Oh don't be so hard on him. I sure as shootin' wouldn't be able to formulate a cohesive argument if I had to do so over the constant bedlam of antagonistic banjoliers... But seriously, AS, I respect your honesty, I guess...but your principle of absolute loyalty is frightening. I am not calling you a Nazi...let me make that clear now...but that kind of automatic loyalty given to a nation's leadership merely bcause we have defined an enemy is reminiscent of a lot of testimony at Nuremberg. There are so many dangers in it I can't catelogue them all here. Be careful, buddy. We have been fooled by better men than Bush before.
Macbeth, I wouldn't say that I have absolute loyalty. But I take seriously my oath I took when I enlisted in the USMC waaaaaay back in 1986. It is a correct view to be skeptical of our government and its motives, but I trust in the checks and balances of our system to redress any grievances.
As someone who has been a resident of both countries for a considerable amount of time, I think I can clear up a couple of things. 1. What is a black Canadian called? They are called Canadian. I found that because of the cultural mosaic, nobody felt that they had to define themselves by labels like they do in the US. 2. Grizzled, MacBeth, you are wasting your time. If there's one thing I've learned in my 5 years in Texas, it's that there's no point in arguing with an Aggie or a redneck.
Whoa...sorry, chase, I was just re-reading this thread and noticed that I totally missed this first time around. I honestly don't know that many Canadians who think that it comes down to a matter of better or worse...I do know many that have some srious issues with American policies, guns, etc,, but I haven't heard all that many talking about America in terms of being 'worse' than Canada, certainly nothing like the kind of stuff some folks said in reverse in this thread. I have seen a degree of knee-jerk criticism of America, and I find it tiresome, especially as I was often assosciated with the States by virtue of the double cit thing, but it's pretty limited, and almost entirley light hearted. I had one girfriend who was wacko anti-American, but she was the exception by far. I will talk about my experience in terms of the differences in the two countries, if you'll permit, but it's just one experience. The things I prefer about Canada, and I should note that Toronto is the 4th largest city in North America, so it's hardly a typical Canadian experience, probably the most Americanized part of Canada, in general include: * People are 'nicer'...don't ever tell a Canadian that, they are so tired of hearing that they're nice, it's like scratching a chalkboard, but it's true...Even to a degree in a huge city like Toronto, there is still a sense of mutual respect that I often found lacking in US cities. And so much cleaner. * Safer...this is probably the biggest difference, or close. * More ethnically diverse, a lot more. It's not that there are more imigrants, although Toronto ranks among the highest in that regard in the world, and B.C will soon have more residents born outside Canada than in, but it's about the attitude of assimilation. In America the idea is the melting pot; ie you are an American first and foremost, and to a degree you check your culture at the door. Canada is called a pot pourri instead of melting pot, the idea being that they encourage people to maintain and celebrate their cultures and as such add to the flavor of Canada. I almost never hear the complaints about immigrants taking jobs or not speaking the language, etc. that I used to hear on a daily basis in the States. * Nowhere near as racist. Not even close...I don't even think that this is an issue of debate. And nowhere near as ego-centric; the amount that the average Canadian knows about the rest of the world is, in my experience, way, way more than the average American. Thes two issues are probably linked. The things I prefer about the States include: * A sense of national identity. The flip side to Canada being so encouraging and diverse is that often you are left with little actual sense of an overall identity, and I really appreciated that about the US. Not those who go too far, but those who are content enough to have a sense of belonging and layers...this ties into my next point; * History. You will mostly laugh at this, but for me this is huge. One of the reason I may eventually wind up living in Europe is that I love, love, love to be in a place that echoes, and Canadian history is mind numbingly boring. It's partyl because of the incredibly peacefull nature and history of the place, but little if anything has happened up here, at least not that we know of. Canada has a great and almost unbeleivable record of achievements, bravery, and dedication in wars for other people relative to it's size, but at home there's not much to write to Europe about. * Weather...It's not any worse in Toronto than many US cities, as Toronto is south of about 1/3 of the US, but for most of Canda the weather is pretty awful in the winter, B.C. excluded; B.C.'s weather is more aki to England, rains a lot, but doesn't get too hot or too cold. That's another thing about the weather in this part of Canada that people don't know about, it chanhes a lot, and last summer there were several days on end where it would be well over 40 celcius with the humidex; it's really hot here in the summer, and really cold in the winter. The season change is nice, but the extremes can wear on you. * Money...Personally this isn't a biggie for me, but it is huge for many. If you are going to wrok at a well paying job, and money is a priority, it is pretty conceded that you have a higher earning potential in the States, and people from Canada who move to the States almost always do so for financial reasons...or the damned weather. * Sports...I was never really into hockey. It was always football, basketball, baseball and track, with some soccer when I was younger. Much of this probably began with my time in the States, but I always much prefered the US sports scene to the Canadian one...Canada's outdoor stuff rocks, like canoeing, snowshoeing, that kind of thing, but excpet in the big cities the sports I like usually took a back seat to ones I didn't. * Americans are, in my experince, less reserved, and this has positive and negatve aspects. I like it, and I sometimes find the Canadian tendancy to sit on the fence frustrating. I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, but the point I was gonna make is that part of the reason Canadians would be less likely to talk in terms of being "the best" is the difference in attitudes. Canadians don't really, in my eoxerience, take those things that seriously...when we get voted top place to live, or top 3 city in the world, etc., it's usually met with a little pride but much more indifference or even more common, bemusement. Most Candians I know would never in a million years dream of saying the kinds of things that heath and bama said about the US or other nations in relation. And that would strike many as the kind of thing an American would be much more likely to think. In Canada it is less about being the best (hockey aside), and again that has positive and negative aspects...Probably healthier, to be honest, but also probably why there is less drive to succeed.
when i went to toronto a month ago, people were wearing jackets in the morning and the temperature only rose to a pleasant 75 degrees or so...never reaching 80...as a native houstonian, i'd have to say the weather in toronto is very very nice (in the summer) and no where near hot.
All this talk about Canada brings to mind a trivia question: What are the two northernmost cities to host a World Series game?
In the same series or in different World Series? Same series - Toronto and Philadelphia Different series....Toronto and Minneapolis
I should have made it clear that it was "ever", in other words, different series. Being the trick question that it is, the answer is: Minneapolis, MN - 1987/1991 Bloomington, MN - 1965
The original stadium after moving from Washington was located in Bloomington MN. The Metrodome is in downtown Minneapolis.
If I'm not mistaken, i think that Milwaukee is also farther north than Toronto. Not sure, though, and don't have a map handy.
Milwaukee looks a little bit further south. http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.ad...=wi&zipcode=&historyid=&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 Go to the 3rd button above 'zoom out' and click, then click on 'east' until you can see both cities.
Racism. Thanks for reminding me, MacBeth. I almost never encountered it in Canada, and thought that making a racist comment was simply socially unacceptable. Boy was I in for a surprise when I came to Houston. You're dead on about the reasons I left Canada. Money and weather - otherwise it's a great place to live.
