Canada and the United States share a common border, a common language and a common culture as a former British colony. Both have a bill of right, freedom of expression and freedom of religion. However, there are some growing differences between the two that seem to get greater each passing year. Canada is a multicultural nation that in most cases embraces diversity. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Catholics live together in relative harmony. Muslims have faced some problems post 911 in Canada but not to the extent they have in the US. Canada overall is a very laid back place that on an international scene gets along well with almost all countries including Cuba. Other than it's current role in Afganistan which it's leader now say cannot be won militarily, Canadians are well regarded as peace keepers. Canada also has a relatively strong Green party and is more responsible than the US in terms of environmental policies. Where else does Canada and the US differ? How about the war on drugs waged in the US. As a result of the "war on drugs" in Washington the US has the second highest rate of incarciration in the free world after Russia. China has a significantly lower rate and Canada has a rate 10 times less than America. Has this lead to greater crime in Canada due to lax drug enforcement. Absolutely not. In fact if it were not for the arms smuggled into Canada from the US, there would be little gun violence in Canada as gun ownership is not part of our culture. While the conservative party did win the last election, Canada does not have a powerful religious right wing that supports the war on drugs, an unabashed war on terror and immigration reform as well as supports gun ownership. Most of these Americans are white babyboomers who are intolerant of anyone else views. The long for a return to America's homogenius, zenophobic past in the 50's. Overall the US could learn alot from Canada on how to be a better world citizen. Something that would greatly increase their world standing from that of a big bully to what it once was a mere 20 years ago, a respected world leader.
It's a generally sound rule that any argument based on the fact that 'most of these people are.... insert stereotype of your choice' is hogwash. I'm not saying you're incorrect in any of your claims, but it's better when making an argument to treat it as if you're using the scientific method. Begin with a hypothesis and then test the hell out of it to find the truth. Present facts. Don't just make blanket statements, regardless how accurate they seem, and expect them to form a solid base for your claim. Anyhoo... doesn't this belong in 'Politics and Religion'?
You are making comparisons when our two nations swim in different paradigms, that impact on many of the things you say. One principal difference is that Canada is not the titular hegemon of the Pax Americana. This brings responsibilities that our northern neighbor simply doesn't have to shoulder. A "respected world leader," for instance, sometimes makes untidy decisions that may not have to be made by others. Not that I disagree with many of your sentiments, though they remain untested assertions. On the world stage, I believe we have blown the opportunity for concerted action and mandate we clearly had post 9/11. Domestically, I would also agree with you that the swing to the right, on the shoulders of religious conservatives, has brought me to not recognize my land for what it once was, in many respects. But Canada has never played the role Britain played in the 19th Century, and the United States has played since 1945, and this impacts on our respective parameters of play.
No offense but to me, Canada has lost its own identity, being a former FRENCH Colony and today just a shadow behind the United States.
The United States has more than 9 times the population of Canada. Could this have something to do with it? U.S. Population: http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html Canada's Population: http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/clock/population.htm
Tara33, I was incorrect, it is 5-8 times greater than Canada but the US has surpased Russia with the highest per 100,000. From the US Sentencing Project: "In this regard, the U.S. rate of incarceration of 702 inmates per 100,000 population represents not only a record high, but situates this nation as the world leader in its use of imprisonment. The continuous rise in the prison population in the U.S. has vaulted this country ahead of our old ColdWar rival Russia to become the world’s leading incarcerator. For comparative purposes, the U.S. now locks up its citizens at a rate 5-8 times that of the industrialized nations to which we are most similar, Canada and western Europe. Thus, as seen in the accompanying chart, the rate per 100,000 population is 139 in England/Wales, 116 in Canada, 91 in Germany, and 85 in France." All the countries in question do not wage a costly "war on drugs". That, I believe, is the real reason for 5-8 times higher rates per 100,000. All the above countries listed also have a lower rate of violence than the US. So where is the connection, as America's leaders would like you to believe, between drugs and violence.
Keith Taylor, Your right it does belong in Politics and religion, didn't see that one. The observations made are my personal observations haivng lived in both the US for many years and Canada. I am sure most of the claims can be backed up but I was not writing a term paper .