The current issue of the Economist contains a review of
the US that suggests rather wide ranging differences and growing divergences in
values there as well.
Ed
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 9:12
AM
Subject: RE: [Futurework] Be a good
little beaver for Uncle Sam!
Further to this you may be interested in the book:
Fire
and Ice: The United States and Canada and the Myth of Converging Values by
Michael Adams.
Adams runs Environics, a polling firm of some repute in
Canada. His sampling of opinion (over a very wide range of
values/issues) shows the differing values between Canadians and Americans and
within the US itself where there are surprisingly wide regional
spreads.
arthur
Lawry:
Times are very difficult, and require a surer, more granular, and
more disciplined treatment than is normally the case. Missteps at this time
can create very bad results. I would hope that Canada's historical ability
to see the moral light and policy essentials will again prevail, and that
Canada may be able to help the US learn what it must, but by ignoring the
US's mistakes, but by guiding the US to their
resolution.
My fear, Lawry, is
that Canada may also have lost its way and that our moral light has faded
since Pearson and Trudeau were Prime Ministers. Chretien, who is about
to leave the scene, is a very bright man, but a pragmatist, not an
idealist. To his credit, he kept us out of the "coalition of the
willing", but he has not offered anything as an alternative except the
rather tired idea that if the UN goes along with it, we'll go too, knowing
full-well that the UN would not. I read Martin, the incoming Prime
Minister, as a neo-con whose major concern will be keeping the deficit down
and improving the economy, including trade relations with the US. And
to improve trade relations with the US we have to pretend to support what
the US Administration is doing, don't we?
The light of higher
purpose still shines on in Canada, but you increasingly have to look for
it. One sees it in people like Romeo Dallaire, the general who almost
single-handedly tried to stop the blood bath in Rwanda, but I'm afraid we're
not going to find it in our politicians.
Ed
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 10:24
AM
Subject: RE: [Futurework] Be a good
little beaver for Uncle Sam!
Good morning, Ed,
The single most important task that lies ahead for the US is to
learn what it must learn so as to be able to start playing a positive and
helpful role in the world. At this point, we are doing the very opposite,
so the learnings will have to be profound and cognitively
revolutionary. Any reassurances that those who are the present
creators of the US's current policies receive, whether they come from
other US citizens or from foreign sources, will only serve to delay those
learnings and ensure a continuation of the present policies.
I do not believe that is in the interests of anybody, whether US
citizen or citizen of some other country, for anyone to engage in behavior
that allows the current US policy-makers to believe that they have done
right.
Times are very difficult, and require a surer, more granular, and
more disciplined treatment than is normally the case. Missteps at this
time can create very bad results. I would hope that Canada's historical
ability to see the moral light and policy essentials will again prevail,
and that Canada may be able to help the US learn what it must, but by
ignoring the US's mistakes, but by guiding the US to their
resolution.
Many of us here in the US remember the help of Canada with the
hostages and Americans in Iran. We remember Canada's sterling record in
peace-keeping, and international development assistance. We remember the
contributions of Canadians to the arts and domestic life in the US. Canada
has a great standing in the eyes of US citizens, and it would be wonderful
if Canada could use some of this standing to help the US find its way to
becoming that better citizen of the world.
Cheers,
Lawry
There are times when, as a Canadian, I feel a little less than proud
of my country's political leaders. This is one of them.
I see by today’s local paper, the Ottawa Citizen, that Canadian
Federal opposition members are demanding that Prime Minister-to-be Paul
Martin's first order of business this week must be to phone U.S.
President George W. Bush to arrange a meeting that will begin the
process of repairing badly damaged Canada-U.S. relations. The softwood
lumber crisis, mad cow disease and the Iraq war are just three issues he
should address with Mr. Bush immediately, not to mention establishing a
good personal relationship, they say. Tory leader Peter MacKay said Mr.
Martin should not wait for Mr. Bush to call and congratulate him on
winning the Liberal leadership, but should pick up the phone first and
do so this week. And, says Alliance MP Deb Grey: "He needs to prove what
he says about mending relations with the U.S. -- on BSE, get the borders
open, deal with softwood lumber. We didn't want to get involved in Iraq
-- so what are we going to do on that front?"
Yes, what indeed? What might Bush want in return to favoring us with
a pat on the head? Well, he could grant us the privilege of joining the
US in sinking into the Iraqi quagmire. The Americans certainly need help
there. According to this morning’s Power and Interest News Report (PINR)
dispatch,
"… if the White House is able to corral a greater number of countries
into committing troops to Iraq, the president and his administration --
specifically the likes of Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz -- will appear vindicated
on charges of unilateralism and anti-internationalism, which is one of
the most widespread and accepted criticisms of this White House's
foreign policy. It would be both an international and domestic political
victory over their critics if the Bush administration were able to
create a true coalition of military forces sharing constabulary duties
in Iraq."
Question for my fellow Canadians: Do we really want to help these
guys out even if it does mean getting a few more cows over the US
border?
Ed Weick
|