07-12-2021, 10:14 AM
(07-12-2021, 06:51 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Our policies and institutions are what mean we have different results, but those institutions and policies can change. Our voting laws absolutely do suffer from serious issues. Our education system is very good, but you'll note it's often a target of conservative policies, so that can change. Social media is more than an echo chamber, it actively changes people's positions (just like advertising) and it can push people into brainwashing.
Policies can change. Laws are less easy to change. The constitution even less so.
We have a constitution and a populace that largely values collective rights and protections ("peace, order and good government") over individual ones, unlike our neighbours to the south: this is why people here are willing to wear masks and distance from others, when the Americans are not. This is why we are willing to pay for universal health care. And this is why we are more willing to provide to the less fortunate. Yes, this can change, but this has been the case for more than 50 years and will not change overnight.
Our electoral system has similarities with the US, but also key differences. Elections Canada is independent and not controlled by partisan governments. There are no limitations on which citizens are allowed to vote. Gerrymandering is unheard of. We don't have US-style primaries, which promote pandering to the (more extreme) party base. And we have more than two parties, which means that candidates generally try to appeal to larger groups of voters, again discouraging extremism. This system will not change so easily, yes.
The human beings, as such, are the same on both sides of the border, there is no question about that. But the environment (including the upbringing of the children) and the political system have plenty of differences, so, at least in my opinion, rapid convergence of the two is highly unlikely. And FB alone won't make that happen.