A headline today really caught my attention…do you know that it’s been 32 years since the death penalty was abolished in Canada? I had no idea it was that long ago…actually, though it is hard to admit, I assumed since there are still some states in America that have the death penalty, that Canada didn’t abolish this law until recently.
Maybe it’s not even the fact that the death penalty has been abolished that attracted me to this article, but the fact that we did something before the Americans…I love Canada, please do not get me wrong, but we have a tendency to lay low and follow the ways of our “neighbours to the south.” Is it out of fear that if we make our own decisions we will tick them off? Personally, I think that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. In my opinion, it seems like Canada is too afraid to take a stand against the Americans because we are too dependent on their support. I understand that having an ally like USA is beneficial, but when we start second-guessing our culture and important decisions, and look toward the south for an example to go by, we are cheating ourselves.
Canada is known around the world as a peace-keeping country and personally, I’d like to keep it that way. By staying so close to the Americans and replicating/supporting their controversial ways (ex: still fighting in Iraq), we are slowly damaging our notable reputation and eventually we are going to be seen as a subsidiary of America.
We need a leader who will defend Canada and help us redefine our core values and let the rest of the world know that the nation of Canada is independent of all others and will remain that way for a long time. Just my opinion…what do you think?
Erin
Source:
“Death Penalty Abolished in Canada.” CBC.ca. 14 Jul 08. CBC News. 17 Jul 08.
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5 comments:
Hi Erin,
I'm continuously perplexed by the Canadian-American relationship. We certainly do take their lead on almost all international matters - but it should be noted that (officially) Canada does not support the war in Iraq, nor have we ever.
However, and to our credit, we were at the forefront of the international push to ban land mines - a push that resulted in the Ottawa Treaty, which the US is still not party to. (But 158 other countries are.)
We're also one of the few countries in the world where abortion and gay marriage are regarded as individual rights - and while it's debatable whether down the line we'll be known as one of the "first" to make that recognition (that is, it's possible that we may always be one of the only countries to have legal abortion and gay marriage), it certainly separates us from our southern neighbours.
Interesting post! Cheers.
Im quite annoyed as I had Internet failures and the post I had typed up here with so much thought and effort was deleted. Anyways, I had similar thoughts to Amanda once again.
We have to give Canada some credit on establishing an identity of our own. We had gay marriages here before the US did (and I think so far its only legal in California). We also did abolish Capital Punishment nation wide whereas the US has not. (on a side note, the so called UNITED States of America don't seem so united when each state has different laws on abortion, gay marriages and capital punishment. One more reason to love Canada:a larger degree of unity).
It brings to mind the movie "I now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry" where 2 american gays had to come to Canada to marry. That movie was made in the states and is seen world wide. So we should really thank the US for promoting our advancements as a society to the rest of the world and showing the difference of the 2 countries.
As with abortion, I often wonder how many girls from my high school would have graduated and pursued post secondary education had abortion not been legal.
I am also proud to be Canadian in that we are not supporting the war in Iraq. So lets take a minute to share this with our fellow friends and family and share the proud feelings of being called Canadian!
To my fellow commenters and readers, thank you for your opinions on this particular post! Now that I have viewed your comments, I have to admit that Canada sure has done a lot to stand apart from the US. I think I was just in a frustrated mood while writing my post and I was only focusing on the bad aspects. Besides, even if we are similar to the states in some ways, the ways in which we are different are so much more important. As Amanda and Carolina have mentioned, Canada is one of the first countries to legalize abortion and gay marriage. These are two HUGE issues and are much more important in defining Canada than say our Molson Canadian beer ownership.
So thanks everyone who has shed light on the many accomplishments Canada has made on its own. I appreciate your interest and most importantly, I love the Canadian pride!!
Erin (author of post)
Whoo! Ya Canada kicks ass! Oh Canada, our home and...
the two cultures are interlinked and we spend most of our time watching their t.v shows and going to war with them when we should be more focused on our own cultural values
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