911 Post
So I figured it's appropriate for me to weigh in on this solemn occasion, especially in light of the considerable US bashing I have done here from time to time.To clarify my position, I love Americans. Hell, I am one (ok, half one).
One on one, and even in moderate sized groups, Americans will for the most part, give you the shirt off of their backs, and throw in a home cooked meal for you, if you need it.
Americans outgive Canadians in terms of charitable donations by a huge margin, and not just to arts groups, but even to organizations like the United Way. And don't even talk to me about tithing to their churches.
I think my view of Americans was neatly summed up by the events that immediately followed Katrina, another recent US tragedy that was exasperated by a clumsy (ok, Keystone Cops) government response.
The two contrasting stories were of the absolute Hobbesian state of nature (Hobbes declared in the 1800's in his book Leviathan, that life without a strong governing presence would be "evil, nasty, brutish and short") that occured in the convention center. It degraded to the lowest form of Human exsistence I think the US has seen in centuries. This was mainly...ok, almost entirely due to the federal, state and civic governments totally inadequate response to the crisis, and general foot dragging once the scope became apparent.
On the other hand, was the couple from further north in Louisiana, who packed up their motorhome, which was basically a giant kitchen on wheels, and headed down to cook some gumbo. One hell of a lot of gumbo. They talked some kind hearted supermarkets into donating supplies, and fed all who asked for several weeks, if not months. All on their own dime, all on a volunteer basis.
Why? Because they had done the same thing during the 9/11 cleanup for the workers there, and thought it would be a nice thing to do for the Katrina victims aswell. Man.
So the point I'm trying to make, is that Americans for the most part are the kindest, most generous people in the world, but if allowed to gather in large groups and choose their own government, that's where the whole thing falls apart. They are easily duped by slick talking politicians and their campaign managers, and almost always end up electing politicians who are bought and paid for by either special interest groups or big business.
I know that sounds really condescending, and I don't mean it to come out that way, but P.T. Barnum said it best, when he allegedly said (some dispute whether or not he actually said it), "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." Unfortunately, the Republicans seem to know all the buttons to push...or at least seemed to until Iraq started unravelling on them.
We'll see what happens in November.
Until then, and always:
God Bless Americans.
I'll leave it at that.
J
So I figured it's appropriate for me to weigh in on this solemn occasion, especially in light of the considerable US bashing I have done here from time to time.To clarify my position, I love Americans. Hell, I am one (ok, half one).
One on one, and even in moderate sized groups, Americans will for the most part, give you the shirt off of their backs, and throw in a home cooked meal for you, if you need it.
Americans outgive Canadians in terms of charitable donations by a huge margin, and not just to arts groups, but even to organizations like the United Way. And don't even talk to me about tithing to their churches.
I think my view of Americans was neatly summed up by the events that immediately followed Katrina, another recent US tragedy that was exasperated by a clumsy (ok, Keystone Cops) government response.
The two contrasting stories were of the absolute Hobbesian state of nature (Hobbes declared in the 1800's in his book Leviathan, that life without a strong governing presence would be "evil, nasty, brutish and short") that occured in the convention center. It degraded to the lowest form of Human exsistence I think the US has seen in centuries. This was mainly...ok, almost entirely due to the federal, state and civic governments totally inadequate response to the crisis, and general foot dragging once the scope became apparent.
On the other hand, was the couple from further north in Louisiana, who packed up their motorhome, which was basically a giant kitchen on wheels, and headed down to cook some gumbo. One hell of a lot of gumbo. They talked some kind hearted supermarkets into donating supplies, and fed all who asked for several weeks, if not months. All on their own dime, all on a volunteer basis.
Why? Because they had done the same thing during the 9/11 cleanup for the workers there, and thought it would be a nice thing to do for the Katrina victims aswell. Man.
So the point I'm trying to make, is that Americans for the most part are the kindest, most generous people in the world, but if allowed to gather in large groups and choose their own government, that's where the whole thing falls apart. They are easily duped by slick talking politicians and their campaign managers, and almost always end up electing politicians who are bought and paid for by either special interest groups or big business.
I know that sounds really condescending, and I don't mean it to come out that way, but P.T. Barnum said it best, when he allegedly said (some dispute whether or not he actually said it), "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." Unfortunately, the Republicans seem to know all the buttons to push...or at least seemed to until Iraq started unravelling on them.
We'll see what happens in November.
Until then, and always:
God Bless Americans.
I'll leave it at that.
J
posted by Jason Allen at 8:36 PM
1 Comments:
jay,
yup, you are absolutely, undoubtedly correct in your assessment of Americans & their generosity of spirit - right down to the shirt off their backs.
as someone who raises her own salary from incredible donors on both sides of the border, i know pretty personally the different attitudes between canadians and americans in this regard.
i love all of my friends. i am a hugely proud canadian. that being said, canadians are tightwads!
americans, on the other hand, when it comes to supporting me financially, don't even hesitate before saying of course and write you a check or two or many. God bless americans.
i believe it comes from their biblical foundations (even though it also causes much grief!). it's deeply ingrained in their culture to take personal responsibility to give.
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