Anti-Americanism is a form of hostile caricature of American values and behavior. In Canada, hostile caricature of things American is sometimes used by politicians for a functional purpose. A government may appeal to a nationalist streak in some Canadians so as to attempt to stay in office or to unify the country against a purported hostile external influence. Anti-Americanism is undermined by cultural, regional, partisan, and individual differences in viewpoint. Governments that too ardently exploit anti-Americanism are thrown out of office. No latent anti-Americanism exists in Canada.
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References
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1. For purposes of this discussion, the attitudes held by the noted philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre regarding East-West relations illustrate to the fullest degree the concept of hostile anti-Americanism (1) because of groundless negative statements about Americans, (2) because of the intentional denial of negative statements about opponents of U.S. policy, and (3) because of Sartre's alleged intellectual commitment to objectivity. On the one hand, Sartre refused to admit that the Soviet Union employed concentration camps even though he possessed evidence of such camps, and on the other he accused General Ridgway, in the absence of any supporting evidence, of using germ warfare in Korea. Such complete distortion of truth seldom, if ever, occurs in the Canadian-U.S. setting because most Canadians are less arrogant about their analytical prowess than Sartre and more subject to the useful self-corrective of cross-border dialogue.
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2. Thomas S. Axworthy, ed., Our American Cousins (Toronto: James Lorimer, 1987), p. x.
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3. John W. Holmes, Life with Uncle (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981), p. 45.
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4. John W. Holmes, “Canada's Stake in the New Internationalism: Introductory Comments” (Address delivered at Trinity College, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 22 May 1986).
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John Sloan Dickey maintains that an independent-minded Canada benefits the United States by exposing Americans to “knowledgeable scrutiny from the outside which is free of both the hostility of an adversary and the acquiescence of a sycophant.”Canada and the American Presence (New York: New York University Press, 1975), p. 139.
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Originally quoted by K. MacQueenet al., “A Ringing Slap at Success,”Macleans, 31 Mar. 1986, p. 23.
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7. Cartoon signed “Chic/Moon,” reprinted in Peter Desbarats and Terry Mosher, The Hecklers (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1979), pp. 56-57.
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8. Confidential interview with a manager of a Fortune 500 firm, 8 Sep. 1987. Expressed in terms of organization theory, this response is a breakdown of the “crucial determinant,” the “organization's response to the environment.”W. G. Bennis, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future,”American Psychologist, 25(7): 595-608 (1970).
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Democracy within firms is part of the recent answer. Robert A. Dahl, A Preface to Economic Democracy (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), pp. 111-135. In the Canadian-U.S. context, intercountry restrictions on immigration hinder mobility within the firm and lead to anti-Americanism on the part of the frustrated Canadian employee.
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10. Republished with an introduction by Claude Bissell (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1971).
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Fulford was editor of this magazine at the time. Reprinted in Hugh Innis, ed., Americanization (Toronto: McGraw-Hill, Ryerson, 1972), pp. 18-20.
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12. Grant would deserve this recognition especially because of his seminal Lament for a Nation (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1965), republished by Macmillan of Canada in 1978 and thereafter.
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13. Cf. Stephen Clarkson, Canada and the Reagan Challenge (Toronto: James Lorimer, 1982).
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14. John W. Holmes, “The Future of the American Empire” (Speech delivered at the Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs, Geneva Park, Lake Couchiching, Ontario, Canada, 6 Aug. 1987).
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15. Henry Hess, “Free Trade with `Dying Star' Is Poorly Timed, Experts Warn,”Globe and Mail, 8 Aug. 1987.
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Good government also means expensive government, as James A. Gibson explains in contrasting the two systems. “Principles of Partnership,” in The Role of Canada in North America, Public Lectures of the New York Central District High School Board (New York: New York City Government, 1966).
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17. Holmes, “Future of the American Empire.”
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18. “That American Model,” 7 Feb. 1986. “When we look at Americans,” says Allan Gotlieb, Canadian ambassador to the United States, “we often do so to seek reassurance about our image of ourselves.”“Some Canadian Myths about the United States” (Address delivered at the Empire Club, Toronto, Canada, 9 Apr. 1987).
