What I've learned about Canadians
During my vacation this summer, I was opportuned to spend several days in British Columbia. Having now had extensive experiences speaking with Canadians, in Canada, in Victoria, Vancouver, and Montréal, I feel that the nature of Canadianism has distilled upon me to a degree, and brought to my mind certain insights regarding the Canadian people.
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Point 1: You really, without the shadow of a doubt, have been to Québec. I can tell. Because Québécois are extremely nationalistic. The thing is...We're not nationalists about Canada, we are about Québec. More like a cultural nationalism, than a patriotic one. But, this belongs in a whole other discussion.
However, I must admit that many Canadians are also quite patriotic...But they generally don't seem to take the whole thing very seriously. It's like a light-hearted pride, a bit like making fun of ourselves, but indirectly. Yeah, we do enjoy being the second biggest country in the world, geographically speaking, and all that stuff, but...we know our economy pretty much sucks and all. I'd personally say it's a bit due to Hollywood...parodizing American movies that got all those waving flags and brave heroes and all, who give out incredible speeches about the purity of their nations. You don't see us do that...well, we actually do, but in a funny kinda way. You can't expect people to hate their country, when it makes their everyday lives so easy. Most Canadians are not that serious about their own nation. As for the flags being on everything…I wouldn’t say so. A few people wear T-Shirts with the flags…then you’ve got everyone who has got a Canadian flag sewed on their backpack, but otherwise, that’s it. All other accessories are meant for tourists to buy. It’s the very same as in the US.
Point 2: Might be confusing. See, I did a bit of searching, and yeah, the actual political views of liberalism were indeed right-wing material. Then it changed in North America, during the economical crash, for "renewed liberalism", Keynes' whole interventionist State. I'm pretty sure renewed liberalism became liberalism in everyday American speech, and that's why you seem to be getting it confused. The liberal party of Canada isn't a "socialist" party. It follows the doctrine known as Neo-Liberalism, which is just like Liberalism before Keynes came up with a 2.0 patch to save the whole continent from bankruptcy. Our Liberal Party actually is in favor of lowering public services in favor of private ones. Just hasn't gotten to it yet, due to that adscam scandal.
Just like before, you seem to see "Montréal" as "Canada", which is definitely NOT a right thing to do. The province of Québec is very left-wing. I'd even go as far as saying Montréal is the most elitist-left-wing kind of city in the province. Of course, they'll pride themselves on everything related to your liberalism(the one known as "renewed" around here, the left-wing one). But take a ride to Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba, and you'll see the conservatives are definitely running the show in the prairies.
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Point 3: I'd say you couldn't be more wrong.
So, yeah, we do ask you guys how you like it over here. Goes with the whole "liking our own country" deal. I bet people ask that question to Americans everywhere in the world. I have rarely, if ever, heard anti-US/American/Conservatism/Big Brother rants outside of a cégep/university. Teachers hate Americans, but otherwise, that’s it. I have, however, very often heard of anti-Bush rants. Which I find to be rather fair, considering how President Bush has been treating our country ever since he has first been elected(see: Canadian beef, softwood, borders, Ontarian hydro-electricity, and confusing us with Mexico. Yep...Mexico). Canadians actually enjoy the States. Ever been to Miami? Wildwood? Old Orchard Beach? Canadians who tend to dislike Americans generally are those who cannot communicate with them.
So, yeah...Canadians do think you are a bunch of crazy religious freaks. But that's because we often take our vacations in the Southern States, so we get exposed to...well, rednecks. And when the person who represents your entire nation is one of them, it definitely doesn't help. Basic principle of life. We get to see the South in the news, and we often forget how civilised New England or the West Coast can be, compared to it. The media's the media, everywhere you go. Sensationalism sells, so they're not gonna show us how smart the kids at Harvard are. They'll interview the hick who wants to shoot black guys with his shotgun, and maybe Canadians too, cuz they're talking of legalising gay marriage. The horror.
You should note, however, that well-educated Canadians are more tolerant towards the general American public, and tend to wait a bit before judging so harshly.
About the Canada-America rivalry...just see it as a big bro/lil bro conflict. The lil one always wants to outdo the big one at everything, never succeeds, and when he finally does, the big one doesn't quite care anymore(who thought one could apply basic child psychology to international politics?).
The whole nationalism/patriotism deal(who's the worst??) is extremely arguable, and therefore, I will not venture into it.
Point 4: I believe your explanation for lack of political knowledge in the United States is very credible. I have heard of other different reasons that I will discuss with you if you feel like it, and they do not necessarily contrast with what you wrote, might actually complete it(but they might be slightly offensive). I, on the other hand, have a very good explanation for why we are offended by lack of political knowledge. Why? We're one extremely politicised country. And I believe that this is due to the lack of spirituality. I know the province of Québec has dropped the catholic church pretty bad in the 60's. I have no idea when the anglophones went atheist/agnostic, but it's most likely before that. You guys have got the bible to read. We, instead, watch political debates like it's the Reverend's/Priest's words, read the political section of the newspapers like it's the Holy Bible, etc. We crave politics. It's rare to meet a Canadian above the age of 25 who will not, under any circumstance, have a political conversation with you if you start it. And usually, even an "ordinarily" educated person(for lack of a better term), will have some good information, or at least, very straight opinions on different matters that they hold dear, generally due to their social status. That, and the crime rate is so low around here, the media can't really go out and scare us with colourful terrorist alert scales and faceless scary black men, they kinda have to talk about something else, and there's always something going on in the world of politics. So, we don't quite have a choice but to be politically aware.
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Point 5: Well, yeah, we are a social-democracy. But step by step, the Liberal Party(Liberal as in Neo-Liberal(right-wing), not Renewed Liberalism(left-wing)) is turning it into a democracy. Period. Many people in the province of Québec are opposed to it, but I've heard the rest of the country pretty much supports our government on that issue. Canadians don't like taxing things, at all. People hate that. In fact, the party who gets elected usually is the one that makes the most credible promises of lowering income taxes. They generally don't fulfil their promises, but they get elected nonetheless. The reason why we get taxed twice on everything we buy is simply because provinces wish to be more and more autonomous. They'd like it if they wouldn't have to rely on the Federal Government for everything...money-related. And yes, we get taxed for public transportation, which we do have to pay for, but it is for a very simple reason: Public transportation has to stay, since it is considered an essential service. However, very few people use it. Therefore, the government doesn't have the money required to make it work, so they dig into our pockets so it can still run for the few people who need it, and they've got to pay the extra fees, for, well...gas, I guess. They tax the minimum, those who use the bus need to pay for the rest.
I hope you've found this comment to be enlightening. And, even though I am aware that this entry was written for its shock value, I would greatly appreciate it if, next time you commented on my country, you would put a bit more scientific rigor into it, such as not mixing up Canadian and French Canadian views, which usually are...well, pretty much the opposite, most of the time. I mean, you ARE thinking about studying anthropology, after all(Damn, do I sound like a teacher...). Otherwise, it was a very interesting piece of opinion that I will take into account next time I travel to the US of A.
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Of course, your comments are welcome and appreciated. I actually don't mind Canada so much, for the most part, and may end up retiring there.
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I heard them several times in BC (both in Victoria and Vancouver), and then all over McGill (which does qualify as a uni). This may be atypical, but it was my experience.
I do admit that the point is overstated. More hyperbole than anything else.
While the US is religious compared to Canada and many European countries, you'd probably be surprised by how un-religious most of the population is in practice (as opposed to in thought). The Deep South, again, might be an exception, and Utah probably is.
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Ironically, Point 1 was primarily inspired by my visit to BC. I'm aware of Québec pride, but what the Québécois feel for Québec, the other Canadians I've met feel for all of Canada (to a lesser extent).
I agree that the modern meaning of the word "liberal" is not historical, and not very "liberal" in the truest sense. I'm using the term as it is accepted and understood in America.
My experiences, also, as I've said, are limited to Vancouver, Victoria, and Montréal. So not just Québec, but I certainly haven't been to all of Canada.
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So, in my opinion, it is a bit unfair to generalize the opinions of people from 2 provinces and assume that they apply to the whole country(10 provinces and 3 territories).
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I believe QC and BC are the 2nd and 3rd most populous provinces, but even then, I have not spoken to everyone in them, or even visited most of the cities.
This was just my personal experience (and the general opinions of those I talked to about it). I've known many delightful (even conservative) Canadians in the US, and I've even met some in Canada, and I don't doubt there are plenty more.
I did, however, feel that many of the Canadians I met deserved a little satire, and thus the entry.
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