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One day I saw a
huge queue outside a government building, and asked a man in the queue
what it was all about, but his English wasn’t up to it. However somebody
else told me that all these people were applying to immigrate to the
United States
. Perhaps the
US
welcomes immigrants as much as
Canada
does, but I don’t think so.
I found the
US
disappointing in a number of ways. The people I spoke to about the war all
agreed that President Bush had done the right thing in ridding the world
of a hateful dictator, and the question of the legality of the invasion
didn’t worry them, and the problem of acting independently of the United
Nations seemed to them to be a cause for rejoicing rather than a reason
for regret.
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And somehow the
holding of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay without
charge and without trial for nearly two years didn’t seems to worry
them, and didn’t appear inconsistent with their profound belief that the
USA is the chief, perhaps the only, truly democratic country in the world.
But then, the newspapers and press had little or no material critical of
the government line, whereas in
Canada
we found the TV programs frequently criticized the
US
and the Canadian state and provincial governments.
Canada
seemed a more mature democracy, more certain of its own strengths, and
therefore more tolerant of criticism.
Below, a night view of
some NY buildings illuminated by the setting sun.
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