes us great.

And that might be? Oh never mind… whatever.

[vishnu2]

Again, it is long past time since we annexed Canada.

[MEG33]

This writer is how old? I did not come away feeling like I'd learned anything new.Perhaps the NYT made a good call.

[expatpat]

Hell, no. Last thing we need is a new bunch of leftists and French surrender monkeys!

[demnomo]

I'm mad at Canada right now. Especially with some of my kin who are rabid Toronto Leafs fans. The San Jose Sharks have just traded their Captain Owen Nolan to the Leafs. I am so bummed. My Canadian cousin Miles called me late last night (even later for him since he is in a different time zone) to crow about the transaction. Of course, Miles is also a rabid leftist and couldn't wait to complain about Bush the terrorist, Imperialist POTUS. Grrrr. See if I attend this years family reunion in Nova Scotia! No way.

[underdog]

You actually read the National Post?

[SunStar]

Whatever the Bush administration might believe, the solution is not for us to fall into line but for Americans to spare a thought about why we don't want to. This would be good for both Canadians and Americans, but it will take some doing, and Canadians have to be a little less polite about it. We've grown far too accustomed to letting your policy drive ours just because we don't have any aircraft-carrier battle groups.

Fine, then why not ask Mexico for military support in the future? If you Canadians won't support us in our time of need, why the hell should we support you????

[MEG33]

I read it. It carries Mark Steyn and informs me about the profound pronoucements from Chretien's government.

[Moby Grape]

What distiqiushes Canada from America is that Canada couldn't defend itself from an invasion by 25 girl scouts, and its' health care sytem is crumbling

[vishnu2]

After we annex Canada we can pass a law that states that Canadian girls can marry only American boys (a la China and Tibet) and we can exterminate them as a race in a generation or two.

[Dr. Luv]

"After we annex Canada we can pass a law that states that Canadian girls can marry only American boys (a la China and Tibet) and we can exterminate them as a race in a generation or two."

Canadians are a "race"? Methinks your tinfoil hat has slipped a bit and radiation is still getting in..

[headsonpikes]

Mark Kingwell is a smarmy, dressed-in-black, fashionably left-wing Philosophy prof in Toronto.

The Post tries to provide balance to its normally conservative viewpoint, and there just aren't a lot of eloquent and intelligent lefties to publish.

Come to think of it, there aren't any. ;^)

[quidnunc]

Here's what I believe is going on.

For decades Canada has and continues to be partnered with the nations of Old Europe in an attempt to hobble U.S. power through the United Nations and a series of entangling treaties like Kyoto.

In short, Canada has been one of the Lilliputians trying to tie down Gulliver.

Fair enough, but what makes Canada hypocritical is that while all this was going on America was constantly being reassured that Canada was our bestest friend in the whole wide world.

Fortunately for our side Dubya was elected and he began undoing some of damage done by the Gulliver-killing treaties.

Then came 9/11 and America began making a list of her friends and checking it twice.

Americans began scrutinizing the actions our putative allies and to many of us Canada has fallen short; her rhetoric doesn't square with her actions.

Canadians are quick to point to the hospitality extended to air travellers grounded in Canada on 9/11.

For this you deserve thanks, but the fact is that you would have done the same for Ethiopians.

The old adage is that when you shoot at the king you must kill the king.

Canada took her shot and missed.

Now you must be prepared live on our terms with the consequences.

[vishnu2]

Do you have any sense of humor and appreciation of sarcasm whatever?

[headsonpikes]

Do not confuse Liberal Party foreign policy with Canadian foreign policy.

But the last decade has been a disaster for Canadian/American relations.

We've got to heave the Liberal b*stards out, but I don't see how; we're screwed. :*(

[Peter Libra]

Agreed absolutely. As to annexation of Canada, there is the Treaty of Ghent 1815. Just a little bit of a hot reception in the War of 1812. Damn cold for the hostile forces at the heights of Quebec. Then there is the conquest of the Mackinac Island by combined British and Canadian forces, plus our Indian friends. Never mind, this jewel of the Great Lakes ceded back to America, by the Treaty of Ghent.
Let sleeping dogs lie. Keep things as they are. God bless America. (Lame English humour intended).

[dighton]

Mark Kingwell is a smarmy, dressed-in-black, fashionably left-wing Philosophy prof in Toronto.

He needs a goatee and bongos.

[quidnunc]

Dighton wrote: He needs a goatee and bongos.

And a beret.

[gcruse]

You actually read the National Post?

???   The National Post often has a lot of good articles.
Doesn't Mark Steyn's column also appear there?  That's enough
reason to read the NP right there.

[underdog]

Aaaa....Mark (beer)Stein along with Cretins confounded announcements...now I understand! ;-)

I don't read any of our commie lieberal rags...perhaps spend 5 minutes a day on lamestream media...just to see where the latest brainwashing/hegelian dialectic propaganda machine is trying to lead us.

The divide and conquer distractions of our gyrating press ceased to have any effect on me long ago.

These aricles only continue to undermine our national identity and stoke anti-canadianism south of the border, Killing two birds with one stone.