Baraka_Guru... I have read Fire and Ice and found the stats in that book surprising. I knew there were differences between Canadians and Americans but it was startling to discover how wide those differences are.
I have struggled with "nationalism" and the ethnocentrism it breeds. On one hand it am proud of the accomplishments of our nation. On the other hand the danger of becoming too ethnocentric, too emotionally attached to a nation can be a tinderbox.
The key (as always
) is balance between the two.
My biggest concern about nationalism has little to do with the US. It has more to do with national cohesiveness. I am a big supported of increased immigration as a form of nation building but see that there is a problem when ethnicities fail to respect the commonalities and principles of the nation.
What I am trying to get at is that while I do not want a "melting pot", where all previous nationality is erased in favour of the mythology of the new nation, I also don't want immigrants to behave like itinerant workers. If you are going to immigrate you should come with the understanding that you are joining something larger. You should come respecting the local laws an customs (again... this is not to say that I want anything approaching full assimilation, rather what is needed is balance between the two worlds).
As I have seen it, these issues tend to dissipate with the arrival of the next generation. The childern of immigrants are the goal of any nation attempting to build itself through immigration.
That is an important thing to remember.
As for the question of the US vs. Canada and the whole chest thumping business... something that is often overlooked but is implicit in any discussion of this relationship is the prevalence of US media in Canada. Canada sits on the boarder of the world's largest cultural exporter (films, television, news media, magazines, literature, music, etc.). US is content is not only licensed by our national media conglomerates to air on Canada television or exhibit in our theatres, for example but in the case of radio and television can be directly received over the air from the source.
As a nation of 31 million (or so) it is econmomically difficult to compete with what can be produced on basis of a population of 300 million. Canada is one of the few nations in the world that must contend with this. Most other nations are isolated and insulated from one other culture by way of language and geography (it is interesting to note that in French Canada this issue is largely absent due to language barrier and a strong history of cultural seperation).
This is further exacerbated by the incredible insularity of the US. It is a big place with a lot going on within its borders and many do not take the time or effort to look beyond those borders (G W Bush was famous for NOT having travelled beyond the US borders - execpt maybe on trip to Mexico - before he was elected and being very poorly versed on foreign policy). Many Americans can't even find Canada on a map let alone tell you who the leader of the nation is.
It galls many of us in Canada (and much of the rest of the world) that America can posit itself as the great power of the world and yet remains so incredibly insular.
Of course there are many individuals in the US that are the exception to this rule. I am painting with a very large brush.
In the end, I am proud of Canada and what its people have accomplished. I see this same pride when I travel (National Day is on Wednesday in Singapore - if you want to see a nation that is proud of itself come to Singapore, what they have done in 41 years of existence is truly impressive -- Singaporeans have much of which to be proud).