Quote:
Originally Posted by Thor
Having worked in Iceland for many years, I had 5 weeks paid vacation, we had at least 3-4 more long weekends than we don in Canada, we had sick day allowances, maternity leave was 6 months full pay, 12 months half pay, and the husband was given 1 month full pay leave to help out for the 1st month.
I mean, most of my family lives in Iceland, and over Europe, and an Aunt in Australia. The vacation, overworked, topic comes up all the time for even Canada and especially if America is ever mentioned. The fact is what do we value, work until you are popping anti depressants, fat and miserable or have at least reasonable vacation time.
I know in Iceland because of the 5 week mandatory vacation time people do a lot of travelling, there is a lot more time spent on family, and ironically even though America's religious right thinks that family values is hating gays and stem cells, in Iceland a very irreligious nation more is done to make families strong, lots of free time to spend with your kids, full healthcare, excellent education, excellent daycare...
I mean America to me is an example of what we can achieve if we are selfish, don't care about our fellow citizens and are too religious. I know that many states within America are very much like Canada or even like many of the liberal parts of Europe, but unfortunately a solid part of the nation is full of people that make the rest of the good American's seem bad by association.
For me its always been that Americans don't travel, they have a poor educational system, and their news media is horribly bad at showing world news and informing their citizenry that a world exists outside the US borders.
Probably why Canadians are so frustrated with America, we know so much about them, they know nothing about us.
American arrogance about being #1 is laughed at in the rest of the western world, especially Europe and Scandinavia, I don't think many Americans have a clue that there are nations that most would agree are better places to live, unless you want a cutthroat selfish capitalism or bust type nation.  |
I hate long posts, but this subject interests me greatly, so here it is...
I think unintentional ignorance/arrogance has something to do with it. I was educated in a border state and we learned next to nothing about Canada other than they had a lower drinking age, and the money looked strange...
I've learned more about Canada, Canadians, and Canadian perception in the past year and a half on this board than I had in my first 30 years of existence, which is scary because you guys are idiots!
On the flip side, we are taught from day one that the U.S. is the greatest nation in the world. This of course being due to it being a "nation of immigrants," "The American Dream," economic/military superpower, etc. I held this mindset for some time, especially after being in the Marine Corps where you are taught to think that you are the best, period.
Today, as I am a bit older and a bit wiser, I still think the U.S. is great, but I've entertained the thought of moving to Canada at some point. My wife is not Canadian, but her dad is a landed immigrant and she has many siblings there as well. I also look forward to traveling to other continents as I have not done so.
One thing I was grateful for being stationed in New Orleans was being able to meet people from around the world without having to pay for a plane ticket. I think people are great in general, so meeting new people every week was a fantastic experience. (Especially that nanny from Norway, Silje
)
The U.S. is really made up of pockets of like minded people, with a few shouts in the dark amongst them. I would be considered a left-centrist politically here in Billings, but a right winger in New Orleans. I think this is why "we" are sometimes baffled by national election results. Add that to being able to basically choose what news you want to hear through different media outlets, and many a U.S. citizen are in a shell of their own design.
As for religion, I'm an atheist and I agree that the influence it has on American politics is unfortunate. I'm just not quite as enthusiastic about it as you are, Thor.
Concerning the amount of work the average U.S. worker puts in, there are ways around that if people choose to follow those routes. I put in my 40 hours in a 3 day period, and I essentially have 5 days off per week due to one shift being overnight. That was a choice I made when I decided on a career path. Add that to 10 days of sick time, 3 weeks of vacation, and I'm one of the least workingest Yankees you'll ever meet!
Bottom line, I've changed my mindset greatly in the past 5-7 years. Much of the credit goes to experiences meeting and discussing issues with new people on message boards, but some of it comes with age as well. We all may be a bit different, with our own little quirks, but we're really very similar to each other.