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Lids Not Needed

October 10th, 2024 Leave a comment Go to comments

As we’re now in the thick of election season in North America, including regionally in Canada, an old joke comes to mind which classically described the difference between Canadians and Americans.

It seems that someone was having a tour of a restaurant and in the kitchen he noticed two large pots of boiling water; one with a lid and the other without.  When asked, the restauranteur revealed that the pots contained lobsters.  When asked why one had a lid and not the other, the owner conveyed that the one with a lid contained American lobsters and the one without were the Canadian kind.  He explained that the Canadian ones didn’t need a lid because if one tried to climb out, the other ones would pull him back in.

This little anecdote was quite true for a long time, but really, it hasn’t aged very well.  With the passage of time, the stark difference in mindset reflected by that old anecdote has lost its edge.  When you look at the platforms and values propagated by the dominant political factions on both sides of the border, one side clearly favors the collective over the individual.  This may not be so surprising in Canada, but for this mindset to take root in the United States is astounding.

The very foundation of the US nation was premised upon the rights and liberties of the individual over the collective.  In fact, it was started by some brave individuals who decided that living under the arbitrary decrees of a detached monarch in England wasn’t for them.  So, they started the tradition of doing their own thing, which became a hallmark of being an American.  From this beginning, the greatest free civilization in history was born. To this day, this notion of freedom and independence is enshrined in the minds of most Americans and of course, in their constitution. This is true even in the minds of those who only think about the characteristics of Americans.  This legacy is quite different in Canada since it continued to be tied to the old empire for over a century after declaring itself a nation, thus Canadians don’t have that same reputation.

We can observe clearly that the fine edge of freedom and individualism has been blunted over successive generations in the U.S.  As we all know, rights and freedoms once considered sacrosanct have slowly but surely been chipped away by all kinds of interest groups so that now, rights and freedoms still exist….but only if you follow specific rules.  So the illusion exists, but not the reality.  It reminds me of accountants and dentists who ride Harley Davidsons in full outlaw gear.  They’re individual….in a me too kind of way.  These rough-hewn images are cultivated in popular films which depict the heroic struggle of individuals versus a societal machine.

It is only in American culture that this brand of rugged individualism is glorified and celebrated.  It is rare to find this kind of theme in the majority of foreign films ( at least in my experience ).  In America, not only is the protagonist in films a hero, he is often an anti-hero by imposing his strength of will and character upon an oppressive antagonist.  Oddly, even in despotic nations, films with this theme sell very well.  I seem to recall that Kim Jong Un is a big Rambo fan.

But the reality of the American experience has deviated substantially from the original plan.  The mythical rugged individual is fading into distant memory and nowadays, is often demonized.  For those that do any construction work, we know that measurements over long distances can be greatly impacted by only a small variance at the outset. Being off by only a few degrees over 3 feet can mean 3 inches over 20.

This is the case today.  Half of the dominant political parties actively push the notion of the collective versus the individual and they no longer feel the need to obscure their message.  Their platforms clearly state that the interests of the state supersede any individual initiative.  They require  citizens to conform to an ideal which only they are allowed to define.  This may sound familiar to those born 350 years ago.  Seemingly minor curbs on freedoms and activities have morphed into outright curtailment of all kinds of heretofore free movements, which extends even into the realm of thought. The allegorical piece of wood we’ve been cutting has deviated to become an 180 degree cut.

As bizarre as it appears, Marxist and leftist ideologies, anathema to the very core of the American experience, is widely embraced by a frighteningly large segment of the population.  While this may not be surprising in most other nations since few have the history that the Americans have of fighting an actual war of independence, to have this mindset creeping into mainstream American consciousness is shocking.  What’s particularly frightening is that, unlike those plucky individuals who gave the English king the finger and started their own country over 350 years ago, there aren’t too many places to go today to do the same thing.

And of course, the worst part of it may be that films that depict subjects conforming to the state dictates and edicts probably won’t do well at the box office.

  1. randy
    October 10th, 2024 at 14:21 | #1

    .as always true but sad…

  2. Jeff Knoll
    October 12th, 2024 at 09:47 | #2

    I enjoyed this editorial type comment. I never really thought about the cause for the obvious difference between the Canadian and American psyche / culture with respect to the American fight for independence versus the Canadian complacency with the British monarchy. In my opinion, this deterioration of American individualism has much to do with the fact that as populations grow they become increasingly difficult to govern in a truly democratic environment. As a result governments are constantly working on removing individual freedoms in an effort to homogenize society so as to make it easier to control. Democracy is a fragile concept that is tricky to maintain and therefore requires constant revisions. There are various tools that can be used to do this but by far the extreme deterioration of our media with respect to opinion over facts and the proliferation of “fake news” over the internet is the strongest tool in the box. A quote comes to mind from the old TV series Dragnet where the main character detective Joe Friday played by Jack Webb always demands “Just the facts, Ma’am just the facts” !!!! It appears those days are gone. Governed society is and always has been fluid and like water it attempts to follow the path of least resistance. Let’s hope that this path allows us some semblance of our ability to maintain life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I am forever optimistic and have faith in human nature vis a vis the human condition.

  3. October 12th, 2024 at 20:39 | #3

    Ironically, as I write about the collective proclivity of governments, individuals lean more and more towards self absorption. But that’s the topic of another upcoming article.