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America Lite: Is That Our Future?
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| dEsidEL |
whelps.. another polictical article.. my appologies for those out where who don;t like politics , but i knows there's a lotta ppl here who are fiercely political .. anyhow, here's another good read from MacLlean's..
http://www.macleans.ca/xta-doc2/200...ver/75850.shtml |
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| Alccode |
looks like an interesting article -- though quite frankly i don't really care about canada - u.s. relations.
what i've always found funny is that canadians (well, i'm technically a canadian now too, so let me rephrase that: "home-bred canadians" lol, dunno the "politically correct" term), anyway, that canadians think that they're so different from america. quote from the article:
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NOT LIKE THEM. It's how we've defined ourselves for generations. Quieter, less violent, more caring, not as arrogant. Different. Better. Everything Americans are, we aren't. It is the thing, along with the lint, that we have found at the very centre of ourselves -- the only chartable discovery in our seemingly endless search for a national identity.
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unfortunately that's not the case.. the problem is that canadians are thinking from inside the "north american box".
the fact is that pretty much everywhere else in the world, canada is grouped together with america - very little difference. though it IS true that there is a lot more respect for canada than there is for the u.s. (for obvious reasons). the upside is that canadians are generally treated better overseas.
anyway, the article is correct - canadian culture (and canadians) are really a lot like american culture (and americans), even if there are some "obvious" differences from the standpoint of a canadian.. if you look outside the box, you'll see that they're pretty much the same.
i won't get into specifics because that would ignite -oooh- so much controversy (and flaming).
but dont worry dEsidEL, there really isn't a lot of political arguing going on in the toronto forums lately anyway. either that, or no one cares for the really important issues. :nervous: |
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| Tudo Beleza |
WOh dEsidEL are we the one who likes to play with fire, another politcal topic on Toronto, who knows where this topic will go :rolleyes:
hehe i am to sick to offer any insight on this topic at this moment, but will later. |
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| TheDemon |
| I dont think Canada is in anyway like the USA. The fact that we have health insurrance is a big plus. In terms of Canada-Us relations, I think the US needs us now more than ever. |
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| King_Mack |
hmm
well Canada as a country, is much different from the US. We topped the UN list on the best place to live, so that should tell ppl something, and we are respected anywhere in the world, unlike our Southern Neighbours. As a society, we try to maintain our Canadian uniqueness, but are overwhelmed by the great power of American Media.Let's face it...if we were only watching CBC..we would die.
Regardless though, the US does need Canada's support....and with our Government second guessing Bush's decisions....it makes me happy that we are still Canadians. I'd hate to see what would happen if we totally conformed to the U.S.
Im not ting on the US or anything, great people...lousy Government. You need more smart voters..thats all |
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| Alccode |
one thing i'd say in terms of canada-u.s. differences, though kind of a touchy subject, is security. in canada people feel more or less universally safe - there is not that much crime (as compared to the u.s. - though there still is plenty), and we don't see any snipers here or columbines or anything like that. (that's for sure!)
in the u.s., i'm sure that people aren't at that level of ease. the fact that so many "terrorism" laws (i.e., privacy-stripping laws) have been passed with more or less public support, is testament to this.
someone pointed out to me that eventually, there will be so much "terrorism" (crime, etc.) in the u.s., that people will be afraid to leave their homes. though i'm not so sure about this kind of a bladerunner-esque view, it could certainly happen. on the flipside, this would just give even more authority to the government to "clamp down" on "terrorism", thereby pretty much oppressing the people even more.
i doubt that anyone would be able to do anything at that point. is anyone here familiar with the u.s. constitution? it gives the people the right to sever their "contract" with the government, i.e. pull it down, if it stops serving them - for that is the entire purpose of government, to serve the people - "the people are the prince" - a la machiavelli. that is an ideal from the enlightenment - and it certainly would have been rampant two centuries ago.
but now? no one cares - and certainly the government would *never* allow the populace to "quit" them - they already have so much power! add that to the general dumbing-down of people, and you have a pretty much mindless populace (as a whole) that is content to feed off the crap on CNN, and eat at mcdonald's, while the REAL important things, like their freedom - is being stripped from them right in front of their eyes, while they stand obliviously, crying out their blind CNN-fed patriotism, and their hilariously wrong ideas of what they think is "freedom"...
case in point: notice how the major themes in U.S. media are *international*. americans are pretty much focussed on countries like iraq and afghanistan - and eager to rip them to shreds, for the sake of "democracy" and "world peace". this is no accident - while americans are looking across the atlantic, their most important rights are being taken away from them, behind their backs, by their government.
so i wouldn't be surprised if my friend is proved to be correct!
hm... well this post has turned 180 from a discussion of canada-u.s. differences, to a general criticism... lol.. comments? |
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| TheDemon |
| quote: | Originally posted by King_Mack
hmm
well Canada as a country, is much different from the US. We topped the UN list on the best place to live, so that should tell ppl something, and we are respected anywhere in the world, unlike our Southern Neighbours. As a society, we try to maintain our Canadian uniqueness, but are overwhelmed by the great power of American Media.Let's face it...if we were only watching CBC..we would die.
Regardless though, the US does need Canada's support....and with our Government second guessing Bush's decisions....it makes me happy that we are still Canadians. I'd hate to see what would happen if we totally conformed to the U.S.
Im not ting on the US or anything, great people...lousy Government. You need more smart voters..thats all |
Tru Dat brother:happy2: |
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| King_Mack |
Alccode
I totally agree with you.
But then again...I see smoething interesting happen among the American ppl. In those CNN polls, when Bush first made plans that Iraq should be targeted next....MOST americans didnt think this was right! But as time progresses...this "no" votes quickly turn into "yes".
I dont get it...are they that easy to convince? If so, I'd love to be a telemarketer in the States.
Its not that the American ppl are totally in the dark about it...they know to a little extent...but they dont wanna admit the full "damage" of what is happening to their country. Sometimes being optimistic doesn't help I guess |
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| halo20 |
*slowly backs away from thread*
Tranceaddict regroups and applauds halo20's rash move.:p |
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| redrum |
| as a US citizen, my government often scares me. i am always amazed that it seems (at least from the people i know and what i see and hear around me) that most people arent happy with what the government is doing, yet it happens anyway. whenever i see news or newspapers from other parts of the world, it makes the US look like a bunch of s, and deservedly so. yet so many people here dont even realize it. erghhh. so frustrating sometimes. i think im moving to toronto when i get my degree anyway :) |
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