December 21, 2004
Kamloops Daily News



He came, he spoke, he left.  Just because U.S. president
Bush finally ventured north to say soothing things to us, we
shouldn't think that he likes Canada any better than before.

Oh sure, his speech was cleverly written by Canadian
right-winger David Frum with inside jokes and quotes from
prime ministers.

But Bush's opinion of us hasn't changed.  Despite the
Canadian content, his speech was really directed to a wider
international audience.  He's trying to polishing his image
on the world stage, where he hopes to charm allies into
Iraq.  Gone was belligerent unilateralist.  Gone is the
cowboy stance - - replaced with a thoughtful, warm,
humorous, self-deprecating president who appeals to reason
and good will.

Make no mistake about it, Bush still doesn't like what
Canada stands for.

It's nothing personal.  It's the same dislike that he has
for Americans who voted for his presidential rival, John
Kerry.   When Bush looks at a map of North America, we are
all on the same side of the border.

On Bush's map, Democrats and Canadians are all gripped in
the same moral decay.  Canada and the northern states, as
well as the U.S. west and east coasts, are all mired in a
corrupt social morass.

President Bush is fighting to save the soul of America.   He
is well positioned to be commander-in-chief of the only real
war -- the assailed values of the so-called "moral
majority."   He is a born-again Christian and reformed
alcoholic.  He is conservative on social issues, favouring 
capital punishment,  opposing gay marriage.  He thinks that
decriminalization of marijuana is the road to ruin.

In other words, Bush is against the progressive values that
Canadians (and many Americans) stand for.  Canada is a
outward-looking, multicultural, modern society with strong
support for social programs like health care.

The president perception's are correct.  There really is a
difference between Canada and the Bush's America.

Bush sees the gap better than many Canadians do.  According
to polls, some of us think the two countries are converging. 
Canadian pollster Michael Adams has found that the
continental divide is widening.  Canadian and the U.S.
values are diverging, not converging.  The divergence can be
summed up by two words -- religiosity and patriarchy.

"Canadians have more confidence in their ability to make
moral decisions without deferring to religious authority,"
says Adams.  As a percentage,  twice as many Americans go to
church weekly as Canadians, twice as many believe the Bible
is literally true, and twice as many say religion is
important to them.

In the area of patriarchy, Americans are twice likely to
agree with the statement "the father of the family must be
master in his own house."  These are not superficial views. 
All kinds of values follow the belief in that statement,
including strident individualism and belief that the
president is the patriarch of the nation.

Ideas represent mental postures that guide Canadians and
Americans though everyday life.   Canadians believe in a
pragmatic, multilateral approach to problem-solving.  "The
moralistic narrative of absolute good and evil that wins
many hearts and minds south of the border doesn't work in
Canada," says Adams.

Bush's America is threatened by Canada -- not from
terrorists who could cross to border to the U.S. but from
modern ideas.  The psychoanalyst Robert Young has studied
the psychology of the moral majority, many who are religious
fundamentals. 

Fundamentalists see their "traditional" way of life under
attack by modern secular culture.  They fear annihilation of
their values, and withdraw from mainstream society.

"When people feel under threat," says Young, "they simplify;
in a reduced state people cannot bear uncertainty." 
Fundamentalists see their struggle as cosmic war of good and
evil.  They find comfort in sacred texts and spiritual
leaders.

This siege mentality has been exacerbated since the attacks
of September 11.   Before, it was only secular U.S. culture
that was a threat to fundamentalists.  Now it's coming from
all over the world -- Muslims, Arabs, liberals, thinkers,
socialists, actors, musicians.

What's at stake for the moral majority is its very
existence. "There is a war waging in America. The battle is
over values, beliefs and the cultural basis of western
civilization" says Louis Sheldon, founder of the Traditional
Values Coalition.

The U.S. can defend it's borders from terrorists, but it is
defenseless against the psychological terror of their own
making.

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