sahayman@watcgl.UUCP (Steve Hayman) (01/16/84)
. I think you Americans have a great country and are valuable neighbours, allies and friends. I'm sure many other Canadians think so too. Steve Hayman University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario watmath!watcgl!sahayman
mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) (01/17/84)
Sophie Quigley from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada writes a series of rather
minor flames about American views of the world, and Steve Hayman of
the same town has to come to the rescue with:
I think you Americans have a great country and are valuable neighbours, allies
and friends. I'm sure many other Canadians think so too.
It's a funny reaction. I'm sure most Canadians would agree with both
Sophie and Steve. Personally, I agree that the US is our closest
friend as a nation, but that doesn't stop me getting hopping mad about
some of the things I see being said and done there. But I get hopping
mad about things being said and done here, too, and I wouldn't leave
Canada for some other country, even if it is warmer in the winter.
The thing is: Ignorant behaviour MATTERS when the US does it. When we
do it, not so many people notice. Canada isn't going to blast humanity
off the face of the Earth. Russia, US, Britain, France or China might.
So we look on, without a vote, while our destinies are being decided
for us next door. It feels a bit like some of the American Revolutionaries
must have felt -- "No taxation without representation". And on top
of that, the US tries to apply its laws to us and to other countries
with no right whatsoever, but with a lot of power to make it nasty if
we don't comply. Are you surprised we sometimes get angry with you?
Is it fair that a US court fines a Canadian bank for not giving it
records of transactions in the Cayman Islands, when it is against
Cayman Law for the bank to provide the records? Was it fair for the US
to draft all American youth wherever they might be in the world, as
well as youth of all countries who might happen to be in the States?
And at the same time to strip US citizenship away from anyone who
served in a foreign army?
As in any family, there are strains. A bit of fairness from the
powerful member would go a long way to reducing family quarrels,
but there seems to be a general feeling in the US that might makes right.
We'd like to think that sometimes logic could make right as well,
or perhaps even a bit of consideration for the needs of others.
--
Martin Taylor
{allegra,linus,ihnp4,uw-beaver,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt