Real Time With Bill Maher: 'Why Can't America be More Like Canada?'

Source:The Daily Press

If you look at both America and Canada, you see two gigantic countries, the 2nd and 3rd largest countries in the world physically. And in America's case the 3rd largest population in the World with three-hundred-million people. We have basically the same people both ethnically and racially, a lot of people from Europe. But African and Asian minorities, Middle Eastern minorities and in America's case a lot of Latin-American minorities. Canada might have more Asians, especially in British Columbia. America has more Latin-Americans, two of the largest and most developed nations in the World. 

Both countries have strong capitalist economies with a lot of economic freedom. But Canada has a welfare state with a lot of socialism with its welfare state in the economy. But perhaps not as much as Europe. We both love sports and similar sports. We both like football, baseball and hockey. One country loves hockey, hopefully you can figure out which one on your own. The other country is starting to love hockey. We eat similar foods because again we have similar ethnic groups living in our countries. We both speak English and sound similar speaking English, but with slightly different accents. 

America depending on where you live, almost has a distinct accent for every state. And especially every region of the country. Canada perhaps the same for their provinces, but my experience with Canadians, is that they tend to sound like they are from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois or Michigan. To me anyway Canadians sound like they are from the upper Midwest of the United States. Culturally America and Canada have a lot in common, which is why a lot of Americans go to Canada. And why a lot of Canadians come to America, but I would argue that Canadians come to America to work and live. 

Perhaps Canadians come here so they don't have to see blizzards or snow in April and October. Or to do some of the things they see Americans do on TV. Because they get all of our TV Networks and are very familiar with our culture and news. And are constantly reporting our own news and entertainment and sports. As if they don't have enough going on in their own country. But whatever as the saying goes, all news is good news. In America though, unless you have Direct TV or satellite or live in New England or the Northwest, you don't get the Canadian networks. You don't get to see The National from CBC News, which would be like NBC Nightly News in America. 

But Canadians get to see Nightly News, ABC World News, the CBS Evening News etc. We are very similar, which is why America has this old joke. That we see Canada as the 51st State, because if you fly or drive there from the United States, you might not know you're in a different country. Until you see advertising or street signs, something like that. But even though America and Canada are very similar, we are very different, especially politically. I'll bet you anything that the average Canadian knows as much about American politics, thats today's politics than the average American. 

But that most Americans probably don't know a damn thing about Canadian politics. I'm not one of them, I'm fairly familiar with Canadian politics and again because Canadians follow American news. And we are different because Canadians have a universal single payer health care system. Health Insurance provided by their Federal Government at taxpayers expense. And somehow think its crazy that Americans get to decide where to get their own health insurance. And that fifty-million Americans roughly don't even have health insurance, I agree with them on the last part. 

And that America except for our Far-Left and Far Right, has this liberal-libertarian view of politics. Of get government out of my wallet and bedrooms. Where Canadians pay their high tax rates with smiles on their face and celebrate Tax Day. One thing that Canada has on America though, they don't have a Religious-Right. I'm jealous of Canada as American of that. They don't have people that combine their religion with their politics.  America and Canada two great countries, there isn't another country in the world I would want to share a three-thousand mile border with. 

Even a country that says oot, aboot and agenst, oot and aboot, that says please for everything, even if they are cops. That says a as much as Germans say yah. And because of this Canadians would be the last people we would try to deport, not that we really deport anyone, with about fifteen-million illegal immigrants. But as any good friendship goes, we have plenty in common that makes us friends in the first place. But enough differences so we have things that we can learn about each other and reason to stay friends in the future.