wither in the light

I can't look out my fucking window without seeing US flags flying off of houses and cars, plus bumper stickers and t-shirts and all the rest of the self-righteous whitewash propaganda. Americans seem to think it's right and proper that they bludgeon each other (and the rest of the world) with their 'patriotism'. But, as with most things American, there is a double-standard. It seems that people in the US get upset when they see Canadians displaying the maple-leaf... they feel that it implies the Canadians are purposely intent on showing that they are different, and the idea that the Canadians are merely exhibiting the same sort of behavior as the flag-wavers here (only much less rabid) doesn't seem to occur to them.

This country has a fierce case of tunnel vision. As reprehensible and short-sighted the actions of the US have been, anyone with an ounce of sense should be proud to show that they don't belong to this country. Personally, when I travelled through India, Thailand, and Nepal, I told everyone I was Canadian. They treated me nicer, prices went down, and (importantly) other Americans would leave me alone.