One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State

Okay, I usually leave the political ranting to SSM, but I've been wondering- when the hell did Republicans become red and Democrats blue? Yes, I know it refers to the color of the states on the big scary TV maps on election night, but I don't remember when anyone was consulted on who would be what color. In the past, it's even been different depending on which network you were watching- it wasn't until after the 2004 election that I ever even heard the term "(insert color) state" with regard to the parties. Why now? Why is it suddenly agreed by everyone that they are red and we are blue? And why are Republicans now so proud to be Red, when it used to be what was better dead than?

Besides, I remember noticing even as a kid that the predominant color scheme of campaign materials used to favor a nice conservative blue for Republicans and a vibrant, progressive red for Democrats. If it was obvious enough for even my hormone-addled twelve-year-old mind to notice, what happened? I think it's yet another example of the GOP co-opting the former strengths and positive perceptions of the Democratic Party and liberals in general. They've even stolen our color! Now, THEY look progressive and WE look stodgy. Nobody asked me what color I wanted to be! That said, I personally look a lot better in blue.

Along that line, I just want to say that it was nice to recently get out of the jurisdiction of Dubya (technically) for a while- had a tradeshow in Vancouver. I've always liked Canada for a number of reasons- as long as you're not in Quebec, it's all very familiar to an American, but with enough differences to make it interesting. The standard of living is the same (or better), the culture is essentially the same (or better), the people are the same (or nicer), the language is the same, but a little dorkier, eh? (it's a compliment) Actually, while they do say "eh?", it seems to have been largely supplanted by the equivalent verbal punctuation "right?", which kept me a little on edge, because at first I thought they were asking me a question for which I had no answer.

But there's these cool differences that remind you that you are, indeed, in a foreign country, despite being only a three hour drive from SSM: colorful money with a picture of the Queen on it, "er" becoming "re" and "or" becoming "our", mph becoming kph, and the weather forecast calls for 12 degrees tomorrow??!?!?!?!??? Oh, yes, that's not 12 REAL degrees....

But in the modern era, I've been given a lot more reasons for appreciating Canada. They essentially share a culture, a history and a continent with us, but somewhere along the line, they figured out how to do it right. I love my country, but despite what many would tell you, patriotism demands facing up to the nation's faults as well as its strengths. While certainly not perfect or without its drawbacks- I'm sure many a Canadian would have plenty to bitch about- their system just seems to work better than ours. Maybe it comes from not having the pressure of being a superpower all the time. Laws make more sense. Social policies make more sense. Urban planning makes more sense. Although, their show during the closing ceremonies of the recent Olympics didn't make much sense. And the logo for the upcoming Vancouver Olympics is ugly. At least it's better than that stupid-ass character from the Atlanta games.

And yet, despite all these advantages, Canadians still seem to have an inferiority complex stemming from always being in the shadow of their boisterous big brother. I've never seen anyone- even someone from Clovis- so in love with their nation's flag. There's flags EVERYWHERE, and the maple leaf is on EVERYTHING. Businesses and products are prominently pronounced to be "100% Canadian!!", the press gets gushy whenever some Canadian actor has two lines in a Hollywood movie, and there's a general feeling that, while they may appreciate their big brother and his money, they're NOT Americans, they're Canadians, dammit!! (However, this brings up the whole issue of whether or not Canadians- and Mexicans and Belizeans and whoeverians- can call themselves Americans. I maintain they are indeed North Americans and may call themselves thus, but since their founders had the foresight to give the country an actual name, they can use that. Since "United States" is hardly a proper placename and "America" is the closest we have, we get to use "Americans". They've got their name; they don't get to use both. So there.)

One cool thing was the ethnic diversity- it's been a long time since I made it to Vancouver, and I was surprised at how much the look of the population has changed. Sure, there's still lots of pasty-faced goobers like myself, but also many other races and nationalities represented, particularly a LOT of Asians. Yes, that did include many hot Asian women, for those who would want to know such things.

Anyway, despite their having recently voted a Conservative government into office, it was nice to spend a few days in the land of people that never ever cast a vote for Dubya. I thought about using nationalized health care, getting a gay marriage, and legally smoking some chronic while I was there, but I settled for some beautiful scenery and a nicely seared albacore steak.

Here's a couple views from my hotel room: