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Actually, this isnt true for me, as I was born in Southfield Michigan, on the tenth day of September in 1983, and I have an American birth certificate. TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, I AM... (cough cough) American, but being proud to live in this great country, and having been brought up as a true, red-blooded Canadian gal, I am not so quick to admit this minor detail to the masses. So then what does it mean to be a Canadian, if you dont even have to be born in the country to make claim to the name? This is a question I have often asked myself as I was growing up, and am only just beginning to realize the answer to now. There are certain components to being a Canadian.
Number one, being a Canadian and anti-Americanism seem to go hand in hand. Ninety percent of our population lives within 120 miles of the US border, so of course we are going to be inclined to compare ourselves to our neighbors to the south. How many times have you been sitting in your living room with a group of guests, where someone makes a remark about Americans in general, and in turn causes the masses to laugh uproariously? Maybe you were relaxing and watching t. v. one evening, and were subjected to a prime example of anti-Americanism.
Canadian programming has increasingly focussed upon ridiculing American theocracy, society, and ideologies in general. Take our own This Hour has 22 Minutes, or The Royal Canadian Airfare. Both are wonderful examples of the increasingly popular idea of making a mockery of our American counterparts. And we love it. We support it. We want more.
Newfoundlands Rick Mercer was able to make a spin off of his Talking to Americans portion of 22 minutes. We soak it all in as a continual reminder of our newfound superiority. I say newfound, because it is only in recent years that we as Canadians have really been coming into our own. A certain commercial comes to mind, one that made Canadas population compare themselves to Americans, not by what the Americans have that Canadians do not, but in the opposite manner. So whats our secret weapon? What else but a beer commercial.
It began in movie theaters, migrated to television and now has become such a cultural phenomenon that it is being performed live at sporting events. Yes, I speak of the I AM CANADIAN ads, so ingeniously contrived by the wonderful imaginations of ad directors for Molson Canadian beer. And along with Molsons sales, Canadians around the country received an ego boost as well. In a sense, this commercial became our identity. What we were lacking in confidence before the debut of this commercial, was entirely made up for and then some upon its arrival. I think we had it in us the whole time, we just needed that little extra nudge in the right direction before we had the audacity to yell loudly and proclaim it to the world.
A moment of silence, if you will, for the great Canadian monologue that has the Americans who have seen it up in arms: [Image: File 0. bmp! ! ! I am not a lumberjack or a fur trader, And I dont live in an igloo or eat blubber or own a dogsled, And I dont know Jimmy, Sally, or Susie from Canada, Although I am certain they are really, really nice. I have a Prime Minister, not a President. I speak English and French, not American.
And I pronounce it about not a-boot. I can proudly sew my countrys flag on my backpack. I believe in peacekeeping not policing; Diversity not assimilation; And that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal! A toque is hat; a chesterfield is a couch. And it is pronounced ZED not ZEE, ZED! Canada is the second largest landmass, The first nation of hockey, And the best part of North America!
MY NAME IS MARILYN AND I AM CANADIAN! ! ! So, there it is, in all of its glory. In bars, patrons now demand that the volume be turned up when the ad comes on the TV screen so they can shout the words along with the Nova Scotia actor. High school students began reciting it spontaneously in hallways between classes. And when it was performed at the National Hockey League playoff game between the hometown Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, it generated the kind of fist-in-the-air ovation usually reserved for goals scored in sudden death.
In some respects, what is so remarkable about the reaction to the ad is that it is so un-Canadian. Ever since they fled the American colonies to support their king, English-speaking Canadians have shunned the kind of flag-waving, chest-thumping, Were-The-Best-At-Everything nationalism practiced to the south. Whether the ad is simply a lively expression of Canadian national pride or a not-so-subtle appeal to anti-Americanism is a question that still remains to be answered. Canadians and Americans are alike in so many ways, and the United States is such a looming presence in Canadian life, that virtually the only way Canadians have to define their identity is to highlight whatever is un-American about themselves.
Hence, our secondary national anthem. As I was researching this paper on the internet, I came across this poem, or this piece of writing rather, that reflect exactly the attitudes I am talking about in a very satirical manner. Being Canadian Anonymous On the sixth day, God turned to the Archangel Gabriel and said, Today, I am going to create a land called Canada. It will be a land of outstanding natural beauty.
It shall have tall majestic mountains full of mountain goats and eagles, beautiful sparkling lakes bountiful with carp and trout, forests full of elk and moose, high cliffs overlooking sandy beaches with an abundance of sea life, oceans filled with cod, and rivers stocked with salmon. God continued, I shall make the land rich in oil and minerals, with verdant forests, so as to make the inhabitants prosper. I shall call these inhabitants Canadians. They shall be known as the most friendly people on the earth. But Lord, asked Gabriel, dont you think you are being too generous to these Canadians? Not really, replied God.
Just wait and see the neighbors Im going to give them. It may sound dumb, but to be a Canadian should mean simply to be yourself. Red and white flags, Canada Day speeches, patriotic pronouncements, and loud displays do not and cannot build or maintain a nation. Just look South and you might see why. It all comes from within, from what we really believe strongly in our hearts as a people, and from nowhere else. And if all were left with to believe in is American programming and TV guide, then so be it.
But if we feel we have to depend on Celine Dion, Bryan Adams and other empty threats to bolster our national pride, we are doomed as a country anyway. We cannot, and must not place our entire nations pride and honor in the whimsical few personalities to come out of Canada. Anyone can say, Im a Canadian, eh! Anyone can sew a maple leaf on a backpack (Ive heard of Americans doing this in Europe, so they would be treated better. ) Being Canadian is more than a phrase, the maple leaf, hockey, beavers and a beer commercial.
And its so much more than simply being un-American. If its not, then perhaps we should add some words to the national anthem: O Canada, glorious and free, Were not Americans, nor would we want to be. Since Confederation, this Dominion of ours has been in danger of destruction. And it will stay in danger until it dies, or until we can grow and mature enough to know that we are a worthy nation, capable of standing up for ourselves, without always checking with other countries to see what they think.
When it comes down to it, who cares what the Yanks think? Its what we think of ourselves that counts, and to be quite honest, we seem to be coming up kind of short in that department. Its time to shake off this national angst. Lets get on with being Canadian without constantly trying to define what a Canadian is. Leave that to someone else. It is not the fault of the Americans.
They have no devious, underhanded plan to take over. Most of the time, theyre barely aware Canada exists.
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Research essay sample on Anti Americanism National Pride
