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If you don't believe me, take a tour of the Capitol in DC with a bunch of Americans and take a tour of Parliament in Ottawa with random Canadians.
Even the most dumbass Americans seem to always have a bunch of stuff that rings a bell for them when touring the Capitol.
In Ottawa, except for one or two keeners you usually get in every group, most Canadians on the tour usually act like it's the first time they've ever heard of any of this stuff.
Signed: "retired" Parliament Hill tour guide
Now this I believe. I totally believe that Americans touring their capital/Capitol would know more about their history than Canadians making a similar tour do about theirs. But I think that is in part due to a very different history - they fought a war of independence and a civil war - the meaning of their nation is different than the meaning we have for ours.
this is actually very accurate. In fact i was so surprised at the insight that i dropped my joint onto the wet ground near the tree i was hugging. I'm so weird, that my yoga pants fit better backwards. :d:d
Why am I not surprised? And I totally forgot about the joint stereotype and also the "BC equals 'bring cash'" stereotype.
And just to show how inaccurate stereotypes can be, I have a SIL who fits a BC stereotype perfectly, only she's not from BC.
I was actually joking around a bit because someone said all Americans know about the regions of their country is stereotypes.
I don't actually agree with that, and still maintain that Americans know more about their country than Canadians know about theirs.
I mean... how could they NOT? Their popular culture is all about the US, its realities, its politics, its history, etc. Their news is very US-focused. Everything is internally focused down there. There is virtually no slippage to stuff from a foreign country like there is in Canada at all. It's very difficult to tune out the Americana down there - even if you wanted to.
Again, media is a major filter of true knowledge. They may know their popular culture, but how many really know their real history? Why do so many write off the middle of their country by referring to it as " fly over states"? Are those people basing this on actual fact, or what they've been fed by stereotypes perpetuated by media? Is that really " knowing " your country??
Knowing popular culture is not the way I would measure knowing your country. It is much more complex than that.
As far as most of the news in the US actually reflects the reality of the country, that is debatable. So how much of this knowledge is tainted?
I'm not saying that the US isn't US focused and ignores most of the world in it's News. When it does focus on events outside of the US it's mainly how those events affect the US, or if the US was involved.
I think where we are not meeting in the middle is that you are speaking about what Americans " hear " about their country, and I'm speaking about what they " know " about their country.
On the knowledge part, I'd say Canada is doing fine.
If you don't believe me, take a tour of the Capitol in DC with a bunch of Americans and take a tour of Parliament in Ottawa with random Canadians.
Even the most dumbass Americans seem to always have a bunch of stuff that rings a bell for them when touring the Capitol.
In Ottawa, except for one or two keeners you usually get in every group, most Canadians on the tour usually act like it's the first time they've ever heard of any of this stuff.
Signed: "retired" Parliament Hill tour guide
That doesn't really surprised me, because of the way Americans have elevated their history to almost religious status.
We aren't built that way here in Canada. However...those ignorant tourist still came to Parliament Hill.
Now this I believe. I totally believe that Americans touring their capital/Capitol would know more about their history than Canadians making a similar tour do about theirs. But I think that is in part due to a very different history - they fought a war of independence and a civil war - the meaning of their nation is different than the meaning we have for ours.
My grade 12 American history teacher said American history is written in gunsmoke lol... Maybe makes for a bit more of an interesting tale. Anyway, i've actually toured some Civil war sites in the U.S and they are totally packed and actually draw people from across the nation (I was looking at the variety of different State Lic Plates in the parking lot at Gettysburg). Of course, I suppose we aren't the collective bunch of pacifist tree huggers up here that many would conclude but we certainly don't play up our history and I think we should.. Its not as boring as people think!
My grade 12 American history teacher said American history is written in gunsmoke lol... Maybe makes for a bit more of an interesting tale. Anyway, i've actually toured some Civil war sites in the U.S and they are totally packed and actually draw people from across the nation (I was looking at the variety of different State Lic Plates in the parking lot at Gettysburg). Of course, I suppose we aren't the collective bunch of pacifist tree huggers up here that many would conclude but we certainly don't play up our history and I think we should.. Its not as boring as people think!
You'll never hear me say that Canadian history is boring. Canadians don't ignore it because it's boring IMO.
Again, media is a major filter of true knowledge. They may know their popular culture, but how many really know their real history? Why do so many write off the middle of their country by referring to it as " fly over states"? Are those people basing this on actual fact, or what they've been fed by stereotypes perpetuated by media? Is that really " knowing " your country??
Knowing popular culture is not the way I would measure knowing your country. It is much more complex than that.
As far as most of the news in the US actually reflects the reality of the country, that is debatable. So how much of this knowledge is tainted?
I'm not saying that the US isn't US focused and ignores most of the world in it's News. When it does focus on events outside of the US it's mainly how those events affect the US, or if the US was involved.
I think where we are not meeting in the middle is that you are speaking about what Americans " hear " about their country, and I'm speaking about what they " know " about their country.
On the knowledge part, I'd say Canada is doing fine.
Listen, Canada is a very good to excellent country in so many ways, including almost all of the most important ones.
But it's not a country (like the others tend to be) where the people live and breathe its culture, history, etc.
It's highly ''acculturated".
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And I totally forgot about the joint stereotype and also the "BC equals 'bring cash'" stereotype.
