I'm SO not impressed.....
One would hope for some civility up here north of the US - I mean, after all the years of criticism about how we (the US) run our government, it wouldn't be hard to beat us on "how to do things right". Or is it?
As those who know me, I'm a news whore. Thank you very much! I ready, daily, anything I can find on what is going on around me. Perhaps it is because I have the time to do so, whatever, I still do it. For weeks now, I've been literally disgusted with what I'm seeing happening in Ottawa. Please tell me, how is it that someone like Steve Harper, who LOST an election legitimately, can stop government and evoke party politics to the point of nauseau just so that he gets a second try at being Mr. Boss? The name calling I read about, shutting Parliament down for two days, the barriers being built - is this really going on up here?
After reading some recent LJ entries too, I have to say that this "comparison of good to evil" ie Canada vs the US (on multimple levels, not just political) is getting really old. I've been all over the US and Canada, I've found good and bad in both places. Let's face it, bad apples are everywhere, can we move on?
Last weekend I was in New York City with my hubby Patch - it is his second visit there, and for me, perhaps my 20th time there. We rode the metro without incident, drove the highways and didn't get harassed - and didn't have any problems walking the streets, dining out or experiencing anything negative in the service industry. We got back to Montreal on Monday, and found ourselves pushed around in traffic by impatient ass holes, bumped on the metro constantly trying to get in and out, and found oursleves being treated very badly by the snatch manager that worked at AVIS who couldn't understand why I, as an American, didnt have interac. OK - let's pause for a moment.
As my papers are being processed in Buffalo at the Canadian Consulate so that I may become a permanent resident up here (their backlog is so huge that I got a letter 8 weeks ago saying I was all set and still I wait for my final note)I want to be happy with my interest in not only coming to live with my spouse, but be integrated and part of the culture here, for as long as I'm here, no matter which part of "here" I stay in. I will particiapate in what it is to be a resident here - and I respect what it is about "here" that makes it special, unique and FAIR. However, I cannot particiapate in in one part of the culture I've seen here that upsets me, which I call the 'underdog' syndrome I see around me as soon as I cross the border into Canada.
Fact is, those people who live up here and judge America on Iraq and hand guns and those who cross the border to fish, are ignorant. I hear people talking smack all the time about the US and I wonder to myself, how informed can you really be? Shouldn't you be looking at what you do as a people here first? Shouldn't you wait to criticize obnoxious Americans until AFTER all the Quebec license plates have returned north of the border? Have you actually LIVED outside of Canada - or have you followed culture, life and politics beyond the obvious and what you hear on the streets?
I cannot wait to become a contributing resident of Canada. I've seen the good and the bad, throughout my travels, and I cannot say honestly that one place is actually better than the other, they are just different. I think anyone who uses their heads productively, not ignorantly, will see that. And, as I move here and become integrated into a different life, I will still be holding onto my American Citizenship, and one part of the culture I've seen here for the 30+ years I've been visiting Canada that I will not be joining, is the prejudiced, underdog attitude side I have experienced all around me. I will also be maintaining my healthcare in the US, for obvious reasons. And, I will not be parking my Mercedes in Montreal, each time I do so, someone defiles it (via gum on the paint or notes under my wipers) - that isn't very Canadian, is it?
I've also decided when, I hear shit talk about where I come from spoken by those who have never even crossed the border, to confront their ignorance. This may come across cruel and rude, but it is how I have to deal with it. I do this back home, what has stopped me from doing it up here? I've wanted to speak my peace for a while, but I stopped at the point of not wanting to sound defensive or disrespectful. I think I'm in a better place now that I can do what I want, politely, and by being well informed.
As those who know me, I'm a news whore. Thank you very much! I ready, daily, anything I can find on what is going on around me. Perhaps it is because I have the time to do so, whatever, I still do it. For weeks now, I've been literally disgusted with what I'm seeing happening in Ottawa. Please tell me, how is it that someone like Steve Harper, who LOST an election legitimately, can stop government and evoke party politics to the point of nauseau just so that he gets a second try at being Mr. Boss? The name calling I read about, shutting Parliament down for two days, the barriers being built - is this really going on up here?
After reading some recent LJ entries too, I have to say that this "comparison of good to evil" ie Canada vs the US (on multimple levels, not just political) is getting really old. I've been all over the US and Canada, I've found good and bad in both places. Let's face it, bad apples are everywhere, can we move on?
Last weekend I was in New York City with my hubby Patch - it is his second visit there, and for me, perhaps my 20th time there. We rode the metro without incident, drove the highways and didn't get harassed - and didn't have any problems walking the streets, dining out or experiencing anything negative in the service industry. We got back to Montreal on Monday, and found ourselves pushed around in traffic by impatient ass holes, bumped on the metro constantly trying to get in and out, and found oursleves being treated very badly by the snatch manager that worked at AVIS who couldn't understand why I, as an American, didnt have interac. OK - let's pause for a moment.
As my papers are being processed in Buffalo at the Canadian Consulate so that I may become a permanent resident up here (their backlog is so huge that I got a letter 8 weeks ago saying I was all set and still I wait for my final note)I want to be happy with my interest in not only coming to live with my spouse, but be integrated and part of the culture here, for as long as I'm here, no matter which part of "here" I stay in. I will particiapate in what it is to be a resident here - and I respect what it is about "here" that makes it special, unique and FAIR. However, I cannot particiapate in in one part of the culture I've seen here that upsets me, which I call the 'underdog' syndrome I see around me as soon as I cross the border into Canada.
Fact is, those people who live up here and judge America on Iraq and hand guns and those who cross the border to fish, are ignorant. I hear people talking smack all the time about the US and I wonder to myself, how informed can you really be? Shouldn't you be looking at what you do as a people here first? Shouldn't you wait to criticize obnoxious Americans until AFTER all the Quebec license plates have returned north of the border? Have you actually LIVED outside of Canada - or have you followed culture, life and politics beyond the obvious and what you hear on the streets?
I cannot wait to become a contributing resident of Canada. I've seen the good and the bad, throughout my travels, and I cannot say honestly that one place is actually better than the other, they are just different. I think anyone who uses their heads productively, not ignorantly, will see that. And, as I move here and become integrated into a different life, I will still be holding onto my American Citizenship, and one part of the culture I've seen here for the 30+ years I've been visiting Canada that I will not be joining, is the prejudiced, underdog attitude side I have experienced all around me. I will also be maintaining my healthcare in the US, for obvious reasons. And, I will not be parking my Mercedes in Montreal, each time I do so, someone defiles it (via gum on the paint or notes under my wipers) - that isn't very Canadian, is it?
I've also decided when, I hear shit talk about where I come from spoken by those who have never even crossed the border, to confront their ignorance. This may come across cruel and rude, but it is how I have to deal with it. I do this back home, what has stopped me from doing it up here? I've wanted to speak my peace for a while, but I stopped at the point of not wanting to sound defensive or disrespectful. I think I'm in a better place now that I can do what I want, politely, and by being well informed.