Canada, your shifty northern neighbour
An article in today's NY Times explains how Canadians are increasingly tolerant of things like gay marriage and decriminalizing marijuana and how that's putting us at odds with our southern neighbour. (Most people I know were quite understanding about the moron remark too, and quietly thanked Ms. Ducros for saying what we were all thinking.)
The article's interesting, though it's not entirely clear if these new policies reflect Canadians' values or if we're just blithely accepting of anything that doesn't hit us in the pocketbook. It's also worth noting that the changes mentioned in the article (gay marriage, pot, and our stance on the war in Iraq) have been shaped by a legacy-aware Jean Chretien--a man with poor ties to the Bush administration and no need to conserve his political capital. I wonder if the rifts, as the Times calls them, will appear to close once the Bush-friendly Paul Martin takes office.
(While I was in Washington last week I picked up a George W. Bush fridge magnet--a colourful collage of the White House, Old Glory and himself waving presidentially with that I-had-chili-for-lunch look on his face. I proudly showed it to the customs guy, and when he asked me if I was "a fan" I replied with a hearty "damn right." So I'm doing my part to build the bridge of friendship.)
