We got Canukistanis and Amerikkkans slugging it out in the opinion section of the Korea Times. Fun for the whole family!
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We got Canukistanis and Amerikkkans slugging it out in the opinion section of the Korea Times. Fun for the whole family!
14 Comments
To help those uncertain of the differences…
http://www.qis.net/~jimjr/trav53.htm
DVS,
that link is great.
wow…I didn’t know the US was founded in the 1600s
I know the US has its share of irrationalism but why is it that since I moved to Seoul, I mostly hear Canadians only that complain about the US and then, in the most irrational and nonsensical manner!? Free the Canadians I say.
Loved that link
interesting link. i think that’s a copy of the handout they give all freshman high school students on their first day of america-bashing 101. the generalizations across the board are absurd. funny thing is most americans don’t know canadians are obsessed with this stuff.
Yeah, I know. I’ve been here 9 years now, and it really has dawned on me how most Canadians view America .
In school, we learn about Jefferson and Washington and all the good stuff, but we get a healthy dose of the Mexican-American War, McCarthyism, Vietnam, etc and all the bad stuff, too. That’s thrown in with an emphasis on what a PROBLEM it is that, for example, people watch American TV and know who Tom Cruise is. And what’s the difference between an Anglo-Canadian and an American anyway? Health care and gun control? Nobody’s sure and that’s a problem. What it all adds up to is a massive inferiority complex. People are spewing anti-Americanism in order to assert their own self-identy and superiority.
My own view is that there probably hasn’t been a country that has been a greater force for good in the past 200 years. America is not perfect. Buddy had some good points about the Indians (Canada too), African-Americans, Chile (probably, if anybody asked, supported by Canada too) and other various bad adventures brought about by bad people in positions of authority. And hey, Americans, your electoral process is too expensive and politicians are bought by corportate sponsors. But I think most Americans know that too. And in what country is that not true? Canada? America set the standards for modern democracy and for the current liberal international state system and economy. It’s not perfect, but its probably better than anything that has come before.
We are neighbors of the most powerful country in the world, and as a result we have a relatively democratic society, internal peace, an economy better than most and protection from any external enemies that may come knocking. What if, for example, we were the Ukraine or Tibet? How would it feel to be neighbors to a big country then?
Sanctimony, self-satisfaction and a sense of superiority that is really inferiority are Canadians big problems.
But we play great hockey, and, if you don’t mind waiting, we’ll replace your hip for free.
Yes, Canadians, I think you cannot infinitely go on “debasing the currency” of the US alliance. It’s interesting to see the editorial by the Canadian above, making the US out to be the moral equivalent of Hitler’s Germany, as well as the comments from Canadians here and elsewhere on this blog (for example, “Gumbi’s” comment several posts below).
Indeed, I find the current state of the US-Canada alliance to be strikingly parallel to that of the US-ROK one.
Comments on this blog (and Kimchipig’s old one), as well as reading on the internet in the last few years, have finally driven it home to me just how much we are held in contempt by the majority of younger Canadians. I suppose my disillusionment is a good thing, as someone of my age probably needs an abrupt “jerking” out of any sentimental illusions.
For all practical purposes modern Canada is essentially 90% disarmed, turning its back completely on its previous military tradition (Mark Steyn refers to it as the difference between current and “pre-Trudeaupian” Canada).
I suppose the less one feels able to defend themselves from a military danger, the more psychologically urgent it becomes to blame any potential threat on American “provocation” and indulge in some verbal “kicks” to the proverbial shins of the despised Americans. The latest example is your government’s just-announced decision not to participate in the US missile defense plan.
(I wonder if someone will respond here to “educate” me on how missile defense is just a US military-industrial plot to get its hands on Canadian funds to “bail itself out” of our dilemma — analogous of course to the US plan to “steal” Iraqi oil. Please, save yourself the time, just throw a few insults my way and then celebrate with a drink of good Canadian whisky–I hope you guys can get your “ration” of it over in Korea).
Such a viewpoint on missile defense seems insane to me, in view of current developments in East Asia, but of course it’s your country and your decision to make.
If the modern imperative for Canada is to be a worldwide example of a “city on a hill” (whoops bad analogy, that evokes images of the “fascist” Pilgrims who came to the Massachusetts colony to start their “genocide”) — well, anyway, why don’t you Canadians just carry things out all the way to their logical endpoint, and withdraw from NATO, and whatever other formal mutual defense treaty that may exist currently with the US?
This seems to me a necessary complementary action, if Canada is going to refrain from participation in missile defense of the North American continent.
Canada would be then be seen presumably in the eyes of potential “adversaries” as emulating the Swedish and Swiss examples (hmm, this may not be a good analogy, I’ll have to check those countries’ current “per capita” rate of defense spending as compared to Canada’s).
It is common for Americans to quickly write-off comments against their country as anti-American and written but people who are ‘unenlightened’ but there are a number of issues which cannot be written off so easily.
1. Afghanistan and the taliban-yes this would seem to be a step in the right direction for liberty and freedom however where did they come from? Did they arise from the instability of a country torn by civil war? What are the roots of this war? Russian intervention or american counter intervention. how many of the Taliban were former Muhajedeen, CIA trained ‘freedom fighters’? The US had promised to support the new Afghanistan government financially, yet the billions promised have turned into a few million and what started as a good thing is rapidly sinking into the mire. We now have a growing world treat from opium. (no pun intended) NATO was entrusted to clean up the mess so that another ‘Evil Empire’ could be removed. In support of liberty and the fight against we detain terrorists (freedom fighters(??)) in guantanamo. (see point 3)
2. Iraq and the WMD- The US was sure that they had them, they must be there and I would agree because the US GAVE THEM TO THE SADDAM HUSSEIN REGIME. Who was the enemy of 1980 it was Iran; our ally was Iraq, we gave them the weapons, we supported them we encouraged them and when they turned around and bite us in the ass we cry foul. And take them down. In the process of removing the enemy, the US proceeds to dump their uranium waste on populated centers all over the country. Studies have show that Depleted Uranium (A byproduct of producing uranium for reactors and bombs) are spreading cancers all over Iraq. Most likely there would also be a problem in Kuwait as well from the last war. What is the US doing to clean up this problem? Or is it a problem which the Iraqi people will have to deal with?
3. Liberty, Guantanamo and the Geneva Conventions-prisoner of war, be damned. They’re terrorists!!! We’ll call them enemy combatants so that our dear leader…err president cannot be tried under our own laws for the inhumane treatment of POWs. Yes liberty must be protected at all costs. “Captain, what should I do with my cigarette, there are no ashtrys here?” “That’s okay private just put it out on the guy in the orange jump suit.” I would like to see some of they highminded American folks to be detained without trial, subjected to torture, denied access to by international agencies. For upwards of three years!! fortunately there are already a number of Americans who have been detained for an indefinite period without trial or lawyer. Oh wait, they are those non-white types from ‘terrorist supporting countries’. Well it serves them right.
It is important to point out that the US courts have been pulling down the Government’s mistreatment and illegal detention of those souls at git’mo. However it is equally important to note that the government and the military are doing as much foot dragging on the issue as a three year-old being taken home from the toy store by mother. Do the judges have to open up the jailcells themselves?
Maybe if the US would stop being the unilateral defender of liberty and ‘honestly’ work with the rest of the world towards betterment of those people in need (There are a lot in need within the US, too.) we wouldn’t have US bashing or anti-Americanism.
PS. on a Canadian/personal note since you want us to work with you, stop charging duties, which the NAFTA arbitration process has declared illegal, on our softwood products.
Canadian-American relations have had better moments, and taking pot shots at each other is an amusing way to pass the time, but we should remember how close we have been in the past and certainly will be again in the future.
Just for the heck of it, here??s an excerpt from the eulogy given by former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney at Ronald Reagan’s funeral in June 2004:
?橫I have been blessed to have had a friend like Ronald Reagan. I am grateful that our paths crossed and that our lives touched. I shall always remember him with deep admiration and affection and I shall always feel honored by the journey we traveled together in search of better and more peaceful tomorrows for all God’s children, everywhere.??
Perhaps something to ponder.
There are no two countries and peoples more alike than the U.S. and Canada. Yes we like giving each other crap but in the end we know we wouldn??t like to have any other neighbor. This is what I find at least with most people who have been out of college for more than a year or two. Actually after most ??debates?? with Canadians they secretly tell me that they think the US is generally doing the right thing and the world needs US leadership, ??But don??t tell the others (Canadians).?? I secretly tell them Canada is the best neighbor we could have. “But don’t tell the others (Americans)”
Gwangju Tim.
1) Please read the prisoner of war Geneva convention. In it, it states to whom it is applied to and to whom it is not applied to.
2) Here is a link that shows how much the US earmarked for Afghanistan??s reconstruction in 2005. It also mentions how much was earmarked for 2004. Add a few more zeros behind the ??few million?? you indicated and that is the real number. 1.2 Billion And that is only from the US government. That does not include private donations, other countries, and international aid agencies that the US has a lot of pull with.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rw.....2f000f262e
Sometime in the ’90s I read an article in print by a Canadian who stipulated that the purpose of having Fort Drum and 10th Mountain Division so close to Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto was that the US had designs on invasion and that the division could quickly be air-assaulted to take over these cities. The article was taken seriously by many in Canada, but seen as absurd by the US. I wonder if any Canadian professors would view US colonization as a blessing…? Maybe the best bet for Canada now is to export missile guidance technology to North Korea so that the Taepo-Dongs don’t miss the US.
I stand corrected on Afghanistan.
So because we can label them ‘enemy combatants’ they are not entitled to fair treatment? The US government has the right to treat them as they wish? Move them to places specifically because they are outside the reach of the courts. Check out ‘thinking peace’.com under book reviews. It is not acceptable for the government to structure the treatment of prisoners as they wish.
My complaint is with the US government exporting its version of liberty and freedom. I have never had a problem with American people. I am equally annoyed with the Canadian government for selling its spine and not keeping a more active presence in world affairs.
You bring up a good point that many people are struggling with. Are they still entitled to fair treatment? In my opinion no. But I do respect the other side of the coin. Treating people with human dignity is important but at what cost? Certainly it cannot be said the terrorists have treated many of their prisoners with dignity. You can watch a dozen beheadings to see that. Some just innocent aid workers. It seems some people are more concerned about people who lost their dignity by being naked and dog piling on each other than the people who lost their heads. That??s what really concerns me. But that alone is not enough. The other argument is what if these people have information that will help prevent another terrorist attack? What if thousands of peoples lives could be saved? It is a difficult decision to make but in some situations unfair treatment is warranted in my opinion.
I don’t agree that America is exporting its form of democracy/liberty/freedom. There are not too many different forms of democracy/liberty/freedom. Both Afghanistan and Iraq are based on a parliamentary system more similar to that of Canada or Turkey than the US. The US also suggested to the Iraqis that they vote based on more of a traditional middle eastern council system but they said no to that, they wanted one person one vote. As far as I know every democracy is build upon the one person one vote concept. Either way the elected officials have the power to change their system as they see fit by writing their own constitution.
I too would like Canada to have a more active presence and am thankful for their presence in Afghanistan as are many Afghan people.
I’m trying to read up on the depleted uranium shells. Never heard of the issue before. The US should clean that up if they have not already. This is what I love about discussions/debates- learning something new.