Comment by refurb
19 days ago
Canada does the opposite of America even if it hurts Canada - it’s a part of its identity.
Redefining freedom as “forcing something on people for their own good” is not how anyone actually defines freedom.
It’s like saying children have the most freedom because their parents force them to do things that will benefit them.
> Canada does the opposite of America even if it hurts Canada - it’s a part of its identity.
As a duel citizen of the US and another Commonwealth nation, I have to say that this is exactly the ridiculous self-caricature perspective that gives foreign nationals a sort of combination of pity and contempt for the average US citizen.
While it's true that your cartoonish portrayal of freedom is one possible interpretation, there are most certainly others, many of which present citizens with actual measurable freedoms that they would not enjoy in the US.
For instance, Australians have, since the late 1990s, been relatively free of mass shootings, especially in schools or other public areas. Because the police are allowed to force you to take a random breathalyser test without probable cause, we are generally substantially freer of drunk driving. Because we have a social safety net, people are free from the need to opt out of life saving surgery because they fear the abject economic violence that the US visits upon the "uninsured".
On the other hand, the US has substantially more sensible libel laws than most Commonwealth countries. These things can cut both ways, but it would be a mistake to interpret other countries as attempting a childish breath holding exercise just to differentiate themselves from the hip and cool nation.
> As a duel citizen of the US and another Commonwealth nation, I have to say that this is exactly the ridiculous self-caricature perspective that gives foreign nationals a sort of combination of pity and contempt for the average US citizen.
Ahh, you see there you made a mistake. I'm not American.
And your examples of "this is better" don't address the point I made - how Canadians identify themselves.
"freedom from", you will not be given a prevention from some horrible disease. You can buy it if you can afford it, but a significant portion of the population can't, and some of them will not be able to enjoy life because of it.
"freedom to", a prevention will be provided. You can always decide to take alternatives, if you can afford it. A significant portion of the population can't. They will be able to enjoy life.
Equating freedom with the liberties the rich have is absurd. In any society, the rich will have the most freedom, even in the most oppressive ones. The true litmus test for freedom is seeing the freedoms the poor can enjoy. By that standard, the US doesn't score very well.
How free a country is can be determined by this question.
Would you choose to be a randomly chosen citizen? You could be anyone in that country with all the rights, privileges - or lack thereof - that that random person has.
I think I'd rather be a random Canadian with healthcare and education than a random American.
It's an interesting thought experiment.
This is an actual thought experiment by John Rawls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_position
I like to take it one step further.
Which country would you choose if you had to be poor?
I’d probably choose Cuba.
Wouldn’t the question better be “would you be happy with the freedoms of a random person” otherwise you’re including all kinds of other factors?
As a random US citizen, chances are high though that you voted Trump and are ok with all this nonsense. So, should be ok?
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As a European who has lived in both countries I can only laugh at this. From our perspective, US and Canada are 99% identical, culturally.
It doesn't appear to be that way. If that 1% difference lies in how each country _fundamentally_ defines freedom, then I’d argue that’s more than enough to say Americans and Canadians are not alike. When the core values differ at such a foundational level, the rest of the cultural similarities become irrelevant.