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Well, if nothing else we now have a new "sort of insult" added to the usual ones tossed by Americans towards Canada: "collective". Geez, just one level removed form "hive".
Let's see, we're insignificant and supposedly never thought of but, when we are it's adjectives like socialism, inferiority, obsessed, among all the usual petty crappola and now "collectivism" that spring to mind.
Refresh my memory here; what country of origin is the thread starter with his "more progressive" premise? What country of origin are the major objectors to this premise?
Why are we getting the insults tossed our way again? Oh yeah, Americans taking the pizz out of each other with us once again caught in the middle having no choice but to either defend ourselves or let the insults fly unchallenged. Wonderful little game they have going, eh?
Please go back to "never thinking about Canada at all", please.
hahahahaha
OK, if I have one insult to throw at Canada, it is "Stop looking at yourself by comparing to the US every frea*king time". That's the most frustrating thing I experience in Canada.
Otherwise Canada is a fine country. It simply doesn't know how to exist without the USA (Canadians deny that, but come on, stop lying to yourselves). Canada is obsessed with the US.
It is always "Canadians have universal healthcare, unlike in the US." "It is so safe in Toronto and Montreal, unlike in American cities" blah blah blah like an OCD.
I don't know why you think no marriage = single parent kids. You need to work on your logic. Two parents can raise a kid without getting married.
True, though I don't think it'd be a good idea to cancel marriage, there are people who are willing to enter this institution and it's entirely their choice. The ideal way would be having multiple options of forming a family (partnership, cohabitation, or just people living together etc.), with marriage being the one with the strongest legal protections and restrictions, which is already happening in some jurisdictions.
Looking at Canadian society and politics, it is clear that in many different ways, Canada is much more progressive than its close ally south of the border, from issues such as health care, levels of religiosity, usage of marijuana, gun ownership, and trust in government. As the two countries are right next to each other and appear to have an extremely similar culture upon first glance, how did these countries diverge so starkly on these issues?
I wonder if Canada's different system of government or a (slightly) different history has led to them being more progressive.
Canada definitely is more progressive than USA (I think it always has been) and it is very apparent that many regressive Americans are not happy about that (which is their problem, not ours) but I think Canada's progressiveness is an excellent thing that is the way it should be to set good examples.
The two countries diverge starkly on many more issues than you mentioned above and the countries' different governments, histories and cultures are not slight, they are more dis-similar than you may realize. It's true they are allies and trade partners that are interdependent on each other more than any other countries in the world can claim. But the relationship today between Canada and USA is preceded by a long history of military conflicts, political disagreements, distrust, bickering, criticism, control issues and attempted bullying that has been ongoing and still continues off and on to present time in spite of the interdependence on each other.
Just because two countries are trade partners and share so much space on one continent does not mean they should be expected to be the same and have the same philosophies. Canada has a strong sense of nationalism and distinctiveness that cannot be stifled or overcome. Personally I think one of the reasons why Canada is more progressive about so many things is it's a thumbing the nose type of reaction to the regression, control issues and attempted bullying that Canada has had to endure and stand up to from America.
Culturally, there's a gap in attitudes. America has its puritan past that is fading but still remains somewhat influential.
That's a really good point.
During the colonial period, the Thirteen Colonies were settled by people that had a marked distrust of the British government, such as Puritans and Scots-Irish frontiersmen (I believed one of the early Puritan leaders in New England actually burned the English flag!).
Additionally, during the colonization of the future U.S., the UK was going through a turbulent period in its history with the English Civil War, Restoration, & Glorious Revolution (inspiring thinkers such as John Locke), leaving them to neglect the colonies and allowing them to rule for themselves, leading them to develop a strong sense of individualism.
(I am unaware how the British colonization of Canada came about or who they sent to colonize Canada, so if someone could give me some knowledge about that it would make an interesting comparison. And I know Quebec is a whole different story! )
OK, if I have one insult to throw at Canada, it is "Stop looking at yourself by comparing to the US every frea*king time". That's the most frustrating thing I experience in Canada.
Otherwise Canada is a fine country. It simply doesn't know how to exist without the USA (Canadians deny that, but come on, stop lying to yourselves). Canada is obsessed with the US.
It is always "Canadians have universal healthcare, unlike in the US." "It is so safe in Toronto and Montreal, unlike in American cities" blah blah blah like an OCD.
People outside North America know Canada eclipses the United States overall. The attempts from Canadians to prove this aren't essential.
Well, if nothing else we now have a new "sort of insult" added to the usual ones tossed by Americans towards Canada: "collective". Geez, just one level removed form "hive".
Let's see, we're insignificant and supposedly never thought of but, when we are it's adjectives like socialism, inferiority, obsessed, among all the usual petty crappola and now "collectivism" that spring to mind.
Refresh my memory here; what country of origin is the thread starter with his "more progressive" premise? What country of origin are the major objectors to this premise?
Why are we getting the insults tossed our way again? Oh yeah, Americans taking the pizz out of each other with us once again caught in the middle having no choice but to either defend ourselves or let the insults fly unchallenged. Wonderful little game they have going, eh?
Please go back to "never thinking about Canada at all", please.
Sorry if you thought I was trying to insult you guys. You guys make excellent partners and I have always thoroughly enjoyed my visits up there! In fact, I actually have very close links to Canada!
Correct question is why is the US (at least half of it) is backward compared with the rest of the rich and developed world. I simply couldn't understand why in 2017 many Americans still think Jesus is a big deal.
The USA has the largest GDP in the world, leads the world in technology and military might by a large margin so "backward" is a subjective opinion that is hard to stand up to an objective analysis.
To respond to the query, the US has a lot of descendants whose relatives came here to avoid religious persecution and those family traditions are holding stronger than most Western nations. There also is a significant Mormon population that is very conservative.
OK, if I have one insult to throw at Canada, it is "Stop looking at yourself by comparing to the US every frea*king time". That's the most frustrating thing I experience in Canada.
Otherwise Canada is a fine country. It simply doesn't know how to exist without the USA (Canadians deny that, but come on, stop lying to yourselves). Canada is obsessed with the US.
It is always "Canadians have universal healthcare, unlike in the US." "It is so safe in Toronto and Montreal, unlike in American cities" blah blah blah like an OCD.
I'm well aware of your major gripe botti but, as I tried to point out it isn't Canadians doing that in some cases, and particularly this thread. It's Americans starting a thread with a stated fallacy then other Americans piling on to object to it.
Why don't they consult each other without asking our opinion at all, if we're supposedly not even on their radar? Keep it in the root cellar so to speak, without involving the inhabitants of the kitchen only desiring to have a quiet morning coffee in peace.
Sorry if you thought I was trying to insult you guys. You guys make excellent partners and I have always thoroughly enjoyed my visits up there! In fact, I actually have very close links to Canada!
Try this experiment; take your same original post on over to the 'politics and other controversies' forum and post it there. THEN DUCK!
The USA has the largest GDP in the world, leads the world in technology and military might by a large margin so "backward" is a subjective opinion that is hard to stand up to an objective analysis.
To respond to the query, the US has a lot of descendants whose relatives came here to avoid religious persecution and those family traditions are holding stronger than most Western nations. There also is a significant Mormon population that is very conservative.
and those so-called "family traditions" are what I call "backwards" because 200+ years later, they still don't want to move on.
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