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Only America matters. Canadians cluster on the border with America because only America matters. Canadians read US news primarily because only America matters.

Only America matters. Canadians cluster on the border with America because only America matters. Canadians read US news primarily because only America matters. Canada's independence is nominal. The nation depends entirely on the US for its security and will obey when commanded. A vassal state. Given that, it is normal for Canadians to consume American news, and it is only unhealthy in that it is unhealthy for Americans as well.

wk_end 2y ago
This is both true and not true. From a geopolitical perspective this is correct. Canada is forced to operate in lockstep with the US and is completely dependent and ultimately subservient to it. Globalization has done a great deal to homogenize us. Culturally our differences are disappearing, due to the shared language (in Anglo-Canada) and the internet. Yet for all that: for the people living, working, and doing business in the respective countries, the actual on-the-ground experience is nevertheless quite different. Depending on the state/province in question, sometimes markedly so.
- peab 2y ago
  Is the day-to-day really that different? I grew up in Canada, and then lived in 2 different states in the USA as an adult. I'd say Canada feels as different as say, California is to Alabama.
  - peab 2y ago
    With the exception being Quebec! Vive la province libre.
  - wk_end 2y ago
    I mean, California and Alabama feel very different! In a lot of ways I'd agree, or even go further - they're more different than, say, BC and WA. And there's factors like the urban/rural divide to bear in mind. The Canada along the border resembles the lower 48; north of that it starts to have more and more in common with Alaska. But everywhere you're interacting with the government the differences are quite stark. Health care, education, firearms, regulations, the social safety net, taxation, drugs, criminal justice...all of these and more are handled in a rather different fashion than in the US. Some of it depends on where you are in your life, and who you are. If you're a single middle-class white male in his 20s who rents in a major city, you're mostly interacting with the market economy, so the biggest differences day-to-day are the products available to you, your somewhat lower purchasing power, and the fact that you don't have anywhere near as much student loan debt as you would in the US. But as you drift further from that particular model - as you age and need to lean on health care more, if you want to start a family or buy property, if you have extreme wealth, if you move out further away from major population centres, if you try to start a business, if you're a woman/minority...the differences become more apparent. Not always in the ways you'd expect, too: open racism - against indigenous peoples rather than Blacks - is widespread in Canada, even in major urban centres.
karaterobot 2y ago
I agree with the part about the halo effect of U.S. security. I don't agree with the part about the America mattering more to Canada than Canada. The problem with that argument is, there's no way in which your life in Canada would be different depending on whether you were aware of the political situation in North America or not. The area in one's immediate vicinity, and the people who live with you and near you, and whether you have enough to eat: that's the kind of thing that actually matters, in the sense of directly affecting your life.

wk_end 2y ago

This is both true and not true. From a geopolitical perspective this is correct. Canada is forced to operate in lockstep with the US and is completely dependent and ultimately subservient to it. Globalization has done a great deal to homogenize us. Culturally our differences are disappearing, due to the shared language (in Anglo-Canada) and the internet. Yet for all that: for the people living, working, and doing business in the respective countries, the actual on-the-ground experience is nevertheless quite different. Depending on the state/province in question, sometimes markedly so.

peab 2y ago
Is the day-to-day really that different? I grew up in Canada, and then lived in 2 different states in the USA as an adult. I'd say Canada feels as different as say, California is to Alabama.
- peab 2y ago
  With the exception being Quebec! Vive la province libre.
- wk_end 2y ago
  I mean, California and Alabama feel very different! In a lot of ways I'd agree, or even go further - they're more different than, say, BC and WA. And there's factors like the urban/rural divide to bear in mind. The Canada along the border resembles the lower 48; north of that it starts to have more and more in common with Alaska. But everywhere you're interacting with the government the differences are quite stark. Health care, education, firearms, regulations, the social safety net, taxation, drugs, criminal justice...all of these and more are handled in a rather different fashion than in the US. Some of it depends on where you are in your life, and who you are. If you're a single middle-class white male in his 20s who rents in a major city, you're mostly interacting with the market economy, so the biggest differences day-to-day are the products available to you, your somewhat lower purchasing power, and the fact that you don't have anywhere near as much student loan debt as you would in the US. But as you drift further from that particular model - as you age and need to lean on health care more, if you want to start a family or buy property, if you have extreme wealth, if you move out further away from major population centres, if you try to start a business, if you're a woman/minority...the differences become more apparent. Not always in the ways you'd expect, too: open racism - against indigenous peoples rather than Blacks - is widespread in Canada, even in major urban centres.

karaterobot 2y ago

I agree with the part about the halo effect of U.S. security. I don't agree with the part about the America mattering more to Canada than Canada. The problem with that argument is, there's no way in which your life in Canada would be different depending on whether you were aware of the political situation in North America or not. The area in one's immediate vicinity, and the people who live with you and near you, and whether you have enough to eat: that's the kind of thing that actually matters, in the sense of directly affecting your life.