Describing a Canadian

[Boxcar]

And its not " an unarmed American with health insurance."

Once in a while someone does a nice job of describing a Canadian,

In case anyone asks you who a Canadian is . .


[SIZE=+0]A Canadian can be English, or French,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Quebecois , or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Polish, Russian or Greek. A Canadian can be Mexican,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Australian, Iranian, Asian, Arab, Armenian , Pakistani[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]or Afghan , etc..[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]A Canadian may also be a Cree, Métis, Mohawk,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Blackfoot, Sioux, or one of the many other tribes[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]known as native Canadians. A Canadian's religious[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]beliefs range from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Muslim, Hindu or none. In fact, there are more Muslims[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]in Canada than in Afghanistan . The key difference,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]is that in Canada, they are free to worship as each of[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]them chooses. Whether they have a religion or no[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]religion, each Canadian ultimately answers only to[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]to speak for the government and for God.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]A Canadian lives in one of the most prosperous lands[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]in the history of the world. The root of that[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]prosperity can be found in the Charter of Rights and[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Freedoms which recognize the right of each person to[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]the pursuit of happiness.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]A Canadian is generous and Canadians have helped out[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]just about every other nation in the world in their[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]time of need, never asking a thing in return.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]Canadians welcome the best of everything, the best[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]products, the best books, the best music, the best[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]food, the best services and the best minds. But they[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]also welcome the least - the oppressed, the outcast[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]and the rejected.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]These are the people who built Canada . You can try to[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]kill a Canadian if you must, as other blood-thirsty[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]tyrants in the world have tried, but in doing so, you[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]could just be killing a relative or a neighbour. This[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]is because Canadians are not a particular people from[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]a particular place. They are the embodiment of the[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]spirit, everywhere, can be a Canadian.[/SIZE]

 

[Kreskin]

That is very good.

 

[Scott Free]

[SIZE=-0]

A Canadian lives in one of the most prosperous lands
in the history of the world. The root of that
prosperity can be found in the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms which recognize the right of each person to
the pursuit of happiness.
[/SIZE]

I don't agree with the last sentence. Other than that: very good article.

 

[karrie]

not to put down the article, it's nice wording and all, but it was originally about defining 'american'. The little blip in there that kind of gives it away is the bit about Canada having more Muslims than Afghanistan does.

 

[Kreskin]

Yes, it did sound like something we'd find shot down on Snopes. But still good.

 

[L Gilbert]

Funny, the version I got was this one:

What is an American? Written by an Australian Dentist... To Kill an American
You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is. So they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!)
"An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan." An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole, or one of the many other tribes known as Native Americans. An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses. An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.
An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.
An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.
When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country! As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.
Americans welcome the best of everything...the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services. But they also welcome the least. The national symbol of America, the Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.
So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.
Please keep this going! Pass this around the World ? Then pass it around again. It says it all, for all of us.

Perhaps someone rewrote it to try and impress people?

 

[Boxcar]

This verson was sent to me by a friend out west so I have no doubt the original was the one Les has but Canadianize. Not sure how I feel about that because I still believe in what it says but disapointed that it isn't original.
The "What is an American?" article quoted above was not penned by an Australian (or a dentist), but by Peter Ferrara, an associate professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law in Northern Virginia. Mr. Ferrara's commentary was originally published in the National Review on 25 September 2001."
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-ferrara092501.shtml
It's been around for a while circulating as e-mail.
Ah the internet isn't it grand!
Steve

 

[Praxius]

So basically a Canadian is everybody and everything on the planet by reading the above and has no real identity?

Huh?

 

[EagleSmack]

So basically a Canadian is everybody and everything on the planet by reading the above and has no real identity?

Huh?

That is how I read it but dared not say anything.

 

[jimmoyer]

Canadians are blessed by a "NOT."

They are NOT from a superpower.

I like the two articles in this thread describing how many different kinds of Canadians and Americans there are. Actually both articles are beautiful. Two sides of the same coin ?

Like neighbors.

But ....

One conversation you'll never see Canadians have:

Person A: We oughta go in there and destroy the whole lot of 'em.
Person B: Yeah, and no half measures. Either we go all the way and obliterate them or we get out. No pussy footing.

That, in a nutshell, shows how being a superpower can permeate an individual's thinking.
No one is immune to a nation's mythology. Put in the same circumstances individuals around the world would behave similarly.

 

[DurkaDurka]

I think Molson does a better job of identifying a Canadian with their beer ad's.

 

[karrie]

I think Molson does a better job of identifying a Canadian with their beer ad's.

Corner Gas still has them beat. :smile:

 

[EagleSmack]

I think Molson does a better job of identifying a Canadian with their beer ad's.

I've seen those after hearing Canadians get all excited about them. I checked them out on Youtube. We do not see those Molson commercials down here. You've got to love the sterotypical American that seems to pop-up in each one. The Harvard type, condesending, always white, sweater vest wearing nerd who always gets bested by the Canadian in the end. Talk about pandering to a specific audience.

Down here we get the nice commercials where when you spill a drop of Molson a beautiful valley, mountain range and lake appears and grows on the floor or bar top. We never see the ones when the Canadian is pulling the suit jacket over the American's head and beating them.

 

[DurkaDurka]

I've seen those after hearing Canadians get all excited about them. I checked them out on Youtube. We do not see those Molson commercials down here. You've got to love the sterotypical American that seems to pop-up in each one. The Harvard type, condesending, always white, sweater vest wearing nerd who always gets bested by the Canadian in the end. Talk about pandering to a specific audience.

Down here we get the nice commercials where when you spill a drop of Molson a beautiful valley, mountain range and lake appears and grows on the floor or bar top. We never see the ones when the Canadian is pulling the suit jacket over the American's head and beating them.

You mean you don't wear a collegiate vest on a daily basis Eagle? WTF??

Eagle, the commercials are not to be taken seriously. In fact, they haven't been on the air in a couple years now. They are about as accurate as South Parks portrayal of Canadians.

 

[karrie]

We never see the ones when the Canadian is pulling the suit jacket over the American's head and beating them.

I'm assuming that commercial is either new or older than I recall. If it's new, it's weird since it's now an American owned company (most people I know quit drinking it and moved to Kokanee once it was bought).

 

[karrie]

They are about as accurate as South Parks portrayal of Canadians.

OMG, I went to a mass in Sask, and seriously, the priest had a flappy head. I couldn't pay attention at all.

 

[EagleSmack]

You mean you don't wear a collegiate vest on a daily basis Eagle? WTF??

Eagle, the commercials are not to be taken seriously. In fact, they haven't been on the air in a couple years now. They are about as accurate as South Parks portrayal of Canadians.

Well I do...I even have a little emblem over the left breast of my favorite squash club and my alma mata. (lol...Did I spell that right?)

 

[EagleSmack]

I'm assuming that commercial is either new or older than I recall. If it's new, it's weird since it's now an American owned company (most people I know quit drinking it and moved to Kokanee once it was bought).

Molson is American owned! Now THAT is funny.

I will still stick to Bud. Does anyone drink that up there?

 

[karrie]

Molson is American owned! Now THAT is funny.

I will still stick to Bud. Does anyone drink that up there?

They do, and we snicker and laugh... heeheehee. It's really bland beer to my palette. Every region has their own beers. If I go to Sask and drink Kokanee, they'll glare at me over the tops of their Pilsner bottles. lol.

 

[DurkaDurka]

Well I do...I even have a little emblem over the left breast of my favorite squash club and my alma mata. (lol...Did I spell that right?)

I picture most east coast Americans to resemble Mat Damon and that other guy in Good Will Hunting lol