april_wino1 Wrote:BTW, I think it would be nice if Canadians could vote in the US elections, as well - or, at least, this up-coming election.
Not only Canadians - I think there's lots of people around the world who wish they had a say in the upcoming US elections...
Well, all I can really say is - I really, really, really hope that John Kerry wins this election. Let's all keep our fingers crossed. And if you're American and old enough to vote - then, please, get out and vote John Kerry!!
tragicallymike Wrote:1. id say im patriotic
2. No one has ever questioned my patriotism because of my love for canadian music, poutine, and 2 dollar bills in the form of multicolored coins.
being from buffalo i feel i have a good feel of what canada is all about. They love their beer , their hockey, mike myers, and their hours only have 22 minutes.
Do you cross the border a lot?
lets just hope the grass in greener for you on the other side.
Canada and the US have the same problems, just at a larger scale in the US.
In Canada's recent election people voted for the lesser of the evils. Some folks were scared off by Harper because of Martin but also because of Nader and M. Moore. I get a kick out of it though. So many people can't make up their own minds. Nader and Moore don't have a clue about what Harper would have done to the country. OH, GOD FORBID SOMEONE BE AGAINST ABORTION! GEEZ! Abortion seems to me to be more of a birth control method than anything else. I don't see why being against abortion is such a bad thing.
It's the same in the US. If Kerry wins it'll be because people don't want Bush elected, not because Kerry is a great political person. Kerry flip flops on issues more than any canditate in history.
Us in Canada have people who hate Americans because they are from America. Same with the US citizens- some are ignorant to Canadians just because of where they are from.
I am not ashamed of Canada; it's a great country to live in. I just don't think I'm a better person than someone from USA, AFRICA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, etc.... Yes, people should be proud of where they are from but should also respect every other nation.
Sorry if I missed this AW, but what town are you moving to?
tigerthelion Wrote:Kerry flip flops on issues more than any canditate in history.
Uh...no, that's not true. Kerry's problem is ABSOLUTELY NOT that he changes his mind about things...it's that he's far too intelligent. People like you have bought into the Bush hype that Kerry flip flops...you even use that gawd-awful expression. You've fallen for it, bought it hook line & sinker. Sorry, but this is how it is: Kerry does not talk in quips and easily digestible sound-bites. This is one thing the Bush white house loves to do, but Kerry is above it.
Kerry mulls everything over. Bush makes rash, irrational decisions based on what he's told. Kerry thinks and studies all sides of an issue BEFORE making a decision. Therefore, compared to Bush's dangerously impulsive behaviour, everybody thinks Kerry can't make up his mind. But Kerry knows more about any given governmental affair than you or I could ever hope to... but the Bush people have used their predisposition for speaking in one-liners to BRAND Kerry with the title flip-flopper and because that's so much easier than Kerry's explanation for his ruminations, everybody buys into it. That's a very superficial and uninformed way of thinking.
Kerry confuses simple minded people (and the Bush White House helps it along a lot) by saying he would have voted for the war if he had to do it all over again, but not the way "President" Bush carried it out. Bush's cronies say that you're either for the war or you're not. This leads people to believe the Bush White House is more resolute in its decisions than Kerry. But Kerry is smart enough to know that, although Iraq is a better place without Saddam Hussein, there were better ways of carrying out the invasion (not liberation) and he regrets giving BUSH - specifically - the authority to cary out his nefarious impulses.
Many people, therefore, think Kerry voted for it but is now against it. You have said you believe as much with your incredibly dismissive catch-phrase labeling of the Democratic candidate. Read up a bit why don't you.
Stephen Dame Wrote:Sorry if I missed this AW, but what town are you moving to?
I'm moving to Ontario near Toronto, about an hour away.
tigerthelion Wrote:OH, GOD FORBID SOMEONE BE AGAINST ABORTION! GEEZ! Abortion seems to me to be more of a birth control method than anything else. I don't see why being against abortion is such a bad thing.
I happen to be against abortion, as well - mainly because of my Christian upbringing, but also because I feel that it does murder unborn babies - and I don't think it's right.
tigerthelion Wrote:Us in Canada have people who hate Americans because they are from America. Same with the US citizens- some are ignorant to Canadians just because of where they are from.
I just hope that it's very, very few Canadians. I know that there are a lot of Americans living in Canada, a lot of Canadians living in the US, a lot of Canadians with relatives in the US, a lot of Canada-US dual-citizens, a lot of Canadians marrying Americans, and a lot of Canadians taking frequent trips to the US. Not to mention all the American music, movies, and whatnot that's popular in Canada - and, also, the fact that we're all human beings just trying to get through life. The Canadian lifestyle and the American lifestyle are very similar, as well.
tigerthelion Wrote:I am not ashamed of Canada; it's a great country to live in. I just don't think I'm a better person than someone from USA, AFRICA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, etc.... Yes, people should be proud of where they are from but should also respect every other nation.
I agree, I think it's important for everyone to see each person as a human being instead of a nationality, a race, a gender, a disability, an age, or whatnot. As I've said in earlier posts, I hope I can one day feel good about the US - but, at this moment, it just seems so hopeless. As grooveless toque has put it, the US has essentually become the American Empire - and this is one of the reasons why I feel really bad about being American, and plan to renounce my American citizenship as soon as I can become eligible for a Canadian citizenship. I just know that the American founding fathers would be rolling in their graves if they knew what the state of the US was, today. America is becoming just as bad as what it's fought against - and this is not something to be proud about.
Hey, one other question I have - without getting too religious, I hope - is does anyone here know the views that Canadian Christians generally hold about patriotism. One thing that really baffles me if how it seems like many Christian sects embrace patriotism. To me, I just don't think that's a very Christian trait - especially since patriotism tends to divide people rather than bring them together.
april_wino1 Wrote:Stephen Dame Wrote:Sorry if I missed this AW, but what town are you moving to?
I'm moving to Ontario near Toronto, about an hour away.
Poor thing...
:lol:
I cannot speak to that, as I myself am not Christian, but I will say that Canadians aren't really patriotic enough in an overwhelming way to have divisions like that amongst ourselves. I mean, you've probably heard about Quebec wanting to seperate (support for that will never fall below 33%) but instead of the rest of us being furious because we believe in the strength of the unity of our country and we're willing to be militant about it, we just let the Quebecois know they're appreciated. Seriously, I have not felt a lot of truly bad blood between English Canadians and seperatists. It's a very civilized debate. It wasn't always - there were scares during the Trudeau era in the 70s with militant groups - but as our Prime Minister said, "we are quiet patriots". We recognize that the best vote of confidence in our country is to appreciate one another, and so I don't see the furious divides here that I hear about in the Unites States.
grooveless touque Wrote:I cannot speak to that, as I myself am not Christian, but I will say that Canadians aren't really patriotic enough in an overwhelming way to have divisions like that amongst ourselves. I mean, you've probably heard about Quebec wanting to seperate (support for that will never fall below 33%) but instead of the rest of us being furious because we believe in the strength of the unity of our country and we're willing to be militant about it, we just let the Quebecois know they're appreciated. Seriously, I have not felt a lot of truly bad blood between English Canadians and seperatists. It's a very civilized debate. It wasn't always - there were scares during the Trudeau era in the 70s with militant groups - but as our Prime Minister said, "we are quiet patriots". We recognize that the best vote of confidence in our country is to appreciate one another, and so I don't see the furious divides here that I hear about in the Unites States.
Thanks - and, yeah, I have heard about the Quebec seperatists. I understand that there was some controversy over a Quebec seperatist wanting to hold the Canadian flag for the Olympics, or something, though - even though I'm not sure about the details. In fact, I have not even been following along with the Olympics - since I'm not really into sports. In fact, I'm kind of against sports for the same reasons that I'm against patriotism and school pride. School pride is another thing that I've never understood why the teachers encourage. I mean, I'm not against sports for fun - but I just don't understand why some take professional sports too seriously - or even high school sports, for that matter. Anyway, I think it is very sad how Bush and his cronies have this attitude of "either you're with us or against us" - instead of respecting everyone's right to their own opinions.