Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

48° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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The Red, White And Wandering

By Rob JackmanThe Daily Northwestern

I’ve heard all the jokes. What are you talkin’ aboot? Didn’t you learn your alphabet from eh to zed? When you get in your igloo, do you just run up and slide in? Funny stuff. But it hides the side of Canada that most Americans are unaware of – the dark side of the Great White North.

Since breaking their cultural ties with Britain, we Canadians have gone through one long identity crisis. Canadians have to ask themselves, “What makes me Canadian?” The answer seems to be, “I’m not American.”

The cultural similarities with America are painfully clear. Canadians and Americans watch the same television shows. They eat the same food and speak the same language with the same accent (with the exception of the Quebecois). Their founders came from the same tradition, and the countries share the same institutions. The differences between the two nations aren’t cut and dry.

Canucks respond to this reality by forging a contrived national identity. They’re fearful of being subsumed by the American cultural juggernaut. But negative identities are harmful because they provide no control over self-conception.

Nothing touches a raw Canadian nerve more than criticizing the vaunted heath care system. The system certainly has its advantages over the American one, but the deep well of pride Canucks have for their health care is due to its contrast with the allegedly heartless United States, not the system itself. To make this contrast as sharp as possible, Canada joins Cuba and North Korea by making most private payments for health care illegal. Even a Supreme Court decision that a 9-month-long wait time does not constitute health care is unconvincing to the trained Canadian eye. Tell a Canadian you think Europeans do universal health care better, and you’re likely to be accused of “Americanization.”

Another fun Canadian myth is that it’s a “peacekeeping” nation, not an American-esque warlike country. At the end of 2006, Canada was ranked No. 61 in the world, with 132 U.N. peacekeepers deployed abroad, just falling short of No. 60, Guinea, and squeaking out No. 62, Burkina Faso. Not exactly a deep commitment to the peacekeeping ideal.

Canada distinguishes itself in the way it deals with other cultures as well. The “multicultural” system encourages the development of foreign cultures within the Canadian borders, as opposed to the assimilating tendencies of the American melting pot. This became problematic last year when certain Canadian Muslim communities demanded the right to exercise sharia law. Pro-multicultural women’s rights advocates across the nation were left confused as to what side to take. During the ensuing debate, applications for immigration forms from Utah went through the roof.

Have pity on the Canadians, struggling through the contours of unclear national identity. Sometimes reflexive anti-Americanism is the only thing that Canadians have to distinguish themselves on this continent.

Weinberg senior Rob Jackman can be reached at [email protected].

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The Red, White And Wandering