The Canadian view.
Posted on 12/05/2004 8:08:28 AM PST by Dog Gone
I moved to Canada after the 2000 election. Although I did it mainly for career reasons — I got a job whose description read as though it had been written precisely for my rather quirky background and interests — at the time I found it gratifying to joke that I was leaving the United States because of George W. Bush. It felt fine to think of myself as someone who was actually going to make good on the standard election-year threat to leave the country.
Also, I had spent years of my life feeling like I wasn't a typical American and wishing I could be Canadian. I wanted to live in a country that was not a superpower, a country I believe to have made the right choices about fairness, human rights and the social compact.
So I could certainly identify with the disappointed John Kerry supporters who started fantasizing about moving to Canada after Nov. 2. But after nearly four years as an American in the Great White North, I've learned it's not all beer and doughnuts. If you're thinking about coming to Canada, let me give you some advice: Don't.
Although I enjoy my work and have made good friends in Toronto, I've found life as an American expatriate in Canada difficult, frustrating and even painful in ways that have surprised me.
As attractive as living here may be in theory, the reality's something else. For me, it's been one of almost daily confrontation with a powerful anti-Americanism that pervades many aspects of life. When I've mentioned this phenomenon to Canadian friends, they've furrowed their brows sympathetically and said, "Yes, Canadian anti-Americanism can be very subtle." My response is, there's nothing subtle about it.
The anti-Americanism I experience generally takes this form: Canadians bring up "the States" or "Americans" to make comparisons or evaluations that mix a kind of smug contempt with a wariness that alternates between the paranoid and the absurd.
Thus, Canadian media discussion of President Bush's official visit last week focused on the snub implied by his not having visited earlier. The media reported that when he did come, he would not speak to a Parliament that's so hostile it can't be trusted to receive him politely. [Bush did not speak in Parliament.] Coverage of a Canadian athlete caught doping devolves into complaints about how Americans always get away with cheating.
The Blame Canada song from the South Park movie is taken as documentary evidence of Americans' real attitudes toward this country. The ongoing U.S. ban on importing Canadian cattle (after a case of mad cow disease was traced to Alberta) is interpreted as a form of political persecution.
In the wake of 9/11, after the initial shock wore off, it was common to hear some Canadians voice the opinion that Americans had finally gotten what they deserved. The attacks were just deserts for years of interventionist U.S. foreign policy, the increasing inequality between the world's poorest nations and the wealthiest one on Earth, and a generalized arrogance.
I heard similar views expressed after Nov. 2, when Americans were perceived to have revealed their true selves and thus to "deserve" a second Bush term.
Canadians often use metaphors to portray their relationship with the United States. They describe Canada as "sleeping with an elephant." Even when the elephant is at rest, they worry that it may suddenly roll over. They liken Canada to a gawky teen-age girl with a hopeless crush on the handsome and popular boy next door. You know, the one who doesn't even know she exists.
The self-image conveyed in these metaphors is timid and accommodating. Perhaps this is how Canadians see themselves (or would like to be seen), but my experience is that they are extremely aggressive (if somewhat passively so) when it comes to demonstrating their deep ambivalence toward Americans. Take the popular TV show Talking to Americans, which simultaneously showcases Americans' ignorance about Canada and mocks Canadians' unhealthy preoccupation with what Americans really think of them.
Of course, there's often something of the stalker in that gawky teen-age girl, isn't there?
Part of what's irksome about Canadian anti-Americanism and the obsession with the United States is that it seems so corrosive to Canada. Any country that defines itself through a negative ("Canada: We're not the United States") is doomed to an endless and repetitive cycle of hand-wringing and angst. For example, Canadians often point to their system of universal health care as the best example of what it means to be Canadian (because the United States doesn't provide it), but this means that any effort to adjust or reform that system (which is not perfect) precipitates a national identity crisis: To wit, instituting co-payments or private MRI clinics will make Canada too much like the United States.
The rush to make comparisons sometimes prevents meaningful examination of the very real problems that Canada faces. As a Canadian social advocate once told me, when her compatriots look at their own societal problems, they are often satisfied once they can reassure themselves that they're better off than the United States. As long as there's still more homelessness, racism and income inequality to the south, Canadians can continue to rest easy in their moral superiority.
I felt a strong tug toward the United States when the borders shut for several hours on the afternoon of 9/11, and again after the election this month. Canadian friends were honestly shocked when I, a caricature of a bluestocking blue-stater (I've spent most of my life in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and Wisconsin, with short stays in Washington state and the bluest part of Colorado), said that I would in many ways prefer to live in the United States, and not just because it's home.
They assume that it's better, more comfortable, to be in a place seemingly more in tune with one's own political and philosophical leanings. Right after the election, many asked me if I would now apply for Canadian citizenship.
I don't intend to do that, because experiencing the anti-Americanism I've described has been instructive: Living in Canada and coping with it has forced me to confront my own feelings about America. And it's helped me discover what I do value about it: its contradictions, its eccentricities, its expansive spirit, all the intensity and opportunity of a deeply flawed, widely inconsistent, but always interesting country.
Perhaps I am a typical American, after all.
Jacobson is an American medical sociologist living in Toronto.
They actually have a TV show about how much they hate America? Those Canadians really are obsessed to the point of insanity.
If not for America buying 89% of Canada's goods (and services) would Canada be a 'wealthy country'? I think not.
From the various polls it seems the majority of Canadians hate George Bush but that is only half the story. Canadians have p*ssed and moaned for years about American foreign policy with such a smug, arrogant, morally superior attitude it would serve them right if the US cut off all trade except with the two western provinces, Alberta and B.C. who sells ALL of the hydro and natural gas and are more American than that bunch of self-righteous egotists West of Manitoba. As for Quebec? Quebec rules ALL of Canada!
I just love arrogant liberal females that get all moist when talking about the "social compact." /gag
Too f***ing bad, Nora. You bedded down with a dog. Don't whine when you have to scratch.
A kind of Goose that $_its all over golf courses.
The Canadian view.
Depends on where you are talking about. Alberta is very pro-US, while coastal B.C. is rabid, socialist, anti-US to the core.
Rural populations are accustomed to providing for themselves, while urban populations tend to be less intelligent, and seek to be supported by government. These dependent populations exhibit effervescent bitterness, hatred, and bigotry.
Well, I did read it. I'm not sure there is all that much that's typical (Americana) about a blue stater that still carries blue state attitudes even if he does long to return to live in the blue state. Still...
I'm beginning to find it tiresome to hear day after day about anti-Americanism to the north. I find it tiresome because no one has explained to me why I should believe it.
Let's try to restate that. I read the Minneapolis Star and Tribune (the big paper of my home town) mostly to see what liberal hysteria there is on the editorial page. Then I look at the other articles to see how the other editors desire to twist the news to fit a liberal agenda. It says right here the Star and Tribune will fall all over itself to give a forum to any idea that hammers conservative America or any traditional western institution. It feels the Bill of Rights was written for and only applies to liberals. These people feel all US governing institutions should be subservient to the UN.
IMO, the vast majority of the MSM sees the world the same way. For that reason I tend to discount a great deal of what I see in the MSM as it pertains to all that is bad in the US.
What reason do I have to believe that just because the Houston Chronicle prints an article about a liberal finding anti-Americanism in Canada that it is the main street view in Canada? We see so many of these articles all over the US.
Just out of curiosity, does the Chronicle print good news about Iraq? Or about major successes in the War on Terror? Or US foreign policy? Or balancing articles about positive views of the US from Canada?
I simply don't think the MSM can be trusted in this area any more than it can be trusted in domestic political issues. I also wonder if there isn't a liberal press to the north that likes to groin kick the US whenever possible. I wonder if that doesn't skew the views of liberals in Canada. I suspect liberals in Canada are just weak minded and easily manipulated in attitude as their US counterpart.
So is coastal Southern California, Chicago, and New York City.
True!
My "list" also includes the Left Coast (along with NYC). Scoring is"The farther, the better!"
[quote]PP: You've obviously spent a great deal of time there, and are intimately knowledgable about the entire diverse culture of a people spread across the second largest (in land area) country in the world. [/quote]
Diversity means various peoples, not "a people".
A case in point is that the French province of Quebec has come very close to succeeding from Canada. It is only a matter of time before they finally do.
If people don't assimilate, then the nation won't last.
Living in another country should be a mandatory experience for US university students. My own three years in Rome were instrumental in my budding conservative attitudes and a general appreciation of how priveleged we are. Most Americans don't realize how good we have it here and the only way they can understand it is to be put in a situation where they are deprived of how much they take for granted.
God Bless the US of A!
I found P.E.I. especially beautiful.
Welcome to FR!
There is no question that the exchange rate dropped over a period of time and that had an impact on various relations between the countries. But the rate has dropped from $1.60 Canadian per $1 US to less than $1.20 Canadian per $1 US in the past 24 months - and the US rate has dropped against every other major world currency. Does your inferiority theory now indicate that everyone else is superior? Also please keep in mind that currency valuations are only useful when compared against the local cost of living - saying that a Canadian dollar is worth only .60-.70 cents US makes it sound like it is worth less (right now the US dollar is only worth 0.74 Euro) - that isn't necessarily the case if our dollar will buy the same product in Canada as your dollar will buy in the US.
There seems to be this immediate acceptance that all Canadians have anti-American sentiments. And this is based on what? One person's comments (that are limited to their individual exposure to friends making various statements)? This is followed by a screaming response on this thread about how Canadian's suffer inferiority complexes, penis envy, and various other deep and well-thought-out responses.
I will make no claims that Canada is a perfect country, but neither is the US. We each have our faults and we each have substantial growth to look forward to as independant nations and as neighboring countries. I find it disturbing to see an article provoke such a response given that it contains only anecdotal "evidence" of a supposed onslaught of anti-American views in Canada.
I will also concede that Canada is very much dependant on the US for a number of things (the US military strength being an obvious one). However, I suggest a more thorough look at the US trade deficit. Last I looked the US relies very heavily on Canada (among other countries). I'm not trying to prove that the US needs Canada - I'm simply stating that some level of co-dependance exists between many of this world's nations (after all, do you think you could have purchased that "I Love USA" t-shirt for $5.99 if it hadn't been made in some 3rd world country?).
For those of you who have commented on what a horrible place Canada must be to live... it is your loss. For the poster that commented on the "boring" Canadian landscape I can only suggest you visit British Columbia, Calgary, or the Maritimes.
Making assumptions about a country based on limited knowledge seems to be the crux of many of the posts I've seen here. The impression that I get from reading this is that the author is trying to demonstrate how Canadians have wrongfully stereotyped Americans and adopted an anti-American attitude. The bitter irony of this article is that the author has, in turn, wrongfully stereotyped all Canadians by indicating how “all” Canadians supposedly feel about Americans – isn’t that type of accusation truly ironic?!
“The Blame Canada song from the South Park movie is taken as documentary evidence of Americans' real attitudes toward this country.” What a profound statement to throw into this article?! She complains about an anti-American sentiment that is unjustly being applied against all American’s and follows that by saying that all Canadians have anti-American feelings and that a South Park song demonstrates how all Americans feel about Canada! Talking in circles? I should also note that using South Park as a lead reference in an article is not helping her case – based on that logic are we also to believe that all American’s have an intense hatred towards kids named “Kenny”?! Are we to judge all American's based on what we see on the Jerry Springer show?
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