Health Care
I've been watching and reading about the current health care reform debate going on in the US with something akin to stupified amazement.
The vitriol some people spew over such an important issue is utterly astounding. Even more astounding, the fact that about 99.9% of what the Republicans are saying about [Canadian] universal health care is flat out wrong.
See, normally, I wouldn't care about this. What Americans want to do with their American health care is their business and not mine. But when my country and our system gets dragged into it - and dragged through the mud - it sure as hell starts to matter to me.
Now, maybe a few - or even a bunch - of pissed off Canadians won't scare anyone in Washington. But reading about this issue on web forums, blogs, etc, has revealed a greater general ignorance about Canada and a startling... arrogance. Which mostly are trolls out to spark things, I know. But sometimes it's not and it only takes one or two people like that before it starts [wrongly] reflecting badly on the whole group.
Really though, you'd think the normal American you'd stop on the street would have more general knowledge about their northern neighbours, their biggest trading partner, and the source of most of the oil they import (indeed the largest oil reserves in the world, second only to Saudi Arabia) than seems apparent. (So, my American friends, please ease my mind!)
Anyway, I digrees. I'd like the Republican fear mongers to shut the hell up. Canada is immaterial to whether or not they pursue health care reform and it pisses me off that they're painting us as the boogeyman when we've been, and probably always will be, one of their closest allies.
Grunble grumble.
I should stay away from web forums and the like. They only serve to rile me up.