Oh Canada- Talking to Americans

We had the opportunity to show some of our American colleagues the YouTube clips of Talking to Americans that Rick Mercer did while at This Hour Has Twenty Two Minutes. It is really funny stuff. If you have not seen it you really have to check it out. Rick Mercer asks questions of Americans about Canadian events or politics, but he makes up ridiculous things, they don't catch on and it reveals a rather hilarious lack of knowledge about Canada. We, as Canadians love to laugh at this kind of thing. The reality is that Canada is saturated with media and culture that diffuses northward across the permeable border from an area if high concentration to low. Canada has much more access to American thought, history, culture etc. than does the average American to Canadian things. Thus, in good fun (although not always just in jest), we enjoy laughing at the ignorance.

For one reason or another I have spent a bit more time in the US and with Americans the last few years. What I have been learning is that I did not know as much as perhaps I thought I did. Yes, with regards to media, culture and basic history and geography I probably know more about the US than many Americans do about Canada. On a deeper level however, there are things I am learning. I have learned the difference in BBQ across different regions. I have learned to say Restroom not Bathroom while here. I have learned to beware of coffee below the Mason Dixon and biscuits and gravy above (although that seems to be changing). I have also learned that Americans give more per capita to charity than almost any other place. This has lead to a deeper understanding of cultural differences between Canada and the US. Whereas many Canadians would pride themselves on our state driven social institutions, such as socialized healthcare for example, Americans have a different approach. It not that they don't have a heart to care for one another which would be a simplistic conclusion one could reach that I have heard. Similarly, Canadians are not communists. With a very different history and thus a different cultural and social framework we can approach this from a similar heart but by different means.

As a Canadian, it has been easy to recognize some differences in culture, jump to conclusions and make generalizations. I am learning that the tips of the icebergs just point to substantive things still to be uncovered. All in all it points to a humility that is needed to really understand people and to have a well informed perspective. That having been said, I still laugh at loud at Ruck Mercer's stuff.