SirRiff

the stupidity of saying that Canada is somehow limited in land is beyond description. especially when you see the wide variety of climates that people thrive in around the world. just because something doesnt look like toronto doesnt mean a high quality of life cannot be achieved. astonishing this wasnt taught in school "There is nothing so absurd that it cannot be believed as truth if repeated often enough." -William James SirRiff

quote you should teach school man. this must have come from the same place where you get your quality of life survey that shows canada is the same as india. SirRiff

Canada is only 31 million in a huge nation. if you want to live in a dense industrialized nation then the US is your best bet with 280 million. and these political criticisms of canada are philosphical and have no meaning in the real world. the only thing that matters is how a country provides for its citizens. i'm sure we could have all had this discussion during the 50s about how blacks were ruining the country and such. but obvously it would have been nonsense because it didnt affect us. all these disgruntled threads are personal philosophies disguised as real world politics. truth is we have the highest quality of life in the world and the country is doing fine. the only way to get attention in such a great country is to complain about something non-existant SirRiff

saying that Canada is somehow 'anti-Americans' is a strange attempt by a minority of Canadians to get their voice heard. certainly, they deserve to be heard, but sometimes this desire manifests in misleading philosophies and meanings. Canada absolutely is a unique nation, just because %100 of the people cannot put down a comprehensive written definition of what it is, doesn't mean it doesn’t exist. it exists in an intangible form that changes your life everyday in often small and unnoticed ways. and the real defining test for whether a country is successful is if it provides for the quality of life of its citizens. when compared to the other developed nations in the world, Canada is undeniably always a top candidate, and according to the UN (Link) we are constantly near the top. in fact in 2000 the countries were listed as; 1. Norway 2. Sweden 3. Canada 4. Belgium 5. Australia 6. US 7. Iceland 8. Netherlands 9. Japan 10. Finland 11. Switzerland 12. France 13. UK now it doesn’t take a Sesame Street genius to figure out 'which of these countries doesn’t belong'. the US shares a completely opposite culture from the rest of these progressive countries. and in fact, a vocal minority in this oasis of life we have called Canada, have no choice to protest that we are in crisis, or that we are one the wrong path. the truth is, that saying things are 95% OK, will never get you an audience. politicians always claim they alone can fix whatever is wrong, even if there is little wrong. in fact, it is necessary to incite fear and uncertainty to achieve influence. the truth is we live in the best country, in the best culture, with the best people. anybody that says otherwise is either trying to invent influence, or is just frustrated philosophically and misdirecting the facts. Nobody will ever get your attention by saying things are pretty damn good and we take them for granted. They will only get your attention saying your government is ignorant (which it is), that it wastes your money (which it does), that you are immediately unsafe (which really isn’t true if you have the time to debate such things), and that only they are capable of fixing things. The truth is that the exact same arguments will be made by the next candidate who wants to get your attention, regardless of who is in power. Any reasonable examination of Canada would show that we live among the best lives of any humans in the world regardless of who our elected leaders are. That in securing our rights we are almost unnoticed compared to what the worlds power, the US does everyday to secure its prosperity. And that we do have a unique and distinct culture, which consciously chooses the everyday quality of life that equality and peace brings us, over the rhetoric of liberty and patriotism that so often define US culture. And I think that majority of Canada strongly embraces this culture without harm to those who disagree, and thus Canada as a nation is succeeding at providing for its citizens. None of this pretends we don’t have real hardships to face, that is called life. But inventing a non-existent crises because of philosophical or political differences is misleading at best, and deviant at worst. Real world Canada is great, regardless of what philosophy you subscribe to. SirRiff

hey craig do you realize world climate is a complicated subject? if you were lost in the desert and had one bottle of water would you drink it without concern and find more later, or would you ration it? obviously you would ration it. once you screw up your environment, you cant get it back. it only makes sense to take precautions, whether you are absolutely sure or not. its called discipline. same skills required to make a household budget or go to the doctor regularly. instead of hating the best country in the world, maybe you should suggest how to make it even better. SirRiff