Canada and the United States are in many respects two very similar countries. Founded as white colonial settler societies, both are now developed capitalist democracies, with functioning multi-party (more or less) politics. In some very important ways, though, Canada and the US are very different countries. The United States has developed a national attitude of rugged individualism, premised on distrust of government and the notion that everyone can succeed and climb through society if they work hard enough. Canada is much more communitarian, turning more to society as a whole, with an attitude of trust in, and deference to, government. Why is this? What made our two countries so similar yet so different?
American History
4 posts
Today is the fortieth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Eisenstadt v. Baird, a decision that barred states from denying birth control to unmarried persons. Unlike its predecessor, Griswold v. Connecticut, Eisenstadt is a relatively uncelebrated decision, though with it, the Court validated what is now a thoroughly modern mindset about sex: that sex can be fun, and it isn’t necessarily all about baby-making. The decision extended the right to privacy to include single persons– using an equal protection argument that claimed that states cannot discriminate against unmarried people when it comes to laws restricting access to birth control. It was a victory for single men and women. Continue reading
They huddled together on large steamboats, “eating wind and tasting waves” for nearly three weeks, before they finally saw land. They had scraped and borrowed funds to get on those boats to escape economic and political economic instability and to make a better life for their families back home. Many of them dreamed of Gam Saan, or Gold Mountain, thinking that this new land was filled with golden fields and rivers. But most would end up on a goldless, small island off the San Francisco Bay – Angel Island. Continue reading
After making a serious flub and mangling American history for all to see, you would think that a person would keep quiet, and you know, maybe let the story just fade into the ether without further comment or display of utter, complete asinine commentary. But, well, that wouldn’t be the Sarah Palin that we all know and love. No sirree. The Sarah Palin rule of thumb is to stick to your story no matter how silly, and hope all the magical beans and dumbfuckery that exists on Wikipedia will carry you through the embarrassing irony of speaking wrongly about historic America while you have the Constitution emblazoned on the side of your bus of miraculous stupid.
Paul Revere would like to have a word. Continue reading