cannabisnews.com: Canada: Hippie Nation?
Canada: Hippie Nation?
Posted by CN Staff on July 03, 2003 at 13:11:28 PT
By Naomi Klein
Source: The Nation
Canadians can't quite believe it: Suddenly, we're interesting. After months of making the news only with our various communicable diseases--SARS, mad cow and West Nile--we're now getting world famous for our cutting-edge laws on gay marriage and legalized drugs. The Bush conservatives are repulsed by our depravity. My friends in New York and San Francisco have been quietly inquiring about applying for citizenship.
And Canadians have been eating it up, filling the newspapers with giddy articles about our independence. "You're not the boss of us, George," Jim Coyle wrote in the Toronto Star. "So much for nice; we're getting interesting," wrote conservative columnist William Thorsell in the Globe and Mail. Polls are showing that it's not just that Canadians are becoming more forward-looking and groovier, it's also that the United States is lurching backward, retrenching into more conservative values. According to Canada's summer bestseller, Fire and Ice: The United States, Canada and the Myth of Converging Values, by pollster Michael Adams, Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 are twice as likely to worry about crime, "moral decline" and ethnic conflict as their Canadian counterparts. Four events have contributed to Canada's newfound status as Hippie Nation: (1) The Liberal Party government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien didn't support the US-British invasion of Iraq ("opposed" would be far too strong a word, since we maintained troops in the region). (2) On May 27 the Chrétien government introduced legislation to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. People caught with up to fifteen grams will get the equivalent of a parking ticket. US drug czar John Walters has promised to "respond to the threat." (3) On June 17 the Chrétien government announced it would introduce legislation to legalize gay marriage. This will bring the entire country into compliance with a court ruling that has already made it legal in the province of Ontario. US gays and lesbians have been flooding into Toronto to get hitched. (4) On June 24 the government announced the opening of the first "safe injection site" in North America in Vancouver, which averages 147 overdose deaths a year. The publicly funded facility will provide needle exchanges and health assistance to heroin addicts. Walters calls this one "state-sponsored personal suicide." So, does all this peace, love and drugs really mean that the United States and its closest neighbor and ally are parting ways? Much as I'd love to report that I really do live in "Soviet Canuckistan" (as Pat Buchanan has taken to calling us), it's mostly hype. When he was elected in 1993, Chrétien pledged to reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement and negotiate a better deal for Canada. He immediately broke the promise. Now, months away from the end of Chrétien's decade in office, Canadians are keenly aware of how much independence we have lost under the agreement. Our economic dependence on the United States is staggering: Almost 40 percent of Canada's gross domestic product comes from exports to the United States. More troubling, particularly given the Bush Administration's unquenchable thirst for oil and gas, we have traded away our right to put Canadian energy needs before those of the United States. A little-known clause in NAFTA states that even in the event of a severe energy shortage, Canada cannot cut off its oil and gas exports to the United States--we can only reduce the flow south by the same rate as we reduce our own domestic consumption. This dramatic ceding of power to the United States is Jean Chrétien's true legacy, which is why, in his final months in office, he's racing to be remembered as a principled man. But Chrétien's last-ditch attempts to declare Canada's independence--significant as they are--can't mask the fact that on trade and security, the Liberals are following Washington more obediently than ever. We are pushing, with the Bush Administration, for NAFTA to be expanded into all of Latin America. Our government has made only tepid efforts to save Canadian citizens born in countries identified by the US government as "sponsors of terror" from being photographed, fingerprinted and otherwise humiliated when they enter the United States. Immigrants and refugees inside Canada suspected of having terrorist ties are being detained for long periods without charge, then tried in secret, with key evidence withheld from their attorneys. And to bring our policies further in line with the United States, Canada has also lifted its ban on deportations to Algeria, where returning refugees face serious dangers. It seems there is no peace and love left for the most vulnerable sectors of our population. There is another reason Chrétien's nose-thumbing at Washington should be regarded with skepticism. Every poll shows that when Chrétien steps down, he is going to be succeeded by his archrival, Paul Martin. By passing a bunch of laws that piss off the Bush Administration and then retiring, Chrétien wins on two fronts: He gets to be remembered as the man who rescued Canada's sovereignty, while Martin gets stuck dealing with the fallout. Watch for Martin, who represents the right of the Liberal Party and is the favorite of the business community, to do whatever it takes to get back into Bush's good books, even if it means overturning Chrétien's last-minute laws. This much is predictable. The wild card is how the Canadian people will respond. Will we embrace obedience once again, or will we demand more of this whole independence thing? Well, so far there are no signs of retreat. The Pentagon may be developing a high-tech form of "gaydar" to monitor the northern border, and John Walters may well be diverting funds from Colombia to launch "Plan Canuckistan." But we are not afraid. For a country that has been boring as long as we have, there may be something more addictive than sex and drugs: being interesting. Source: Nation, The (US)Author: Naomi KleinPublished: July 2, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Nation CompanyContact: letters thenation.comWebsite: http://www.thenation.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmWhoa! Canada! - Washington Posthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16734.shtmlDazed and Confused - Detroit Metro Times http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16729.shtmlJudge Allows Marijuana Ruling To Standhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16592.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on July 04, 2003 at 10:20:55 PT
Happy 4th of July Everyone
I hope everyone has a great day. Freedom is so very special. When you think about it that is what we are fighting for. I'm looking forward to when the holidays are over and news picks up again. I hope everyone has time today to enjoy your family. That is very important. Our local town couldn't afford to have fireworks so we will stay home and watch them on tv tonight. It's hard for me to turn off doing news when there isn't much happening but I'm trying to not be impatient. I heard a news broadcaster from the Canadian News channel I watch say that he was addicted to news. That he wakes up in the morning and wonders how what happens that day will change the world. I smiled and thought that's how most of us feel here and I want to take a minute and thank you all for giving so much intelligent input that I've learned more then I ever thought I could. I've learned more about how I feel about issues in the last few years and it is because of the dedicated CNews contributors. Have a wonderful holiday.PS: I'll keep looking for news but it's slim pickins' today.
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Comment #6 posted by afterburner on July 04, 2003 at 07:42:44 PT:
Happy Birthday, America! Independence Day!
Plant the seeds of Freedom, and let it grow.3 from Texas:US TX: OPED: The Stupidity Of Federal Drug Policy http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v03/n1000/a04.html?397 04 Jul 2003
Austin Chronicle US TX: PUB LTE: Read Up On Medical Marijuana http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v03/n1000/a08.html?397 04 Jul 2003
Austin Chronicle "Marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?"
- Willie Nelson - Your Quick Inspiration For The Day: The Mountain Story"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain:
"AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"
He receives the answer: "Who are you?"
And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"
Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"
He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"
The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."
Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"
The voice answers: "You are a champion!"
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it."
YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!" -- Unknown AuthorYour morning smile:Chronic Corner#4 http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-1565.html
Chronic Corner with Pot-TV http://www.pot-tv.net/ram/pottvshowse1565.ram
Running Time: 9 min
Date Entered: 11 Oct 2002
Viewer Rating: 8.99 (93 votes)
Number of Views: 7590
Pot TV's animated host, Bob Mogy is back, with animated pot clips from our favourite cartoons and more.. ego transcendence follows ego destruction, the new manifest destiny!
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on July 03, 2003 at 19:25:38 PT
JHarshaw
Happy 4th of July to you too! It's a nice holiday weekend to relax and for that I am happy! Have a fun and safe weekend.
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Comment #4 posted by JHarshaw on July 03, 2003 at 18:50:20 PT
NAFTA
Greetings AllHappy 4th to everyone who has a reason to celebrate it.Ah, NAFTA. The Bushmeister has already proven that one leader's signed treaty is not always binding on the next administration, (see Kyoto Accord,) so this treaty also could be withdrawn from.peace and pot
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 03, 2003 at 13:20:01 PT
Thanks JR Happy 4:20 To Ya!
That made me laugh! We are listening to Bob Dylan singing Everybody Must Get Stoned and saw that picture and busted up laughing!
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on July 03, 2003 at 13:14:57 PT
I Salute Canada To Celebrate Our 4th of July!
I think you all are just great up there! You give me hope!
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Comment #1 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on July 03, 2003 at 13:13:43 PT
Ahh, London...
Great Photo from the UK:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030627/170/4iri6.html
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