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I’m Ashamed to Call Myself Canadian
If you’ haven’t read George Monbiot’s article (The Urgent Threat to World Peace is…) yet, you really should – it’s vital reading for Canadians and non-Canadians alike. Our Conservative government, and our Bush-pandering Prime Minister Stephen Harper, have turned us into the laughingstock of the world. When it comes to tackling the very real problem of global climate change, Canada is the least proactive nation in the world (second only to Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s oil capitals). And we are potentially one of the worst contributors to imminent ecological global catastrophe.
The Athabasca Tar Sands project is the dirtiest oil excavation project in the world, and it’s in Northern Alberta. It’s not even economically feasible – the gunk that is pulled out of the earth is ” a filthy mixture of bitumen, sand, heavy metals and toxic organic chemicals” (Monbiot) that’s devastating the delicate Northern Alberta ecosystem. Treehugger posted an excellent before and after photo of the Athabasca Tar Sands area. There are people working at the Sands whose job is to scrape dead birds off of the surface of the drainage ponds.
This shit is fucked up. Harper even promised the U.S.A. to increase output at Athabasca, despite the fact that it’s destroying the Canadian ecosystem, single-handedly reversing our Kyoto promises, and is (arguably) the biggest current contributor to global climate change.
Being Canadian, as Monbiot writes, used to be something we could be proud of – at least we’re not American! But I don’t really feel that way anymore. It makes me sick to be part of this machine, to know that my tax dollars are supporting things that, in my gut and in my head, I know are so wrong.
In semi-related news, I am still glad I’m not American… did you know that more Americans believe angels are watching over them, and that UFOs make stops on Earth, than that humans have a role in climate change? Seriously.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
not all americans are like this. myself, and all of my friends and family, have consistently fought, protested, petitioned and otherwise harassed the living daylights out of our politicians to make things right. that’s the rub about democracy, even the common idiot can get into an office of power and embarrass the entire country. the fight is continuous and not finite. i, too, felt like i should call myself canadian when visiting europe. then i decided that was bullshit. the actions of a handful of morons shouldn’t stereotype the real activists, no matter how seemingly stupid. believe it or not, we still strive to urge our government to catch up to countries like denmark, the netherlands and sweden, but it does fall upon deaf ears much of the time. i don’t think i’ve ever said, “i’m glad not to be…” when discussing nationality. i give the fighters the benefit of the doubt that they’re trying with all of their might. even the most repressed nations have fearless spirits fighting against monstrous governments.
December 10th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
In response to kt:
I don’t think her intent in writing this entry was to point out that ALL Americans are like that but rather the majority of Americans are. As a citizen of the U.S.A. myself I see every day how our society just spews hate and pain upon itself and other nations. Meanwhile the small minority (such as yourself) try their hardest to implement change into a country that just doesn’t want to. Though the work of these groups is commendable the rate at which the actual change occurs is at a snails pace due to the society as a whole just not giving a damn. As Americans we just want to sit and read the latest tabloid gossip stories about our favorite stars. All the while our political knowledge is limited to what our “celebrity” politicians tell us to believe which is really what their money interests want them to believe. We honestly live in a country where somebody like Sarah Palin is able to hold a good chunk of political capital. How can citizens of other countries look at this behavior and honestly not be ashamed of it?
Did she make a generalization? Possibly.
Was it far off? She barely scratched the surface of how fucked up our country is.
December 11th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Yeah, sorry, I just quoted stats – trying to make a point that the intelligent and proactive types in America are the minority.
Was it Emma Goldman who said that if voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal?
December 11th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Ral. you’re preachin’ to the choir. i know our country is filled with sperm that got through the condom. i’m not ashamed to be an american, though. i value the right to protest, challenge and vote out people and ideologies i don’t agree with but negativity always leaves me apathetically useless. i will vote until they take the right away from me because i do believe that change starts at the grass roots level and doesn’t trickle from the top, down. i don’t bother bitching about the majority who i can’t change. i keep on fighting the good fight and hope they’ll join us one day.
mal, no apology necessary. i think i just had too much caffeine and read too many news stories before reading that post.
December 15th, 2009 at 3:22 am
That’s completely ridiculous. A few of my friends told me they were talking about this in their environment class, but I didn’t realize how out of hand it was. I seriously hope Harper can realize how insane this is before it’s too late.