You still haven't qualified whether or not you believe Canadians are in error to blame the U.S. for problems facing Canadians, or rather that Canadians have correctly identified the U.S. as the source of problems facing Canadians. Interesting...
Difficult to do without a list of what problems Canadians are blaming on the US. Even with a list I doubt that I have enough time to figure out which claims are in error. My point was that when things go wrong for you, we are a very convenient (and popular) scape goat. We could spend a lot of time gathering info and debating this. In my experience many people would rather not hear the truth, and choose to ignore it when presented with it. A waste of time.
It has been a few decades since I lived next door but I do recall this one.
The Souris or Mouse is a small river that runs from Canada into the US and back. The US caught grief because the river was polluted when it returned to Canada. In reality the river was being polluted in Canada prior to entering the US.
I've liked every American (that is, each citizen of the U.S.) I've ever met, even though I've disagreed with some of them on some issues from time to time. It's just when you collectively start doing things in the name of "America" that you start freaking me, and I daresay most of the rest of the world, out. Outwardly, your nation looks like it's in a perpetual state of barely-contained anarchy.
I have said this in the past and I will say it again. The major actions of the US government are driven by corporations, mostly multi-national corporations. The voters have little control over what the government does. That may sound like a cop-out but it is a simple fact. It takes so much money to become elected to any position of importance that it is impossible for an honest man to win. For the most part any position of real power is bought and paid for by people with vested interested. At the national level the multi-national corps put up the money, at the city and county level it is often developers who want to pull the strings. Canada is bit further back but on the same path. Take a look at what your candidates are spending.
If I had to identify one trait as being the quality that brought down the U.S.,
it'd have to be the gross reluctance for that nation, and the individuals of that nation, towards comparative introspection. I think the advent of, for instance, international technologies that permit individuals from various nations to communicate and hence begin to empathize with one another, has effectively begun to counteract the traditional barriers (e.g. xenophobia) that have inhibited the U.S. from circumventing this shortcoming.
I expect, for many reasons, that you'll find this year's U.S. presidential election more closely followed by both young people and people of other nations than it has in the past. More than anything in U.S. history, the Iraq invasion was and is held to the most immediate and international criticism. Moreover, U.S. citizens have been able to verify for themselves (through such means as I've described earlier) the criticism, and the details of that criticism, effectively eliminated their gullibility in terms of confusing propaganda.
For the reasons pointed out earlier the presidential election is of little interest to me. Regardless of who wins I lose. I can and do vote in the local elections where my vote is counted.
Had we not gone into Iraq there is a good chance you would be here talking about the US's failure to act. It is much easier to be a backseat driver or an armchair quarterback.
Try googing for "Canadian involvement in Iraq".
Prior to the invasion of Iraq I published an article about why it was a bad idea. I have not changed my mind. It would be (is/was) impossible to win and get out. An expensive holding action would be required because the nation is mostly a collection of warlords and bandits. You remove one and another takes their place.
Had the US spent money on energy R&D we would be ahead of the game. But that would not put money into the hands of the multi-nationals that wanted the war. It would have taken much of the oil money out of the hands of the terrorists.
What this means is, the U.S. and its individual citizens are beginning to see the virtue in criticizing themselves: why not do it yourself first, since it's inevitable that others will in your stead if you decline? That's both the value and virtue of shows such as
The Colbert Report, as well as an explanation of the international popularity of such an introspectively American show.
The Colbert Report isn't popular because other countries enjoy laughing at Americans. It's popular because it represents a willingness and capability of Americans to self-scrutinize. That's what makes the show enjoyable: it's reassuring, it's comforting to know that one of the world's most powerful nations is capable of the sensitivity and respect for individuality that each person needs. To not have and protect that is to submit to a bulldozer of dystopian dictatorship akin to
1984.
With a few exceptions self criticism has been the norm. It is my hope that it will continue.