Thoughts on Canada...

[fajrdrako]

There was a news report today about a worldwide survey where people from 28 countries said Canada had the most positive image of any country in the world.

I wonder what questions were actually in the poll. I wonder how any Canadians who answered the questions replied.

I'm sure that Canada, thank goodness, doesn't generally strike fear and horror into anyone's heart. But we are currently somehow involved in a war, albeit someone else's war. So what gives us this positive image? The cuteness of polar bears? An image of trees and mountains? Mounties and horses? Our greatest national asset, I am convinced, is Smarties, but the rest of the world doesn't know about that.¹

It says in the article:

"It appears that people around the world tend to look negatively on countries whose profile is marked by the pursuit of military power," said Steven Kull, director of the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes.

Well, duh! Of course. We need academic experts to tell us this?

Obviously our positive image isn't because of our weather. It's -26C out there today, -39C, they say, with the wind chill factor. I recently learned that the concept of "wind chill factor" is a Canadian thing: no wonder. It's necessary like those other handy Canadian inventions, the snowmobile and the parka and indoor heating. If you're wondering how cold -39C actually is, just approximate it at -39F, since -40F/C is where the two scales converge.

Lucky us.

Measured on another scale: it's cold enough to make me grumpy on the way to the bus stop. Cold enough to make me cough - why do I start coughing in cold air? Cold enough for the tears to freeze on my face, since the cold makes my eyes run. Cold enough to spark fantasies of Hawaii and India and other nice warm places. Whatever happened to global warming?

This makes me want to list The Ten Things I Like Best About Canada:

1. The CBC, especially CBC Radio 1


2. Certain authors: Antonine Maillet, Jane Rule, Guy Gavriel Kay, Karin Lowachee, Margaret Lawrence, Miriam Toews.


3. Certain TV shows: Due South, Slings and Arrows


4. Equal rights for gays, including gay marriage.


5. Equal rights, period. Sure, we've a way to go and then some - I shudder to think of some ongoing social problems - but we are a country that takes the basic concepts of human rights seriously. Including the right to medical care.


6. The National Gallery of Canada. I love that place.


7. The Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario.


8. A national sense of courtesy that extends beyond our borders. I might, giving a bit of imagination to the issue, say that this is the outward sign of something else: that many Canadians have a sense of universal compassion, enough to colour our view of the world and our attitude towards it. There are plenty of nasty Canadians, but the general philosophical assumptions in this country tend to be both kind and inclusive, in a way I haven't noticed in other countries.


9. A generally unquestioned respect for education, literacy, research, knowledge and learning.


10. Poutine. The most decadent junk food ever.

Note that 'the weather' is nowhere on this list.

¹It is possible that I am wrong, and that the greatest national asset of Canada is Paul Gross. I'll have to think about this.

Comments

[squashed.livejournal.com]

Actually, one of the results of Global Warming are wild fluctuations in temperatures and extremes -- the extra energy affects the various balances that control the environment.

The fact that it dropped overnight and will be back up to plus 8 within days is all a part of Global Warming.

I love living in Canada. I love being Canadian (and I even like the cold weather we get *grins*).

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

And on that note, I'm so moving to Canada. Granted, Massachusetts ain't doing so bad, but Canada is made of shiny.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

one of the results of Global Warming are wild fluctuations in temperatures and extremes

Yeah. "Fluctuation" sounds like a nice euphemism for today!


The fact that it dropped overnight and will be back up to plus 8 within days is all a part of Global Warming.

I look forward to plus anything.

I love living in Canada.

So do I. Really. It's quite wonderful. Despite my grumbling about the weather. I can't think of another place that has it better.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Massachusetts ain't doing so bad,

I'd say that Massachusetts is pretty good, compared to some other possibilities.

Canada is made of shiny.

Aww, what a nice thing to say! And true, too.

Well, mostly.

[dargie.livejournal.com]

Alas, if they asked Americans, the answer was Canada because they don't know the names of too many countries, and couldn't think of anything bad to say about it. The educational system here is horrific. *shakes head*

[cynonymous.livejournal.com]

Here via friendsfriends, and I think you're right about the sense of courtesy in the way you interact with each other and with everyone else on the planet. Sometimes I think the U.S. has become the Land of Entitlement. (Not to be confused with the Land of Enchantment; that's only in New Mexico.)

BTW, don't be so sure about our beating you on the weather. You don't get hurricanes, and they're saying today that we're switching back into the pattern for lots of Atlantic hurricanes. The "wind chill factor" may be a Canadian invention, but I bet the "heat index" was ours. And in a few decades when Global Warming really digs in and weather patterns go haywire and sea levels rise, well... let's just say that before that happens, you might want to fortify your borders. Just in case. Because you never know...

And although Paul Gross is great, I'd have to cast my vote on Smarties being your greatest national asset. Those Cadbury bars with the maple are darned good, too.

[reina-isabella.livejournal.com]

I adore Canada, always have, and haven't been back in far too long. Point taken about the weather (it's -12C in NYC today, and I've been dreaming about London's balmy March breezes all morning), although the last time I was in Quebec - probably about 13 years ago - it was apparently the hottest summer on record, and absolutely blazing. So oddly enough I always have very warm thoughts about Canada, even when it's colder than nine hells ...

[kiyuchan.livejournal.com]

And those are some of the main reasons I'm relocating to Canada as soon as I get my degree. Because I know another thing not on that list is cheap higher education. :\ My in-state tuition is the only thing keeping me in the US right now.

[omnivorously.livejournal.com]

"Well, duh! Of course. We need academic experts to tell us this?"

I think quotes from experts and scholars in newspapers always make the experts and scholars sound unimpressive, because anything jargony or longer than a sound bite gets cut out; it all has to be extremely digestable. And basically any TV documentary or whatnot is going to end up *simplifying* things, simply because of time constraints. If you know very little about the subject, then it'll be interesting and so on, but if you're more knowledgeable, you'll spend a lot of the time twitching and talking to the TV in tones of outrage.

Back to the subject at hand: I (an American-Israeli) definitely have a positive image of Canada, and I semi-joke about moving there someday - yes, the only thing that gives me pause is the weather ; ) Canada, for me, has a sense of calmness and a lack of hysteria. The lack of military aggression is a nice change, too. And it's good to hear that Canadians really are polite, though I understand that US Midwesterners are nice and open-minded people, as well; I'm a New-Englander myself. I wonder, do your politicians lie as much as ours?

I've heard it said that the US is like an adolescent male and Canada is like an educated middle-aged woman.

[omnivorously.livejournal.com]

I recently saw the statistic that something like 85% of Americans age 18 to 24 can't find Afghanistan on a map, which I find practically unbelievable. The following article also says that 6 months after Katrina, 33% couldn't find Louisiana on a map, and so on.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/05/02/geog.test/

A big problem is that I don't think geography is taught as a separate subject in most of the US, certainly not where I'm from, and it came as a surprise to me that you can actually major in geography at some US colleges. But in the UK, frex, geography is common as history, and is also a common major at uni. Geography is also one of the basic subjects in Italy. Whereas in the US, you pick up geographic knowledge patchily, if at all, depending on what history courses you take and how curious you are. And whether you go to a Jewish day school where you learn Middle Eastern geography in elementary school, and play "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?".

[omnivorously.livejournal.com]

Actually, *are* there any issues that Canadians get hysterical about? Like, to the extent that Americans seem to get hysterical about things (War on Christmas! 9/11 was caused by feminism! Katrina was caused by the gay pride parade! Condoms don't work 95% of the time, and they make you promiscuous!) Or does every country have it's own sensitive spots?

And what a sad, sad commentary that I'm asking you that, assuming you are familiar enough with American politics and culture to compare *facepalm*

All those writers you listed? Never heard of 'em. If I hadn't randomly stumbled on Farley Mowatt and Robertson Davies, I'd be under the impression that Canada didn't have a literary tradition; and I used to not know that Margaret Atwood is Canadian.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

LOL. Well, some of the people they asked must have been Americans, wouldn't you think?

Or maybe not...!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I adore Canada, always have

Nice to hear!

and haven't been back in far too long.

Well, then, come and visit.

it's -12C in NYC today, and I've been dreaming about London's balmy March breezes all morning

I remember my astonishment when I lived in London and there were daffodills in the parks in February. February. It was amazing.

the last time I was in Quebec - probably about 13 years ago - it was apparently the hottest summer on record, and absolutely blazing.

Yes, we are good at summer heat, too. It's the nice mild in-between temperatures we don't manage so well.

So oddly enough I always have very warm thoughts about Canada, even when it's colder than nine hells ...

Only in the winter!

I once had a friend visit me from Johannesburg, SA, in February. Bad idea.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Here via friendsfriends

Glad you dropped by!

You don't get hurricanes, and they're saying today that we're switching back into the pattern for lots of Atlantic hurricanes.

The East Coast gets some of the residue of hurricanes, but you're quite right; and generally speaking our earthquakes are benign, though I suppose Vancouver could always fall into the ocean without much prior notice.

The "wind chill factor" may be a Canadian invention, but I bet the "heat index" was ours.

We call it the "humidex". I imagine yours is more extreme.

you might want to fortify your borders

We're not very good at that.

although Paul Gross is great, I'd have to cast my vote on Smarties being your greatest national asset.

Yes, I think maybe. Not only are they delicious, you can plays games with them, and sort the colours. You can even use them like crayons, in a pinch, just by licking the outside.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

cheap higher education

While students here are holding demonstrations because the cost of tuition has gone up so much! I guess it's all in the perspective.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

And basically any TV documentary or whatnot is going to end up *simplifying* things, simply because of time constraints.

True. I think the value of such a study is partly that it gets publicity - in this case, might get people thinking about universal values. But the greater value is that people stop just... guessing. Someone might think, "People tend to have a good impression of Canada," but it isn't really a fact until someone says, "Of x people surveyed, y percent thought it was a great place on a scale of 1 to 10." I'm not sure how meaningful it is anyway, but at least it's codified.

And of course it's nice to think my country is good for something, even if it's just the illusory attribute of being 'nice'.

I wonder, do your politicians lie as much as ours?

Yes, though probably not about the same things.

I've heard it said that the US is like an adolescent male and Canada is like an educated middle-aged woman.

LOL! That doesn't make us sound exciting, but... there's a certain charm to it.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Actually, *are* there any issues that Canadians get hysterical about?

Bilingualism and English/French politics tend to be taken rather seriously, though I don't think I'd call anyone hysterical about it - 'entrenched' might be a better word. Participation in the war in Afghanistan is currently a difficult and contentious topic; Canadians don't much like wars, whatever the reasons for them. Canadians do tend to care about issues of justice, and peole worry, but you don't generally see a lot of hysteria.

And what a sad, sad commentary that I'm asking you that, assuming you are familiar enough with American politics and culture to compare *facepalm*

LOL - well, I really don't know what it's like on your side of the border, though my impresson is that people in general seem more fearful and excitable. (And there you have one of those massive national stereotypes that I could never justify, if challenged!)

All those writers you listed? Never heard of 'em.

I didn't list just the most famous, because I don't like Robertson Davies and Margaret Atwood so much - though I recently read a passage from Robertson Davies that was beautiful, making me blink in surprise, because I never thought he was a beautiful writer while I was reading his books. So it goes! I do like Farley Mowat, but haven't read much of his work and haven't read anythign by him for a long time.

The writers I listed are the ones I particularly love. Antonine Maillet writes plays and novels in the Acadian dialect, in a hilarious neo-Rabelasian style; Jane Rule writes about young (and old) people struggling with sexual orientation and social issues; Guy Gavriel Kay writes historically-based fantasy; Karin Lowachee writes wonderful science fiction novels about boys caught up in war and crime; Margaret Lawrence writes about people coming to terms with themselves, and Miriam Toews wrote a wonderful novel about a Mennonite teen in Manitoba that reminded me of Catcher in the Rye. There you have it - CanLit as appreciated by me!

If I hadn't randomly stumbled on Farley Mowatt and Robertson Davies, I'd be under the impression that Canada didn't have a literary tradition

Right. This reminds me of a famous quote during the Free Trade talks, when someone told an American Senator that Canadians were concerned about the effect on Canadian culture, and he said, "What Canadian culture?"

What indeed. Everybody ought to go see Bon Cop, Bad Cop (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479647/) and Men With Brooms (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263734/). Not just to get a laugh, but also to see that Canada isn't just like the US.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I recently saw the statistic that something like 85% of Americans age 18 to 24 can't find Afghanistan on a map

Presumably they aren't looking at the maps on the evening news? Or maybe... I don't know, but maybe Iraq gets covered a lot more than Afghanistan in your news reports. I'm just guessing. I've always been fascinated by maps but it's just last year that I taught myself to identify all the US states. I have a little trouble identifying the new European and Asian nations, though I'm a whiz with places that existed when I was a teen. Africa tends to be a mystery, particularly the interior.

I certainly studied geography in high school, and loved it, despite not getting along with one of the teachers. But then I loved reading atlases and encyclopedias and looking at maps. Topographical maps are a particular joy.

Then I was encouraged by Tolkien, so I love maps of imaginary places, too.

I'd love to see a really good map of Barrayar!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I did a double-take and realized you said something there I didn't understand: what's the war on Christmas?

Speaking of Due South?

[dewline.livejournal.com]

It has come to my attention that several of our major music retail chains are finding it impossible to re-order the soundtracks these days. I was hoping to find a replacement copy for the first soundtrack on CD. Strangely enough, I still have the jewel case, but the disc is now located in parts as yet unclear to me.

I've made inquiries to Nettwerk Music via their Unforescene Music label(Nettwerk's soundtracks division) about this and have not yet heard back from them.

Just a little unnerving, I tell you.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

I've heard about this one for a while now. In certain quarters of the United States, there are groups who view showing courtesy to any and all groups celebrating holy occasions coinciding with the Christmas season by way of modifying the traditional greetings, decorations and so on(EG: "Happy Holidays" instead of an explicit "Merry Christmas")...well, as an act akin to sacrilege and cultural warfare against themselves and their interpretation of Christian Scripture.

If you're looking for recommendations...

[dewline.livejournal.com]

I'd add in Robert J. Sawyer for SF, Gail Bowen, Mary Jane Maffini, and Barbara Fradkin for mystery/crime fiction...and come to think of it, the TV series Bones is based loosely on a series of novels spending half its time - like their author Kathy Reichs - in Montreal.

Our TV networks up here missed a major opportunity by letting Fox get their hands on those novels. Really, they did.

Smarties?!

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Smarties are British! They were (not sure if they still are, as I think the firm was taken over by Nestlé) made by Rowntrees in York!

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

like an educated middle-aged woman.

Preferably a mediæval historian who likes science fiction and keeps budgies.

See, you are Canada embodied!

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I have felt deeply alienated from my own country since 1979. Politically and socially, the UK was fucked by Thatcherism; then we got Thatcher-lite, i.e. 'New Labour', who came in with a big enough mandate to undo the damage, but didn't...

And given my own cultural influences, I prefer to regard myself as, above all, European in a broader sense: the things I love and value, the literary, political, artistic and musical influences that have shaped me, come from a range of countries.