The true difference between Canada and the USA
Fully 54% of my
It is little understood that Canada is (and always was) conservative and the USA is (and always was) liberal. I am sure that my southern neighbors will be as surprised to hear this as my fellow country persons, but it is true. The redneck has heard the vicious anti-Canuckian commentary by 'conservatives' Ann Coulter and fellow travellers that liberal Canadians, i.e. socialists, kowtow to a nanny government which has taken away their guns and forces them to stand in line for medical treatment. All true. Except that political commentators have cunningly redefined the meaning of conservative and liberal.
Talk radio host new-speak has converted 'liberalism' into godless, socialist, useful idiot tool for the global communist conspiracy, the loony faction of the left has re-branded conservative as fundamentalist, fascist, semi literate idiot running dogs for the capitalist-corporate global conspiracy.
The redneck prefers the traditional meaning of conservative, to whit, 'speed bump on the road to progress', and liberal as 'one who throws out babies with bathwater'. Conservatives wants to keep things just as they are, forever or even longer, liberals want to change everything, all the time, even (or especially) after it has just been changed.
It was ever thus. Three hundred years ago, when there was no USA or Canada, England was experimenting with parliamentary democracy. Then as now, parliament was divided between those who wanted to change things, and those who responded with, "Over my dead body!". Back then the changers were called Whigs, and the no changers Tories.
Back to the colonies, Anno Domini 1773, a new party is created in Boston. They call it the Tea Party, it has a single plank platform, "Read my lips, no new taxes." The inspiration for the party is a new tax levied on the Bostonians and the other British North American colonists to pay for a war that was won way back in 1763. The French and Indian War, fought against the French, who had been quarreling with the Brits about something that may have happened back in AD 1066 or earlier, and the Indians, who unaccountably became hostile when the colonists had politely requested that they move away... far away. The Indians were spanked, moved away or killed, a colony of annoying French colonists to the north agreed to become English but still speak French, the French army had long been sent home. However, the English king and Parliament foolishly assumed that they could reduce the national debt incurred by the war by increasing taxes on the colonies. Resulting, as we already know, with the colonies declaring independence, and forming the United States of America.
Not every colonist joined the Tea Party. Those who believed in balancing budgets, paying down national debts and the monarchy called themselves Tories, Tea Partyers called themselves Whigs, after the cons and libs in the old country. After independence was declared, a prominent Tea Partyer famously declared, "You're either with us, or against us", resulting in the Tories receiving an invitation to move away... far away. Which they did; north, alongside the annoying French, now English subjects, but still speaking French. The country they moved to was a vast frozen wasteland of trees, rocks, Indians, the aforementioned French who were English subjects but still spoke French, plus a few left over British colonies on the Atlantic coast who had either not been invited to the Tea Party or forgot to RSVP.
The no change required monarchist Tories from the southern colonies took charge immediately, they outnumbered everybody except the French, who being French, pretended their new neighbors did not exist, the Atlantic colonists lost their invitations, or never got them, or forgot to RSVP, the Indians weren't asked, so another 90 years would go by before Canada became a nation. As a result of an act of the British Parliament in London.
Following their eviction, er freedom, Canadians proceeded to build their country mostly by observing their southern neighbors. Tories still in charge, to this day. Don't be fooled by party labels, Liberal or Conservative, they are all Tories. The supposedly socialist New Democrats were going nowhere until they put some Tories in charge.
USian governance tends to Laissez Faire Capitalism, which is actually a type of anarchy (golden rule anarchy, if you have enough gold you don't need to follow the rules) overlaid on authoritarian democracy to keep the hoi polloi in line.
The Liberal dominated US has never been afraid to try new things, probably because they know that everything they try will eventually be discarded like so many broken toys.
Much of what defines Canada was made in the USA. This is true for public policy, business administration, the education system, almost everything Canada does. The USA has been the ideal neighbor for Canada, Canadian Tories watch the USian Whigs continually try new and different things, flinging babies and bathwater all over the place. Once US initiative has been tried for a suitable period of time, the Tories eventually become convinced it might be a good idea. Once adopted it might as well be embedded in cement.
The annoying French, still speaking French, continue to ignore the Tête Carrés (their affectionate term for English speaking Canadians) or threaten to separate whenever they feel the need to get some love. They have their own way of doing things that resembles nothing else on this planet. The redneck will deal with them in another post.
Oh! and the Indians are still ignored by everyone else.
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