FlamingText

Differences Pt 4

The President
  The big stereotype about (or should I say "aboat") Canadians is that they are almost pathologically polite and, well, nice. This stereotype has a solid foundation in reality from all that I've seen so far. As a general rule, Canadians don't seek conflict and have a high regard for their neighbors to the South.

  Which is why when the subject of American politics comes up, they generally assume a slightly cautious posture while they try to determine the political bent of the American to whom they are speaking. That's because they want to be sure they won't offend someone by accidentally pointing out that our current president is as dumb as a bag of hammers. You see, Canadians watch a lot of American TV; In fact something like 75% of their TV is American content, and from this many of them seem to have drawn the conclusion that people in the states are unaware of this fact.

  Now there is a certain tendency among some people I know in the States to downplay the president's lack of qualifications and to try to concentrate on "the issues" in an effort to reach out to those crucial swing voters who may not like his policies but balk at what they perceive as mean-spirited attacks. So I hear a lot of "Oh, he's not really as dumb as all that. He just employs an 'aw shucks' plain-spoken speaking style to appeal to working-class voters." from liberals, or "He's obviously very shrewd at politics or he wouldn't be where he is today."

  Just to avoid confusion, I think I can safely say that nobody outside the US is buying it for a second. Our president is basically a laughingstock. That's not to say that people aren't terrified of him, but they certainly aren't terrified by his awesome mental facilities.

  The beauty of talking to British people is, unlike Canadians, they usually use the word "wanker" within the first ten seconds of discussing the American president. And they were part of the Coalition of the Willing! (Although judging from what I've heard from UK residents that is a bit of misnomer. Coalition of the Dragged Along Kicking and Screaming is probably closer to the truth.)

  Now because I am an American abroad I can't help but feel a certain knee-jerk response when I hear my country being criticized, no matter how valid some of those criticisms may be. It's sort of the "I can call my sister a bitch but if you call my sister a bitch then we're gonna have a fight" syndrome; I may be extremely critical of my government at home but outside my country I feel I need to represent. So I find myself standing up for the essential goodness of the American people, their commitment to democratic ideals, and the deliciousness of their home-baked pies.

  As to the president, about the best I can manage is to sheepishly look at the ground and laugh.
"Yeaaah. We know."

Posted by flamingbanjo at August 19, 2004 10:21 AM