Joel Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Some interesting stuff in here. I can't really figure out if the author thinks that the likes of Gibson is intentionally trying to stir up divisions, or just doesn't know any better. John MooreNational Post Tuesday, July 12, 2005 Our chattering classes are obsessed with the notion that Canada is a nation of America-bashers. Despite a lack of evidence, pundits continue to decry our alleged smug superiority and unadulterated disdain for our neighbours. Since Americans seldom think of Canada, when read south of the border these essays become self-fulfilling. "If that's what they think of us," they say, "then screw 'em." Which is precisely the tone Fox News host John Gibson assumed in a fiction-laced Canada Day piece for Maclean's. Setting the tone early, he opened with an insult, calling Canada an "ice crusted wasteland dedicated to beer and America bashing." Predictably, Gibson quickly invoked the old saws of MP Carolyn Parrish calling Americans "******s," and former Chretien aide Francoise Ducros referring to George W. Bush as a "moron." Ignoring for a moment the fact that many Americans would describe their president using the same terms, one has to ask just how much umbrage must be invested in the off-the-cuff natterings of these two women? One backbench MP and a PMO droid made injudicious remarks which were roundly denounced and for which both were punished; Canadians, on the other hand, reacted with customary acceptance when we found out Richard Nixon had called Pierre Trudeau a "pompous egghead" and an "a--hole," and when Lyndon Johnson picked up our most gentlemanly Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson by the lapels and shook him. Next, Gibson decried a phenomenon I have never actually observed in Canada. Americans are "quite accustomed," he wrote, "to glancing up at the television and seeing a clip of some famous pop star we only barely knew is Canadian, telling a cheering Canadian audience how great it is to be back home among really civilized people after so long in that hellhole down south." Having attended the last three Canadian Walk of Fame galas, where 90% of the living inductees had to fly in from the United States, I can attest that the stars were certainly happy to be back, but that none said anything reproachful about their adopted homeland. Indeed, given the abuse that rains down upon even born-and-bred American entertainers who criticize their country, it's hard to imagine a Canadian calling America a "hellhole." Gibson wondered why, if we hate Americans so much, millions of us live in the U.S. Good question. Maybe it's because we don't hate Americans. A recent poll on international attitudes toward the United States, conducted by the Washington-based Pew Global Attitudes Project, revealed that 59% of Canadians have a favourable opinion of their neighbor. While that may seem low, consider this: Of the 15 countries polled, Canada held the United States in higher esteem than all but two others. Even England, America's current best buddy, placed lower than we did. In a world in which the United States is broadly disliked, Canadians have retained a tempered affection. When the poll asked about specific character traits, much was made of the fact that 62% of Canadians said they viewed Americans as greedy and 34% as immoral. Damning evidence of our sanctimoniousness, to be sure -- until you consider that the percentage of Americans who self-identified as greedy and immoral was actually higher. Canadians don't hate America. How could we? Eighty percent of us live within 100 kilometres of the border. We eagerly dole out 10-billion tourist dollars per year in the United States. Most of us have relatives there, and all of us have friends. We watch American TV, illegally download American pop music and celebrate Hollywood movies -- and to show our appreciation, we send vast amounts of prescription drugs in return. The myth of Canadian anti-Americanism hinges on two false premises. The first is that any criticism of the United States is, by definition, an expression of hate. John Gibson and others, for instance, insist that Canada's dissent from the Iraq war stems not from reason, but from a malign desire to undermine anything America does. This is, of course, nonsense: Like individuals, nations disagree in good faith on important questions. The second false premise is that to compare ourselves favourably to the United States or even to assert something positive about Canada -- say, that we have a more humane health care system, or better gun control laws -- is to denigrate our neighbours by implication. Again, nonsense. With apologies to Mr. Gibson, I submit that I really am happy about living in a country where I am less likely to shoot myself or be shot by others. It's a crazy thing, I know -- but it has nothing to do with hating America. To Gibson and his followers, my assertion that Canada is the best country in the world is churlish and smug. In other countries, the sentiment is called patriotism. In Canada, it's apparently just one more thing we have to apologize for. Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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