Why are Canadians less hung up about being "born on our soil" (eg. something akin the Obama "birther" controversy)? (real estate, home)

[Zoisite]

..... because unless your forefathers have fought and died to win your freedom, you're really not in a position to pass judgment. What you might see as nationalistic, we may view as preserving freedom and security.....

There's MANY countries, including Canada, whose forefathers have fought and shed blood and died and paid to win and maintain freedom and independence for themselves as well as for others. There's people still doing it now to this very day. I don't see that making all of those countries all nationalistic and copping an attitude about it though. Taking nationalistic pride in one's own bloodshed or the spilling of blood of others doesn't make anyone better than anyone else .... if anything, I think it can make people worse as it instills a false sense of moral superiority. I think when nationalistic pride breeds a hostile contempt towards others who are perceived to be different or unequal that's where problems arise.

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[Carolie29]

It's actually common among many westernized Commonwealth countries it seems.

[mintgum84]

Canadians are generally more intelligent then Americans. Thus such issues mean less to them.

[grmasterb]

I think it's unfair to say Americans are hung up on it. As others have pointed out, it's a legal requirement to be president. The birther movement is nothing more than a desperate attempt by a relatively small group of crazies to invalidate a result they don't like.

[Chris Balducci]

Is there no requirement in Canada for the Prime Minister to have been born there?
How many current MPs were not born in Canada?

God bless,

CKB

[edwardsyzzurphands]

Originally Posted by chris balducci

i
how many current mps were not born in canada?

41

[sunshineleith]

Originally Posted by edwardsyzzurphands

41

or about 13% - which is pretty fair representation of the general populace, as 17% of Canadians were not born in Canada.

[psulions2007]

The Green Party leader was born in the US, fwiw.

...and the last GG Michaelle Jean was born in Haiti.

[phlinak]

Originally Posted by Zoisite

There's MANY countries, including Canada, whose forefathers have fought and shed blood and died and paid to win and maintain freedom and independence for themselves as well as for others. There's people still doing it now to this very day. I don't see that making all of those countries all nationalistic and copping an attitude about it though. Taking nationalistic pride in one's own bloodshed or the spilling of blood of others doesn't make anyone better than anyone else .... if anything, I think it can make people worse as it instills a false sense of moral superiority. I think when nationalistic pride breeds a hostile contempt towards others who are perceived to be different or unequal that's where problems arise.

Obviously, you missed the point of my post.

First, we fought two wars (the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812) against the British to win and maintain our freedom.

What war and against what enemy did Canada fight to win her independence??

Second, I did not "cop" an attitude nor did I take nationalistic pride in the bloodshed of any war. I merely stated the fact that we have shed blood in warfare out of necessity because we were not going to lay down and lick our n*** like a whipped dog. King George was a tyrant and we, as a nation, decided that we were not going to be tread upon any longer and we did what we had to do. For the record, the British started the war when they fired "the shot heard round the war". The first casualty of the war was Crispus Attucks, a former slave who killed by a British musketball.

Third, I don't hold hostile contempt towards others who are "perceived to be different or unequal".

I hold "hostile contempt" for those who do not know me or anything about me but presume to know my thoughts and what is in my heart. I also hold "hostile contempt" for those who harbor an obvious anti-American attitude toward my country because you feel that the world is one big lovefest and cannot accept the fact that there are evil people in the world who are not interested in diplomacy but just want to kill you and everything you love simply because you exist. Such evil is a cancer on the world and cancer needs to be eradicated quickly before it consumes and destroys the rest of the body. War is not clean and pretty, it is violent and messy but sometimes, it's necessary.

I don't claim that the United States is always right about everything because we all know that's not true.

Personally, I believe that the war in Iraq was the wrong war for the wrong reasons and it should not have been launched.

However, I believe absolutely the war in Afghanistan was not only justified but was necessary. I feel that war should not only have been launched to capture and/or kill Osama bin-Laden but that we should concentrated all of our troops and materiel to achieve the objective.

In closing, I leave you with two quotes:

“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” - George Orwell

and

"Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger." - Theodore Roosevelt

[sunshineleith]

Originally Posted by psulions2007

The Green Party leader was born in the US, fwiw.

...and the last GG Michaelle Jean was born in Haiti.

Comprehensive list of MPs born elsewhere is found here:

Members of the House of Commons