So I am proud that:

*Canada is highly secular; Adherents.com says 19%-30% of Canadians are nonreligious.

*Our government listens to us: protests on Parliament Hill generally get listened to.

*You can just stroll into our main governmental building any time you like and/or pitch a sign on the lawn

*We have a beautiful, wonderful health care system. It’s free. It’s universal. It has some (relatively speaking, minor) flaws, but we totally pwn America. =D

*We don’t have a lot of or really feel the need for guns.

*Gay marriage is legal. Gay parents can adopt children.

*We have excellent social services in general, resulting in low poverty (compared to the US).

*We’ll likely have mixed member proportional (http://theearthisflat.wordpress.com/2007/04/06/is-first-past-the-post-passe/) elections soon, meaning more co-operation, more women in power, more green party seats, and more democracy.

However, Canada can get pretty backwater at times. We’re no Sweden. We still need…

*To legalize euthanasia.

*To get better government action on the environment (damn Conservative Party!).

*Meet our promises by increasing foreign aid to at least 0.7% of our GNP, preferably above 1% (as other countries have done).

*Fight corruption in our government (i.e. elect Rick Mercer).

GO CANADA! GO EARTH!

It rained pretty heavily last night, so the fireworks at UMass were canceled. Usually, my family, and the families of some of my friends and my parents’ friends, watch the fireworks together. I ended up renting a couple of DVDs with a buddy. We watched A Scanner Darkly, which of course is based on a Philip K. Dick novel. So, I’m glad I live in a country where artists can make such pointed examinations of our society without fear of punishment.

If it’s capitalism you love, let us know.

Erm… well, I suppose it’s better than most of the alternatives.

If you love religious freedom, tell us!

Yep!

If you like owning lots of guns, hey … there’s room for your comments too!

I don’t own any guns (though I am familiar with their use and care), but I suppose I am thankful that those who wish to own them currently have the right to do so. Unfortunately, it seems quite likely that whichever presidential candidate I end up voting for, they will expend effort in trying to take this right away, at least to a point. Our democratic system is one more thing I’m glad of, but I sometimes resent the compromises one must make. The right to own guns simply isn’t as high on my list as, say, basic human rights for disliked minorities.