The US has a past of violence and revolution, and its sense of self is based on individual freedom, which means that the person comes before the community. The much-heralded history of the American Revolution, which is recited with great excitement every July 4, suggests that violence is a good way to solve problems. However, people's rights often clash, which is why people in our society think it's normal to use violence. Most of the time, the only reason is self-defense: "I need my gun to protect myself, my family, and my home." The focus on the individual makes it make sense to protect oneself instead of relying on the forces of social order. This is the smart thing to do. The economic order reflects the focus on the right of the individual, which is closely tied to the right to property. The state has no right to demand that one person help another; each person is responsible for herself or himself. This means that blacks who are already struggling don't have many people to turn to for help. When they get angry, they act like the smart homeowner and turn to violence and guns. In American society, this cycle makes perfect sense, and it gets worse over time, which is why there are so many mass killings that don't seem to have any reason.
In many ways, Canadian history and society are the exact opposite
The Canadians were the ones who clearly didn't agree with their southern neighbors' revolutionary ideas and chose a very different road. Canadians have always put the needs of a peaceful and orderly society ahead of the wants and needs of a person, whether those wants and needs are valid or not. Since the middle of the 20th century, people have been trying to find a balance between the individual and the group, so that neither one is too strong. As a result, people have a lot of freedom and rights, but they never lose sight of the ideals that everyone shares. This is why the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has the famous "notwithstanding clause" (see Section 33 of the Charter): you have all these rights, but they can be taken away if it's in the best interests of the community. So, freedom of speech does not include hate speech; society's goal of stopping hatred is more important than an individual's right to say what they think. The way our economy works shows the same kind of balance. In particular, people are never thought of as completely independent, which isn't always the case in the US. Being self-sufficient is impossible because of the way our world is set up; the weather would kill you in the winter. We know deep down that we can't live without each other, which changes everything about our relationships, even with people we don't know. From where we come from to having grown up in Canada, I think we all have a strong sense of how fragile we are as people. This means that we automatically depend on the community for our physical and financial safety in a way that most people in the US would never think of. And, of course, if we need the community to stay alive, we probably won't use violence against other people to mess up the peace.
A lot of people also follow the rules here, which isn't always the case in the US
Again, this is because of past. It goes without saying that the revolutionary reaction is illegal. On the other hand, Canadians always try to find a peaceful and legal solution. Counter-revolutionaries are who we are and how we got here. We didn't want to be part of the Revolution; instead, we decided to follow the rules. Our respect for legal authority is very different from the revolutionary US.In American folk culture, there is also a romantic urge toward chaos, or total lawlessness. This can be seen in the myth of the frontier, which represents many important American values. In western mythology, the lone cowboy represents the most independent person who makes his own rules and regulations for his own society. "Don't fence me in" is a valid reaction to the rules and laws that limit people's freedom. Compare this mythical figure to the Mountie in the red coat who "always gets his man." In fact, that one cowboy who wouldn't stay inside the fence was "his man." Again, looking at Canadian culture through the lens of its history, it is very different from American culture.
Again this is because the Canadian government actually did the exact opposite of what they should have done in the same situation
It was those "lone cowboys" who showed their "self-reliance" by selling alcohol to the native people of the west, which destroyed native communities. To keep things under control on the frontier, the Canadian government made the North-West Mounted Police, or "the Mounties." Most of the time, the first white people to live in the west were these Mounties, who were out there stopping American criminals who broke the law. A lot of the state of Alberta was built in this way. For example, my hometown of Calgary was built on the site of an old Mountie fort called "Fort Calgary." So, Canadian myths are based on our desire for law and order, which always leads to peaceful solutions. The person who brings in the criminal is praised and praised, not the criminal himself. Not much in this myth to back the idea that a person should use violence when the law isn't fair. This is also true for private armies, vigilante groups, and lynchings. This makes the world a lot safer!
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