Canada and the World Backgrounder articles from September 1996

Canada and the World Backgrounder archives from September 1996

God bless America (warts 'n all). (Canadians have benefitted from their close proximity to the U.S., in such areas as the arts, sciences and relief efforts)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
September 1, 1996... Many non-Americans, Canadians included, tend to adopt a superior air when talking about the U.S. Americans are shallow, and brash, we say; their society is incredibly violent and hard on poor people; the dollar is the only thing that counts....

Ideological planks. (the Republican Party tends to oppose government intervention, while the Democratic Party tries to correct inequities through government programs)(United States - Party Platforms)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Dozens of fringe parties contest every U.S. election; in 1992, there were 23 presidential candidates. But, only two parties -- Republicans and Democrats -- have a realistic chance of achieving power. Within those two parties there are many...

Income redistribution. (comparing industrial nations, the U.S.'s income distribution is one of the most unequal, yet few Americans support government efforts to redistribute the wealth)(United States - Party Platforms)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... The United States has the most unequal distribution of income of any industrial country. A World Bank study found that the richest one-fifth of Americans has 48% of the nation's income. Compare this with 40% in Germany and 42% in France....

Party roots. (details about the origins and evolution of the Republican and Democratic parties are given)(United States - Party Platforms)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... REPUBLICANS The Republican Party was founded by a coalition of other parties in 1854. The coalition members were the Whig, Free-Soil, and quaintly named Know-Nothing parties. They were joined by unhappy northern Democrats who didn't like...

Money talks. (U.S. politics is dominated by special interest groups that donate large sums of money to candidates; this causes many people to refrain from voting)(United States - Political System)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Most Americans think of their country as the world's great defender of democracy, yet often two thirds of the country's eligible voters don't bother casting a ballot Survey after survey tells the same story -- American voters are...

Conservative agenda. (the Christian Coalition and other right-wing religious groups have a powerful influence in U.S. politics, especially in the Republican Party)(United States - Political System)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... The religious right is a powerful group (In a state such as lowa it represents a third of registered Republicans). It wants government to take a tough line on family issues, abortion, crime, and social programs. Anybody hoping to win...

Term limits. (the Republicans failed to pass promised term limits legislation in Congress, but some state and local term limits laws have been enacted)(United States - Political System)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... When Republicans took control of Congress in 1994, they issued a bold plan called "The Contract with America." One issue of high priority was to pass laws limiting the number of times anyone could seek re-election for the same office. But,...

The race to the White House: campaigning to become U.S. president is an extreme test of stamina. (profiles of several past presidents are given)(United States - Presidents)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Campaigning to become U.S. President is an extreme test of stamina On the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in every leap year, the American people choose who their chief executive will be. However, for presidential candidates,...

Negative campaigning. (Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential bid was hurt by George Bush's use of negative campaigning that linked Dukakis to criminal Willie Horton)(United States - Presidents)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... As a convicted murderer, Willie Horton was an unlikely man to affect American presidential elections; but, indirectly, he did. In 1988, a Republican campaign advertisement featured Mr. Horton. The ad was used to portray Democratic presidential...

Only middle-aged white guys need apply? (demographic information about the previous 42 U.S. presidents)(United States - Presidents)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Up to 1996, 42 people had been President of the United States. All were white, Christian men born in the United States. Only one president was not a Protestant (John Kennedy was a Roman Catholic). The average age on taking office has been 56...

Isolation or involvement: over the years, a large segment of American society and more than a few of its leaders have tried to keep the country isolated from foreign entanglements.(United States - Foreign Policy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Over the years, a large segment of American society and more than a few of its leaders have tried to keep the country isolated from foreign entanglements Bill Clinton won the U.S. presidency by vowing to concentrate on domestic problems....

Leadership vacuum. (internal political pressures caused the U.S. to refrain from signing important environmental treaties at the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil)(United States - Foreign Policy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... In June 1992, 150 world leaders gathered in Brazil for the Earth Summit. Supporters hoped the meeting would begin the process of saving the world from environmental disaster. But, America's preoccupation with domestic concerns shot these hopes...

Who ya gonna call? (troubles with the relief operation in Somalia made the U.S. reluctant to get involved in Rwanda, Bosnia and other conflicts)(United States - Foreign Policy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Americans are among the world's most generous people. If there's a flood, famine, or earthquake Americans are often first on the scene with help. When trouble comes, the world is used to picking up the phone and calling Washington. That's...

Feeling bad while doing well. (the U.S. economy is thriving, but downsizing and stagnant wages have made Americans fearful about the future)(United States - Economy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... In what has been called the Golden Age of the U.S. economy (1950 to 1970), average citizens benefitted because the fruits of growth were shared among all. In what has been called the Leaden Age (1970 to the present) only those few...

Duh. (the 1992 book 'Closing the Literacy Gap' reported that 30% of unskilled workers in the U.S. are functionally illiterate)(United States - Economy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Japanese politician Yoshio Sakurauchi stirred up a storm of protest when he said 30% of American workers were illiterate. Despite the widespread indignation of Americans, Mr. Sakurauchi was almost right: * According to a book published...

Cultural invasion. (U.S. movies, television and popular culture are influential in most parts of the world)(United States - Economy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... No American enterprise has conquered the world as completely as its popular culture industry. As author and travel writer William Ecenbarger puts it: "The world has literally become a Mickey Mouse operation...the USA reigns supreme as an...

Turning a dollar. (the California firm Eclipse Enterprises produces trading cards bearing the pictures of serial killers and mass murders)(United States - Economy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... The American circus owner P.T. Barnum once said: "Nobody ever lost money by underestimating the taste of the American public." This phrase ought to be hung over the desk of Dean Mullaney owner of Eclipse Enterprises of Forestville, California....

America's ticking crime bomb. (although crime rates have dropped in some areas, violent crime is still a major problem that seems unaffected by longer jail sentences and the death penalty)(United States - Crime)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... The United States is the world's most violent industrial nation despite being one of the few that clings to the death penalty and has a jail population that is, proportionately, five times that of most of its peers All through 1993,...

Dubious distinction. (there were 44 terrorist attacks in the U.S. during 1995, placing the nation 19th among terrorist targets)(United States - Crime)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... For the first time, the United States has joined the top-20 list of countries victimized by terrorism. According to Pinkerton Security and Investigation Services, a record 44 terrorist incidents occurred on U.S. soil in 1995. That figure...

Crime - the numbers. (statistics on murder, rape, robberies, bombings, juvenile crime and other crime-related data)(United States - Crime)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... A murder takes place in the United States every 21 minutes, a rape every five minutes, a robbery every 48 seconds. Numerous studies of young criminals conclude that, in any given age group, only 6% of the boys will be responsible for at...

Response to fear. (drugs and fear are the primary reasons for the increase in gun ownership in the U.S.; the National Rifle Assoc. has blocked attempts at gun control)(United States - Gun Culture)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Violence, as Black Panther Huey Newton once said, is "as American as apple pie." More recently, The Guardian newspaper said that America is a society with a "lethal infatuation with guns and (an) acceptance of casualties that would do...

Guns - the numbers. (statistics on the proliferation of guns in the U.S. and crimes committed with guns)(United States - Gun Culture)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... The proportion of homicides from gunfire in the United States jumped 18% in 10 years, making firearms the cause of almost three-quarters of all homicides. Of the 19,893 homicides in the United States in 1985, 12,078 were committed with guns --...

Legal shootout. (the National Rifle Assoc. and other gun advocates often wrongly interpret the 2nd amendment as the right of individuals to bear arms)(United States - Gun Culture)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... The National Rifle Association and its supporters claim they have a constitutional guarantee to own guns. They cite the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free...

The far, far right. (militia groups have gained popularity in some areas of the U.S. through their anti-government rhetoric)(United States - Extremists)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Armed militias are on the rise across the United States; although most Americans want nothing to do with these extremist groups, many agree with their core complaint that there is too much government Few people had ever heard of the Viper...

Spring disasters. (the siege of Randy Weaver's cabin; the Branch Davidian fire and the Oklahoma City bombing all took place on Apr 19th, in the years 1992, 93, 95, respectively)(United States - Extremists)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... April 19, Patriot's Day, is the anniversary of the 1775 Battle of Lexington during the colonies' War of Independence. It's the day of many extremist tragedies: * April 19, 1992 -- A U.S. federal siege entailed a standoff at the cabin of...

Extremely predictable. (the tendency by militia groups to believe in conspiracy theories is part of a larger historical pattern in the U.S.)(United States - Extremists)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Some consider the conspiracy theories of extremist groups a natural outcome of America's history. They see the movement as a part of the heritage of a nation that was settled by religious groups, formed in a revolution, torn apart by a civil...

Colour clashes. (despite some legal and political progress, African Americans and other minorities are still subject to racism and discrimination)(United States - Racism)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... It's been more than 30 years since the U.S. Congress, prodded by President Lyndon Johnson, passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to end legislated discrimination against blacks, but the battle against racism continues When 38-year-old...

Making things better. (in 1960, Ruby Bridges was the first African American child to attend an all-white school in New Orleans, LA; the school is now all-black and she is working to integrate it again)(United States - Racism)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Ruby Bridges was six years old when she became the first black child to attend William Frantz School in New Orleans in 1960. As she was escorted to school by U.S. marshals, she thought the street crowd was cheering her. It wasn't until much...

Bucking the law. (jury nullification has a long history in the U.S.; some African Americans say it is justified to offset racism in the criminal justice system)(United States - Racism)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... Some black lawyers and scholars argue that any defiance by blacks of a justice system they see as racist falls under the tradition of jury nullification -- the right of jurors to reject the law in favour of their own views of justice. It's a...

Casualties of war? (African American soldiers who served in the UK during World War II were subject to racial segregation and laws against marrying white women)(United States - Racism)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1996... About 130,000 black Americans served in Britain during the Second World War, but the United States of America Visiting Forces Act, introduced in August of 1942, stipulated that they were subject to the racial segregation of their native...