America
One of the many reasons that American politics is so endearing and engaging to many (mostly conservative) Canadians is because of how grand and impressive American public events are. They really say a lot about America, and a lot of what they say reflects poorly on Canada, in comparison.
The idea of the President addressing the joint-session of congress in the way that he does is so shocking and unimaginable in a Canadian setting. The President of the United States just by being himself commands more respect and authority than any Canadian Prime Minister could possibly imagine.
Most of the applause in last night’s State of the Union was shared by all members of congress, and most of the time, it even seemed genuine on the face of congressional democrats. The same was true back in the Clinton administration… republican lawmakers, when they weren’t trying to impeach President Clinton, still gave him the respect that the office entails. None of that “official” respect exists in Canada.
There’s no culture or tradition of having genuine, respected and honourable leaders. Or am I missing someone or something? I don’t think I’ve ever really seen an opposition member “cheer” for a government cabinet minister in the House of Commons, or even vice versa, but maybe that’s exactly the point? I don’t expect that Senators and Congressmen cheer each other on during senate and house debate, but there are times in American public life, where those differences seem to be put aside. I only caught the last bit of the President’s speech last night, but when he was walking out… he was greeting so many people that are so radically different than him. He was mostly talking to democrats, some members of the congressional black caucus, and then he even greeted Dennis Kucinich (one of the most liberal guys in America)! None of that would ever happen in Canada.
And I haven’t even gotten around to the President Inauguration. That’s just something else. The inauguration… the inaugural balls… it’s all unimaginable up here. There’s no such tradition or culture in Canada. I don’t personally find the inaugural balls appealing at all, but I’m trying to see things through the view of the average person.
I don’t know why this is, but if I ever ran into a past or current Canadian PM, I would probably fail to be the least bit impressed. Heck, if I ran into Joe Clark I’m almost certain that I’d yell at him for being such a jerk, and if I ran into Chrétien, I’d have no respect either. None. If I ever ran into an American President, I’d be in awe. I know that according to Sikh/Gurmat principles (where all such respect should only be given to the Guru), I shouldn’t be in awe, but I probably would be. Why is that? Why is the American political tradition so much more… something?
The idea of the President addressing the joint-session of congress in the way that he does is so shocking and unimaginable in a Canadian setting. The President of the United States just by being himself commands more respect and authority than any Canadian Prime Minister could possibly imagine.
Most of the applause in last night’s State of the Union was shared by all members of congress, and most of the time, it even seemed genuine on the face of congressional democrats. The same was true back in the Clinton administration… republican lawmakers, when they weren’t trying to impeach President Clinton, still gave him the respect that the office entails. None of that “official” respect exists in Canada.
There’s no culture or tradition of having genuine, respected and honourable leaders. Or am I missing someone or something? I don’t think I’ve ever really seen an opposition member “cheer” for a government cabinet minister in the House of Commons, or even vice versa, but maybe that’s exactly the point? I don’t expect that Senators and Congressmen cheer each other on during senate and house debate, but there are times in American public life, where those differences seem to be put aside. I only caught the last bit of the President’s speech last night, but when he was walking out… he was greeting so many people that are so radically different than him. He was mostly talking to democrats, some members of the congressional black caucus, and then he even greeted Dennis Kucinich (one of the most liberal guys in America)! None of that would ever happen in Canada.
And I haven’t even gotten around to the President Inauguration. That’s just something else. The inauguration… the inaugural balls… it’s all unimaginable up here. There’s no such tradition or culture in Canada. I don’t personally find the inaugural balls appealing at all, but I’m trying to see things through the view of the average person.
I don’t know why this is, but if I ever ran into a past or current Canadian PM, I would probably fail to be the least bit impressed. Heck, if I ran into Joe Clark I’m almost certain that I’d yell at him for being such a jerk, and if I ran into Chrétien, I’d have no respect either. None. If I ever ran into an American President, I’d be in awe. I know that according to Sikh/Gurmat principles (where all such respect should only be given to the Guru), I shouldn’t be in awe, but I probably would be. Why is that? Why is the American political tradition so much more… something?
posted by Japnaam Singh at
12:01 AM
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