Canada and USA: good cop and bad cop?

Canada and America are like Siamese Twin Sisters, literally joined at the hip by the much-rapsodized "longest friendly and undefended border" in the world. Possibly no two other sovereign nations have so much in common. Yet for all the sorority, sometimes an irritating and silly sibling rivalry mars the relationship. Americans who contribute to this nonsense usually do so by patronizing or ridiculing people or things Canadian. Canadians who contribute usually do so by exhibiting venom or constant complaints about America and Americans.

The purpose of this thread is neither pro-USA nor pro-Canada, and yet paradoxically it is pro both. My hope is to get people to discuss differences, and see if we can reach common ground. Canadians are often painted as the good sibling, whereas we get the "bad sister" rap. Very, very seldom, if ever, is Canada made the villain while we are the saving grace. Admittedly, US history and life, all in all, have been far uglier and more violent than north of the border. BUT.....

How much of this results from virtue, and how much from circumstance? Is Canada really saintlier than us, or merely able to afford to be so sweet? A classic case in point is racism. During the Viet Nam war and the civil rights era Canada was universally regarded as the sweet angel twin of that horrid brat, the USA. One Canadian rock group sang: "American woman, get away from me....ah don't want yer war machines,/ Ah don' want yer ghetto scenes..."

Fair enough. But due to recently changed immigration policies at that very time, a new phenomenon was developing in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood under the Maple Leaf. For the first time, Canada began acquiring a sizable non-white population. With the recession of the mid-1970's after the Arab oil embargo, ugly incidents of racism occured in downtown Toronto and Vancouver. Canada could no longer afford to paint the saint on her image. She had American-style racial challenges now!

Likewise with militarism. True, our history overseas as well as with aboriginals at home is much uglier than Canada's. But Canada did not have the same settler problem to the same degree as land hunger on our frontier. Moreover, her frontier opened at a time when westerner attitudes toward non-European races, while still thoroughly prejudiced, had become relatively humane. Canadian troops overseas have a better image than ours. Yet just as we have had My Lai in Viet Nam and Abu Graib in Iraq, Canadian troops were involved in atrocity accusations in Somalia in 1990. Canada's Green Berets also had their ugly racism issue.

Let's hear from others, and carry on getting all points of view.

Prophecies of DV wrath to come

Greetings, o brethren of the forum! 'T'is I, prophet Vivek who has been much reviled and despised by the naysayers of DV. Behold I stood upon the beach near Dania, and a horrible dragon raised up its head from the waters.

"Son of man," it said unto me, "go forth unto the multitudes at DV. Deliver unto them the message that Heaven is sorely offended by their hate and their vulgarity. And unless those posters repent, behold the Lord hath His angels ready to smack their trolly butts."

But Dragon-Angel," I replied, "I am but a mortal. Why wouldst those nincompoops, brats and jackers take me seriously?"

"The Lord shall stretch out His mighty arm," the dragon replied,"and lo...DV shall witness them being swallowed up by the delete thread. For He hath suffered their insolence too long. Sodom and Gomorrorah were destroyed by fire, the Earth knew a deluge in Noah's time, and now these DV brats shall byte the dust."

"If they ask for a sign, what shouldst I say?" I asked.

"Tell them, o son of man, that Ottawa is debating a new bill re-legalizing spanking. Verily, unto
them say: THE LORD SHALL SMACK THY BUTT! "

To be continued............