Yes, we love our country, but ‘best in the world'? Get real
- Thread starter danmand
- Start date
Per capita is not the best measure. I doubt our total output is greater than that of any of the other G7 countries and much less than China and India. We are also a northern country and we have to heat our homes 10 months of the year.Don said:
Per capita IS the best measure. Most stats go by per capita for comparisons. For example, look at crime stats. The GTA has ~10x the number of violent crimes than Saskatoon. Going by totals, that would make the GTA 10x more dangerous than Saskatoon. But then why is Saskatoon considered to have a higher crime rate than the GTA? Maybe it's the fact that the GTA has 20x the population and when you consider crimes per capita, Toronto is actually a safer place?Rockslinger said:
No, this is what he believes and agrees with. If that's not the case, he would have made it clear this was a discussion point in his post. He didn't, he just posted it 3 times with all the support that implies.a 1 player said:I think danmand brought this up as a topic for discussion, and that this is not his personal belief. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Jeffrey Simpson in the Globe and Mail.
If Canada's so great and the world needs more of us, name the last great Canadian initiative
There was something rather nice about Canada, years ago, when it was a modest country, or at least when Canadians thought about their country in that fashion.
Today, if polls can be believed, Canadians are in love with their country - which is okay - but in love to a fault in that, apparently, almost 90 per cent of them believe they live in “the best country in the world.”
There are many admirable aspects of Canada, and we exult in them around Canada Day. But the dangers of thinking of your country as the cat's meow are hubris and, worse still, a stubborn inability to look problems in the eye or to learn from others.
If there is one assertion around which almost all Canadians would rally, it is that, as the Chapters Indigo slogan puts it, the “world needs more Canada.” The assumption supporting this assertion is that we Canadians are so worthy, morally upright and generally well-intentioned that the world would be a better place if it were more like, well, us. Which, in turn, leads Canadians to their deadliest sin: an unsinkable moral superiority.
We do lead the world in some instances. For example, we have the world's worst record among industrialized countries for emitting greenhouse-gas emissions that cause global warming. Of all the countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol, Canada's emissions rose the fastest - faster than even U.S. emissions under George W. Bush.
We are now parading ourselves at climate-change conferences proclaiming a goal of reducing emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 from a 2005 yardstick. Our previous record, however, is so bad, and the Harper's government's interest in climate change so ephemeral, that almost no country in the talks gives Canada much credibility at all.
Canada is almost alone in flogging asbestos around the world, or at least preventing more serious impediments to its export, all to protect some jobs in the Quebec town of Thetford Mines.
We club baby seals and give ourselves a black eye in Europe and elsewhere for an industry that, yes, has been around for a long time and, yes, forms part of the Inuit's traditional culture, but that brings in very little revenue in exchange for terrible publicity.
We have the tar sands, the defence of which no government will fail to try, without contemplating, let alone forcing, new ways of exploiting the resource in ways that might make it sustainable - except for a useful but far from adequate investment in carbon capture and storage.
The world trade negotiations, the so-called Doha round, are dormant, but when they showed some flickering life to liberalize trade, Canada was in the dark corner with France, some other European countries, Japan and South Korea - the usual suspects - blocking agricultural reform to preserve the protectionist supply management system.
Canada used to have a reputation as an honest broker with peacekeeping troops serving United Nations missions - a role that won kudos. But now our troops are committed to NATO's mission in Afghanistan, so very few are available for what Canadians used to think the world liked us for doing.
Put matters another way: If Canada is so great and if the world needs more of us, just what Canadian “initiative” can you think of in the past, say, four or five years, since Paul Martin suggested a G20 instead of a G8, an idea that matured into a reality?
Domestically, the country's greatest accomplishment was getting its fiscal house in order - which, in turn, led to excellent short-term results and positioned the country well for the aging of the population that will strain government resources. We also beefed up money for university research. But our productivity and competitiveness continue to lag.
The decline of manufacturing and the struggles of high technology reveal Canada for essentially being what it's always been - a hewer of wood and drawer of water, a country excessively dependent not on brain power but on natural resources.
To repeat: There are admirable aspects of being Canadian, and these have all been justly celebrated on Canada Day. But self-satisfaction can lead to a refusal to acknowledge weaknesses, to allow patriotism to curb critical thought, to refuse to face hard choices, and to cover a slow, albeit comfortable, slide toward international marginality and domestic mediocrity.
If Canada's so great and the world needs more of us, name the last great Canadian initiative
There was something rather nice about Canada, years ago, when it was a modest country, or at least when Canadians thought about their country in that fashion.
Today, if polls can be believed, Canadians are in love with their country - which is okay - but in love to a fault in that, apparently, almost 90 per cent of them believe they live in “the best country in the world.”
There are many admirable aspects of Canada, and we exult in them around Canada Day. But the dangers of thinking of your country as the cat's meow are hubris and, worse still, a stubborn inability to look problems in the eye or to learn from others.
If there is one assertion around which almost all Canadians would rally, it is that, as the Chapters Indigo slogan puts it, the “world needs more Canada.” The assumption supporting this assertion is that we Canadians are so worthy, morally upright and generally well-intentioned that the world would be a better place if it were more like, well, us. Which, in turn, leads Canadians to their deadliest sin: an unsinkable moral superiority.
We do lead the world in some instances. For example, we have the world's worst record among industrialized countries for emitting greenhouse-gas emissions that cause global warming. Of all the countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol, Canada's emissions rose the fastest - faster than even U.S. emissions under George W. Bush.
We are now parading ourselves at climate-change conferences proclaiming a goal of reducing emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 from a 2005 yardstick. Our previous record, however, is so bad, and the Harper's government's interest in climate change so ephemeral, that almost no country in the talks gives Canada much credibility at all.
Canada is almost alone in flogging asbestos around the world, or at least preventing more serious impediments to its export, all to protect some jobs in the Quebec town of Thetford Mines.
We club baby seals and give ourselves a black eye in Europe and elsewhere for an industry that, yes, has been around for a long time and, yes, forms part of the Inuit's traditional culture, but that brings in very little revenue in exchange for terrible publicity.
We have the tar sands, the defence of which no government will fail to try, without contemplating, let alone forcing, new ways of exploiting the resource in ways that might make it sustainable - except for a useful but far from adequate investment in carbon capture and storage.
The world trade negotiations, the so-called Doha round, are dormant, but when they showed some flickering life to liberalize trade, Canada was in the dark corner with France, some other European countries, Japan and South Korea - the usual suspects - blocking agricultural reform to preserve the protectionist supply management system.
Canada used to have a reputation as an honest broker with peacekeeping troops serving United Nations missions - a role that won kudos. But now our troops are committed to NATO's mission in Afghanistan, so very few are available for what Canadians used to think the world liked us for doing.
Put matters another way: If Canada is so great and if the world needs more of us, just what Canadian “initiative” can you think of in the past, say, four or five years, since Paul Martin suggested a G20 instead of a G8, an idea that matured into a reality?
Domestically, the country's greatest accomplishment was getting its fiscal house in order - which, in turn, led to excellent short-term results and positioned the country well for the aging of the population that will strain government resources. We also beefed up money for university research. But our productivity and competitiveness continue to lag.
The decline of manufacturing and the struggles of high technology reveal Canada for essentially being what it's always been - a hewer of wood and drawer of water, a country excessively dependent not on brain power but on natural resources.
To repeat: There are admirable aspects of being Canadian, and these have all been justly celebrated on Canada Day. But self-satisfaction can lead to a refusal to acknowledge weaknesses, to allow patriotism to curb critical thought, to refuse to face hard choices, and to cover a slow, albeit comfortable, slide toward international marginality and domestic mediocrity.
Jeffrey Simpson in the Globe and Mail.
If Canada's so great and the world needs more of us, name the last great Canadian initiative
There was something rather nice about Canada, years ago, when it was a modest country, or at least when Canadians thought about their country in that fashion.
Today, if polls can be believed, Canadians are in love with their country - which is okay - but in love to a fault in that, apparently, almost 90 per cent of them believe they live in “the best country in the world.”
There are many admirable aspects of Canada, and we exult in them around Canada Day. But the dangers of thinking of your country as the cat's meow are hubris and, worse still, a stubborn inability to look problems in the eye or to learn from others.
If there is one assertion around which almost all Canadians would rally, it is that, as the Chapters Indigo slogan puts it, the “world needs more Canada.” The assumption supporting this assertion is that we Canadians are so worthy, morally upright and generally well-intentioned that the world would be a better place if it were more like, well, us. Which, in turn, leads Canadians to their deadliest sin: an unsinkable moral superiority.
We do lead the world in some instances. For example, we have the world's worst record among industrialized countries for emitting greenhouse-gas emissions that cause global warming. Of all the countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol, Canada's emissions rose the fastest - faster than even U.S. emissions under George W. Bush.
We are now parading ourselves at climate-change conferences proclaiming a goal of reducing emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 from a 2005 yardstick. Our previous record, however, is so bad, and the Harper's government's interest in climate change so ephemeral, that almost no country in the talks gives Canada much credibility at all.
Canada is almost alone in flogging asbestos around the world, or at least preventing more serious impediments to its export, all to protect some jobs in the Quebec town of Thetford Mines.
We club baby seals and give ourselves a black eye in Europe and elsewhere for an industry that, yes, has been around for a long time and, yes, forms part of the Inuit's traditional culture, but that brings in very little revenue in exchange for terrible publicity.
We have the tar sands, the defence of which no government will fail to try, without contemplating, let alone forcing, new ways of exploiting the resource in ways that might make it sustainable - except for a useful but far from adequate investment in carbon capture and storage.
The world trade negotiations, the so-called Doha round, are dormant, but when they showed some flickering life to liberalize trade, Canada was in the dark corner with France, some other European countries, Japan and South Korea - the usual suspects - blocking agricultural reform to preserve the protectionist supply management system.
Canada used to have a reputation as an honest broker with peacekeeping troops serving United Nations missions - a role that won kudos. But now our troops are committed to NATO's mission in Afghanistan, so very few are available for what Canadians used to think the world liked us for doing.
Put matters another way: If Canada is so great and if the world needs more of us, just what Canadian “initiative” can you think of in the past, say, four or five years, since Paul Martin suggested a G20 instead of a G8, an idea that matured into a reality?
Domestically, the country's greatest accomplishment was getting its fiscal house in order - which, in turn, led to excellent short-term results and positioned the country well for the aging of the population that will strain government resources. We also beefed up money for university research. But our productivity and competitiveness continue to lag.
The decline of manufacturing and the struggles of high technology reveal Canada for essentially being what it's always been - a hewer of wood and drawer of water, a country excessively dependent not on brain power but on natural resources.
To repeat: There are admirable aspects of being Canadian, and these have all been justly celebrated on Canada Day. But self-satisfaction can lead to a refusal to acknowledge weaknesses, to allow patriotism to curb critical thought, to refuse to face hard choices, and to cover a slow, albeit comfortable, slide toward international marginality and domestic mediocrity.
If Canada's so great and the world needs more of us, name the last great Canadian initiative
There was something rather nice about Canada, years ago, when it was a modest country, or at least when Canadians thought about their country in that fashion.
Today, if polls can be believed, Canadians are in love with their country - which is okay - but in love to a fault in that, apparently, almost 90 per cent of them believe they live in “the best country in the world.”
There are many admirable aspects of Canada, and we exult in them around Canada Day. But the dangers of thinking of your country as the cat's meow are hubris and, worse still, a stubborn inability to look problems in the eye or to learn from others.
If there is one assertion around which almost all Canadians would rally, it is that, as the Chapters Indigo slogan puts it, the “world needs more Canada.” The assumption supporting this assertion is that we Canadians are so worthy, morally upright and generally well-intentioned that the world would be a better place if it were more like, well, us. Which, in turn, leads Canadians to their deadliest sin: an unsinkable moral superiority.
We do lead the world in some instances. For example, we have the world's worst record among industrialized countries for emitting greenhouse-gas emissions that cause global warming. Of all the countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol, Canada's emissions rose the fastest - faster than even U.S. emissions under George W. Bush.
We are now parading ourselves at climate-change conferences proclaiming a goal of reducing emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 from a 2005 yardstick. Our previous record, however, is so bad, and the Harper's government's interest in climate change so ephemeral, that almost no country in the talks gives Canada much credibility at all.
Canada is almost alone in flogging asbestos around the world, or at least preventing more serious impediments to its export, all to protect some jobs in the Quebec town of Thetford Mines.
We club baby seals and give ourselves a black eye in Europe and elsewhere for an industry that, yes, has been around for a long time and, yes, forms part of the Inuit's traditional culture, but that brings in very little revenue in exchange for terrible publicity.
We have the tar sands, the defence of which no government will fail to try, without contemplating, let alone forcing, new ways of exploiting the resource in ways that might make it sustainable - except for a useful but far from adequate investment in carbon capture and storage.
The world trade negotiations, the so-called Doha round, are dormant, but when they showed some flickering life to liberalize trade, Canada was in the dark corner with France, some other European countries, Japan and South Korea - the usual suspects - blocking agricultural reform to preserve the protectionist supply management system.
Canada used to have a reputation as an honest broker with peacekeeping troops serving United Nations missions - a role that won kudos. But now our troops are committed to NATO's mission in Afghanistan, so very few are available for what Canadians used to think the world liked us for doing.
Put matters another way: If Canada is so great and if the world needs more of us, just what Canadian “initiative” can you think of in the past, say, four or five years, since Paul Martin suggested a G20 instead of a G8, an idea that matured into a reality?
Domestically, the country's greatest accomplishment was getting its fiscal house in order - which, in turn, led to excellent short-term results and positioned the country well for the aging of the population that will strain government resources. We also beefed up money for university research. But our productivity and competitiveness continue to lag.
The decline of manufacturing and the struggles of high technology reveal Canada for essentially being what it's always been - a hewer of wood and drawer of water, a country excessively dependent not on brain power but on natural resources.
To repeat: There are admirable aspects of being Canadian, and these have all been justly celebrated on Canada Day. But self-satisfaction can lead to a refusal to acknowledge weaknesses, to allow patriotism to curb critical thought, to refuse to face hard choices, and to cover a slow, albeit comfortable, slide toward international marginality and domestic mediocrity.
I think that what CL is trying to point out is that Jeffrey Simpson is no slouch. It's clear he's good at his trade. Definitely more in tuned with what's happening than that pissed-to-gills lard butt perched on the stool at the end of bar.Rockslinger said:
I tend to disagree with 3 or 4 of his comments and I catch myself thinking that he may be throwing these thoughts out just to make us think a bit.
I think that Canada is the WORST country in the world ......... except for all the rest.
Canada has its warts for sure, but 250,000 people every year think this a great place to live.
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And 2 billion men would give their left testicle for the chance to live in Canada.blackrock13 said:
Take a deep breath.vsailor said:
Canada only contributes about 3% to the economy of the world. That doesn't sound like much and if we blew off the face of the earth, our contribution would be missed by very few, but we are members of the G8, G20, and the G30. That does show that our contribution can matter. Our country is a net exporter of goods and as a result of that, we have to care what others think about us.
You can't make everybody like you, but we do have a good international reputation and my nationality has never been a problem outside this country. I've had more grief from other Canadians here, when they find out I'm from Toronto.
Hey Danmand,
no need to post in large coloured letters, we are bright enough to understand where your tirade originated. Clearly you don't have a clue as to why you are being criticised, and not Simpson.
Jeffery Simpson contributes to this country. And as a reporter he has an obligation to publish stories that sell newspapers, and an obligation to show where our political leaders are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. No one here doubts Simpson's devotion to Canada.
You on the other hand, contribute nothing but negative comments about Canada, about the way of life that supports you and about your fellow Terbites. You constantly post threads critical of American foreign policy and threads critical of capitalism. You post links to sites from your home country in a language that is not in either Canadian official language in what appears to be an effort to show how much better things are in Denmark than in North America.
We all know that Canada is not perfect. But for you to publicly post on Canada Day how shitty Canada is shows just how little respect you have for Canadians and this country. Obviously things are not so perfect in Denmark or you would have quit the job that is keeping you here and fled back to your socialist paradise.
You have as much class as a drunken boor that stands up during a wedding ceremony and lets everyone know how much fun it was to know the bride while you were at school and how she squealed like a pig when you fucked her in the ass.
no need to post in large coloured letters, we are bright enough to understand where your tirade originated. Clearly you don't have a clue as to why you are being criticised, and not Simpson.
Jeffery Simpson contributes to this country. And as a reporter he has an obligation to publish stories that sell newspapers, and an obligation to show where our political leaders are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. No one here doubts Simpson's devotion to Canada.
You on the other hand, contribute nothing but negative comments about Canada, about the way of life that supports you and about your fellow Terbites. You constantly post threads critical of American foreign policy and threads critical of capitalism. You post links to sites from your home country in a language that is not in either Canadian official language in what appears to be an effort to show how much better things are in Denmark than in North America.
We all know that Canada is not perfect. But for you to publicly post on Canada Day how shitty Canada is shows just how little respect you have for Canadians and this country. Obviously things are not so perfect in Denmark or you would have quit the job that is keeping you here and fled back to your socialist paradise.
You have as much class as a drunken boor that stands up during a wedding ceremony and lets everyone know how much fun it was to know the bride while you were at school and how she squealed like a pig when you fucked her in the ass.
Some more details please. Not necessarily disgreeing with you, just want some details. Do they have Tim Horton'sTracedInAir said:
in Norway?A bunch of 'Canadians' blocked the Gardiner Expressway recently. And Canadian authorities (from the ones we elect to the ones who are hired by the ones we elect) did nothing about it. Now that's initiative.danmand said:
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article828724.eceRockslinger said:Some more details please. Not necessarily disgreeing with you, just want some details. Do they have Tim Horton's
The annual ranking is based largely on average levels of education and income, combined with expected length of lifetime.
The report measured standards of living in 177 countries around the world. Other Nordic countries also ranked high, with Iceland in 7th place, Finland 13th and Denmark 17th.
Norway's gross national product per person amounted to USD 36,600, beaten only by Luxembourg. Its men and women are expected to live to an age of 78.9 years and Norway is one of 19 countries in the world with no measurable rates of illiteracy.
Researchers for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) also weighed countries' degrees of cultural freedom in their analysis. They called cultural freedom a "basic human right," and awarded high scores in this year's UN Human Development Report to countries that accept immigrant cultures in addition to their own.
Norway's cultural diversity has blossomed in recent years, and public policies are aimed at integrating various ethnic groups and promoting tolerance.
Norway also was lauded for its high literacy rate in addition to educational levels and material wealth. Norwegians themselves generally point to their country's scenic beauty, recreational opportunities, clean water and fresh air.
The United States landed in eighth place on the list, while France, for example, was 16th.
The worst countries in which to live are all in Africa, according to the UN report. All 23 nations at the bottom of the list were African, with war-torn Sierra Leone in last place.
Interesting. Maybe it is easier to be better in a smaller country.TracedInAir said:
Did you know that Iceland is technically bankrupt?
Did you know that Finland has the highest suicide rate in the world? Apparently, this is because it is Winter 11 months of the year.
Uhh, Yah! I'm a big fan of this country. My point was we have kind of care what people outside think of this country and not throw around 'flying fucks' too easily.vsailor said:
I think Jeffrey Simpson must be having some sort of identity crisis. I used to enjoy his columns in the Globe before they (and apparently he) took a hard left. He sounds like a raging liberal with these 'grievances'. Maybe he should look for a new job with the Socialist Star
What the hell is wrong with being proud of your country and showing some patriotism? We've always been accused of not showing enough in the past, and rightfully so. Did he expect less than 90% of people to say a different country? Probably 50% of these respondents haven't even travelled outside of North America and of the ones that have many came here from another country to improve their lot in life.
That said we have the potential to be so much better as a country and to that I think most of us can agree.
What the hell is wrong with being proud of your country and showing some patriotism? We've always been accused of not showing enough in the past, and rightfully so. Did he expect less than 90% of people to say a different country? Probably 50% of these respondents haven't even travelled outside of North America and of the ones that have many came here from another country to improve their lot in life.
That said we have the potential to be so much better as a country and to that I think most of us can agree.
