Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Are Americans Ignorant to Canadians and Their Culture

silent_jay · 05-31-2004, 02:05 PM

I found this article written by David Hillis. I have never heard of him before, but he has a great perspective on the problems between the two countries. I hope this one stays open as I have provided the article, as well as the source site. Any opinions on the article or it's contents would be great to hear. Thanks.

I totally agree with everything that this man says in this article. In my opinion American's are ignorant to what is going on around them, I mean they still think Iraq is a just war.

Rick Mercer just proves it with his show Talking To Americans, they know nothing about the world around them, and not just average Americans but Ivy League Professors and Politicians. Theyare so wrapped up in themselves that it is turning more and more people against them.

I mean if they know nothing about Canada their apparent "closest ally" then how do they know what we really feel about them.
Here's the source site http://flathat.wm.edu/September28200...nsstory2.shtml

Quote:

Americans ignorant about Canadians and their culture

By David Hillis

In the course of a typical day, there are several international flights landing in America from all over the world, many of which travel over large distances of an ocean to reach the United States.

So, when a national emergency strikes and all airports close down, as they did on Sept. 11, what are all of those flights going to do? They can't return to wherever they departed from, because they don't have enough fuel left.

So what happens when every airport in America shuts down? We divert many international flights, which could also be hijacked and used as bombs, to Canada. Now, on top of that, Americans are being critical of Canada for being too slow to help on Sept. 11.

Ironically, one of the most moving tributes was not aired on NBC, ABC, CBS or CNN. Rather, it appeared on a station called CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Many readers may have read former Canadian broadcaster Gordon Sinclair's commentary.

Still, when something goes wrong and our President thanks our allies during a joint session of Congress, the Canadians are not noted for their support, let alone any mention what a tremendous help it was that they took in several thousand American citizens at virtually the drop of a hat. It seems that the Canadians were, yet again, totally ignored.

Yes, Canada, the second largest landmass in the world. Yes, Canada, where all of those draft dodgers ran to in the '60s. Yes, Canada, that other cold nation where everyone is a socialist. Yes, Canada, the target of much good-natured jabbing from sources like Comedy Central's "South Park" ("Blame Canada"), Fox's "That '70's Show" (Canadians don't count) and countless other facets of American popular culture.

It seems as though American popular culture has, as Al Capone put it, "no idea what street Canada is on."

For all of the fun that the Americans have had insulting Canadians, however, the Canadians have had just as much fun humiliating Americans and have actually done a far better job of it. On one episode of the popular Canadian comedy show "Kids in the Hall," Scott Thompson quipped, "Americans know about as much as Canadians as straight people know about gays."

More recently, Rick Mercer has done a masterful job of exploiting America's ignorance of Canada. One of the hosts of the popular Canadian television show, "This Hour Has 22 Minutes," he hosts a segment in which he goes to America and asks all sorts of people questions about fabricated current events in Canada. As Americans, we are all to willing at act like pundits on issues we know nothing about, providing Canadians with countless hours of entertainment.

Examples include Harvard students signing petitions to stop the slaughtering of seals in Saskatchewan, people in Chicago congratulating Canada for "making beaver balls your national dish." The Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee said, "Congratulations Canada on preserving your national igloo." In Iowa, Governor Tom Vilsack congratulated Canada for going to the 24-hour clock (they formerly used the 20 hour clock, like the French). Mercer even got Presidential candidate George W. Bush, who said "I'm glad to have the support of Prime Minister Jean Poutine." Poutine is a French term for French fries in gravy.

On Monday, Sept. 24, Bush and the real Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chretien had a meeting, during which Bush praised Chretien as a brother, and officially said that he was glad to have Canada's support. With any luck, we, as Americans, will make nice with our neighbors to the north and maybe even learn a thing or two from them.

When facing a national tragedy, as we are now, it is always helpful to have a laugh at someone else's expense. In this case, I hope that we can limit that someone to Osama bin Laden and his followers and prove our strength by embracing both ethnic and religious diversity, as the Canadians do.

David Hillis is a guest columnist. His views do not necessarily represent those of The Flat Hat.