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Monday, November 15, 2010

Smug Canadians? Posted to thoughts.com, Jan. 7, 2010, by the late George Condon

I thought I had better reprint this post by my late friend George J. Condon to his blog on thoughts.com, as I don't know how long his blog will survive him. George passed away June 16, 2010. George, we miss you!

Here is his post - he certainly doesn't pull any punches!

"During the dark years of the Bush Administration in the United States, Canadians basked in a warm glow of self-righteousness. Maybe we weren't perfect, but we were certainly better than those crazy rednecks south of the border. Now that Barack Obama has become the American President, Canucks find that the ground has shifted uncomfortably beneath their noble feet.

"The Obama Administration has been a major disappointment to progressive people everywhere. For example, the vow to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay has morphed into a plan simply to move it onto American soil. When in opposition, the Democrats denounced the civil rights abuses of the Patriot Act. Now that they're in Government, the Dems have suddenly discovered that these same measures have merit. Despite such lapses, the wind is blowing from a slightly more progressive direction in America. We Canadians are left with our halos slightly askew.

"But, surely we must still be morally superior to the Americans in many ways. For example, we don't condone torture. Actually, we do. Canadian troops in Afghanistan turned prisoners over to local authorities, knowing they'd be tortured. When warned about this, the Canadian Government seems to have turned a blind eye to the abuses and it has been denying everything for three years.

"All right, but Canadians don't go around starting illegal wars the way Americans have done. Maybe not, but our forces are in Afghanistan without United Nations approval. Canadian troops are there to please the Americans and to show that we can be as macho as the Yanks. Claims that we are fighting to protect the Afghan people against the Taliban are so much horse droppings. If we care about the defenceless, then why don't we have troops in Darfur? Where were our soldiers during the genocide in Rwanda? It's great that our presence in Afghanistan allows girls to go to school, but that's just a side effect.

"Well, at least we don't pollute as much as those darned Americans do. Actually, we pollute more per individual. Ditto for energy consumption. The Americans try hard to be the world's energy pigs, but we have them beaten by a slim margin. We use the excuse that it's cold up here in the Great White North, but other cold countries (such as Finland and Norway) live comfortably on about 50% less energy use per person compared to Canadians.

"Okay, but don't we care passionately about the environment despite all that? We have a strange way of showing it. The Canadian Government did its best to wreck the recent talks on Climate Change in Copenhagen. The largest emitter of carbon dioxide on Earth is the Alberta Tar Sands Project, right here in Canada. Asbestos is banned in North America because it causes cancer and lung disease, but Canadian companies sell tons of the stuff to India where the people are less aware of the risks. In Latin America, Canadian mining companies have a dismal record for dumping toxic waste.

"Does all of this mean that Canadians are monsters? Of course not. Historically, Canadians have made great contributions to science and to medicine out of proportion to our population. Canadian troops fought heroically in two world wars and in Korea, while being seen as models of discipline and professionalism. Canadians give generously of their time and money to help the less fortunate around the world. We used to be the world's peace keepers. We were so nice that some people in other countries sneered at us for being naive boy scouts who failed to understand the harsh realities of international politics. Unfortunately, that was then and this is now.

"What happened to us was the same thing that happened to Americans. While we snoozed in our self-satisfaction, some very reactionary people seized the levers of power. They've changed the Canadian image from peace keeping and social justice to military butt kicking and corporate profits. Now, we have a Prime Minister who just shuts down Parliament whenever it suits him. None of that silly democratic stuff about answering questions and putting things to a vote.

"Down south, Americans are trying to get their country back. Time will tell whether they succeed. Up here in Canada, we're still asleep. Until we wake up and make some changes, we'd better face the fact that the Ugly American now speaks with a Canadian accent and rides a snowmobile.

"Am I being too harsh? I'd like to know what you think. Please don't tell me to go somewhere else if I don't like it here in Canada. If I didn't love my country, I would never have bothered to write this."

George Condon, Jan. 7, 2010

The link is (or was) Smug Canadians?

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