[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.

[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????

[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. ;^)

[spodefly]

Great things about Canada: RUSH, skiing in Banff, lots of unpopulated woods in the northern parts of the country.

Sucky things about Canada: Everything else.