[allthatnoise]

I live in The States. Milwaukee to be exact, I dig Canada, which is why I came to this site. And I constantly think to myself "I should get the hell out of this country, I should move to a place thats nearby, but has less problems and more cultured people. i.e. Canada!" I think I would really like it, I think it would be a great place to raise my kids, so sometimes I'm really motivated to leave my home country and head to Canada. Vancovuer seems real nice. I'm tired of my coutnries radical right wing politics. I'm tired of the rampant poverty that plauges my country and no one having the integrity to change it. I'm tired of the superficiality and materialism that plagues our cutlure. however.....
I ask myself: Am I happy here? Am i satisfied with my life? yes. i am.
And i also say "What if all of the totally rad, progressive, and relatively cutlured people left The States and went up north. What would happen to my country?" The fact of the matter is that the US would be even more of a shithole than it already is. I also know that i can live a decent life while still living in The United States. In fact, there are even some things about living in the US that i actually like!
On this site, I've seen a lot of people encouraging Americans to move to Canada if they want, and frankly I cant blame any of you. And I have to admit that me becoming a Canadian citizen isn't completely out of the question. So often I just want to forget about my country's problems and just head out. But aren't the people of a country pretty responsible for their own country's actions? Isn't it my responsibility to help improve my country?
Maybe, in some goofy way, I'm actually being patriotic about this country I live in that I'm not particularly fond of. Pretty much, I simply wrote this to give an alternative perspective on the matter. Tell me what you guys think, Any comments/question/statements are welcome!

PS: Do you guys ever get like, American quarter dollars mixed in with your money? Like one day you'll get some change from a Cashier, and you'll just end up with like 10 cents of American money? I have 50 cents of Canadian money as we speak, they just sort of ended up in my change jar. I know this is highly likely, and almost unnecassarry to ask, but I just want some confirmation that people have seen the ugly bald white men on numerous American conis.

Also: Explain to me how Americans butcher English. I can understand how Valley Girls butcher English. I can also undertand how Ebonics and the Southern Dialects are some really intense bastardizations of English.[tho i have some serious respect for certain types of ebonics]. I've just heard in many places that all the English speaking coutnries in the world really dislike American English as a whole. Can anyone shed some more light on that?

[Streaker]

1- America needs more good patriots like you, allthatnoise! There are some things I don't much like about Canada but I would never want to live anywhere else. Nothing's perfect!

2- I come across American quarters from time to time. It must be pretty routine.

3- My guess is that it's all that "Southern Dialects" stuff you mentioned. A lot of people associate that kind of English with ignorance and racism. Read "Black in Pantaloons" by Faulkner and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about. With that said, there are some Canadians who do a pretty good job of mangling the language as well. Nothing's perfect, eh?

4- I enjoyed reading your post allthatnoise, welcome to CKA!

[Stellar]

$1:

1- America needs more good patriots like you, allthatnoise!

Well, actually their are many patriotic Americans in the U.S. More then I like, but then again its still good to have around. I am a patriotic Canadian but actually being TOO patriotic is not exactly a good thing if you are a left winger. Because a lot of patriotism leads to death and blood shed if it gets to serious and out of control. But don't get confused, I am a patriotic Canadian that loves this country and Canada will always be the best country in the world in my opinion.

Anyway welcome to the forum, allthatnoise! Its great to have another American perspective here and I am glad you enjoy Canada!
Regards
Stellar

[Johnnybgoodaaaaa]

There's just a few things I was wondering about your post. On the whole, I don't understand what you mean by "more cultured people." What do you mean by cultured, and what classifies someone as cultured? When the definition is looked up, it says: Cultured - 1. Cultivated 2. produced under artificial conditions.....now we look up cultivated and that says: Cultivated - refined, educated.....this leads us to look up refined, which means: refined - 1. fastidious, cultivated 2. free from impurities. Now, do you see how this can go around in circles. Even if we look up culture, we find the definition is: culture - A. the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon man's capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations B. the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of racial, religious, or social group C. the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes a company or corporation. Now, supposing you were actually saying that Canadians were more cultured in the sense they are more educated, I would fine that false, because there are just as much eduacated people in the US if you went on a numbers basis. In the US you could find people with different beliefs, but that is how the US is. We have rednecks, hillbillies, gangsters, hollywood elite, currupt politicians, whitetrash, KKK, neo-nazis, buddhist, muslims, christians, valleygirls, surfer-dudes, numorous college educated professionals, and the list could go on. If you are talking in basis of different civilizations, such as European countries have thier own personalities about each one of them which reflect the history of their peoples, you can find the same thing in the US, from mount Rushmore to New Orleans, to the various and plenty monuments and landmarks spread accross the US.

I don't want to sound like a huge patriot of the US, because I do have difference with our government, but I just don't understand this whole "the US isn't cultured and so on" talk that I hear all the time. Sure, we have superficial people in our country and materialist, but do you really think those type of people don't exist in other developed nations and that it is only a US thing? I bet there's even materialist in the middle east and else where. The US, of course, is not as old of a country as alot of European countries, so you aren't going to have as many things in our history as European countries do, but to say the US lacks culture, just doesn't add up to me. How is culture rated anyways? On a musical level? The US has given some of the most groundbreaking musical groups of the past 50 years, not to mention other things such as the Jazz movements in Harlem, and I'm sure other things could be listed. Or how about the hollywood movies, which like them or hate them, are something that the US is known for, even the hollywood sign on the hills is something that I couldn't picture in any other country(of course that is an unfair judgement considering it was in the US first).

Well, I think I have said my piece. I just think that culture and rating of civilizations as being more cultured than another doesn't make sense, unless you are ignoring the whole US history, especially to say that a country like Canada(I really mean no offense)is more cultured than a country like the US, when the US has been around longer and has more history. Neither country has as much history as places in Europe, and Canada does have it's own thing going on, but in any sense I don't see how you rate it as being "more cultured" than the US. I'm not saying it's less, I just don't understand this statement in which I always hear from people.

[Richard]

Good job johnny but I am sure someone will feel the burn in your last paragraph and he will have to refute you.

[dgthe3]

I like allthatnoise's brand of partiotism, it is not the typical 'offensive' patriotism that we so often associate with Americans. As far as language goes, Canadian english isn't perfect, ever heard a Newfie accent? Most of us have a hard time understanding what they are talking about. I think there is even a list of Canadianism's here someplace. And with the change thing, i find an American penny about once a month it seems, but never anything else very often, freaker must get all the good stuff!

Welcome to Canada Kicks Ass, and i'm sure you will be welcome in Canada if you ever move up here

[xerxes]

Johnny's got a point Richard. There have been a good number of famous writers who were born in the US (Mark Twain, Arthur Miller, Hemingway, and so on). The same with musicians (Bob Dylan, Hendrix, led zepplin). The US isn't a cultural wasteland. The fact is that a small group of people are trying their hardest to make the US revert to its early colonial Puritan days where the only book read was the Bible, the only music hymns, and sex was only for procreation.

Allthatnoise, the reason Us english was considered a batardized version was because of the New Englanders. They made up their own words willy-nilly and they often dropped whole parts of words. Also, a lot of people in the rural Us start their sentences with "i guess" or something similar. That drove educated english speakers nuts.

P.s. I find American money all the time, especially pennies.

[Robair]

Canadian quarters used to work in American pop machines but they fixed 'em.

Stay in America, fight for change. Ask Bush supporters that you know some tough questions. If anything, move to KY. We have a lot of work to do down here!

[allthatnoise]

Johnny,
You and others do bring up a good, point, we do have a culture and we also have tons of movies books music etc. These are things I like about living in the states. I guess what I mean by culture is the fact that Canadians seem to posess greater world knowledge. And although I know that materialistic people are everywhere, having perfectly white shoes and tons of jewelry is a pretty big warning sign of an American as far as Europeans are concerned. I wasnt saying we don't have a culture period, I was saying that our culture as a whole is a bit less sophisticated than Canadian culture. I was vague, and I apologize for this. Like I said, you and others bring up really decent points by saying that America is recognized for its movies, books, and music, all of these being cultural things. However, should we be proud of the fact that we export Brtiney Spears all coreners of the globe and alos create a plethora of absolutely miserable movies that are virtually void of artistry or intelligence? We do make some nice movies though.
Another point I'd like to touch on is the fact that even many of our incredible and amazing movies/books would never have been made if it weren't for the more negative circumstances in our sociey. Such as the Godfather, or Fight Club. These movies(/book in fight club's case), though recognized internationally, are uniquely American creations, and I can't imagine a book thats basis is partially a big middle finger to obsessive materialism being made in anywhere else except The States (im talking about fight club here). Blues/Jazz/and Hip Hop can be incredible forms of music, with tons of intellegince and wit, but these art forms would never have been created if the American System hadn't done a very good job at being absolutely horrible to the American Black. From great pain emerges great art right? The pain of living in the american soceity right? Johnny, dont think of this as a rebuttle, more of an explanation as to what I mean when I say "uncultured". I meant that American society on a whole is less culturally sophisticated than Canada is. I mean shit, we elected George W. Bush and many people (there are always exceptions, though) still think that being gay is a hell-worthy trespass. A lot of Americans are also perfectly OK with our judicial system killing people for killing someone to teach someone not to kill. And when many Americans are asked about Canadian Health Care they say something like "Ain't that shit just communism? Don't them canucks come down here for things like Cancer cause their doctors suck??" I'm kidding... but you get the point.
Holla!

[allthatnoise]

Also:
Thanks for the friendly welcomes everyone, and the encouragement of my sort of patriotism vs. the ultra-nationalism of the neocons.

Robair- I've been to Kentucky, and... well, lets just say I'm damn happy to be living in a blue state. Good advice though, I will stay here and fight, together we can conquer the world! hah.

[RoyalHighlander]

welcome to CKA buddy... What a nice change to read a thread where no one is flaming some ones opinion right off the bat... You made some good opints in a way that no one was offended,, (yet LOL) Hope to see more of your postings here.. (RH)

[allthatnoise]

Thanks Highlander! Glad to be here.

[Rev_Blair]

Hey, Noise. I recall a really good article in Utne from a year or two ago on this. You might want to have a dig through their back issues. I think you'd like it.

[canadian1971]

Hello noise..bonjour..welcome

$1:

Canadian english isn't perfect, ever heard a Newfie accent?

I'm a Newfie!, juz wat da 'ell is yous tron two say der bye'?? lol ok ok...it's true...but in defense...i would say it's less of a butchering, and more of a language of it's own! You should hear the Newfie's from the Port aux Port peninsula...the speak Newfie with a French accent! Bonjer bye'! lol

[kerfuffled]

[quote="xerxes"]Johnny's got a point Richard. There have been a good number of famous writers who were born in the US (Mark Twain, Arthur Miller, Hemingway, and so on). The same with musicians (Bob Dylan, Hendrix, led zepplin).

Led Zeppelin is not American. They are British.