Canadian Days: Canadian Politeness

One of the most enjoyable aspects about Toronto is the city's politeness. Wherever you go in Toronto you're likely to encounter a friendly, courteous person; and it is noticeable to Americans. When I was at the university a teacher told me people in Toronto were polite. And when I was staying at the hostel two American girls agreed with me that most people there were polite, and they reacted as if this was one of the more peculiar aspects of the city. I even met someone from the United States who moved to Toronto because of the city's courteous nature. He and his wife decided Toronto was a good place to raise a family, so they packed their bags and headed north.

But the widespread politeness doesn't rub off well with all Americans. When the same teacher was talking about Canada in class a girl shrugged her shoulders and said the Canadians were "so glee." The reason I think she said this is because she is accustomed to people being more aggressive with each other. And the United States does have a reputation for being a stressful nation from some people's perspective. When I was in Canada somebody told me she couldn't live in the U. S. because of what she perceived was a more stressful lifestyle.

In my opinion the U. S. can be pushier than Toronto. For example, when I had to wait to get my coffee at a Starbucks in Toronto somebody on staff gladly gave me a card to get a free drink. They had gotten the orders confused and there was a slight delay with my order, so they thought they'd make it up to me by allowing me to get a free drink. But when I was in the same situation at a Starbucks in the U. S. the person on staff who was fixing drinks got annoyed, and she certainly didn't give me a card to get a free drink. But my theory why the U. S. can be a pushier place is because of several reasons:

1. The U. S. has the awesome responsibility of being the only world-power in the world, which inevitably creates stress in the culture.

2. The U. S. has a long-standing culture war. Some people believe the nation is as ideologically divided as it was during the Civil War. In "Culture Wars," a book by James Davison Hunter, he argued the contemporary culture war is waged by the orthodox and progressives who do not see eye-to-eye when it comes to morality.

3. It has often been noted that ever since the 1960s Americans have gotten more cynical, especially about the government.

4. American culture is extroverted by nature. Americans value discussion and there's nothing we believe that can not be discussed, but this often creates irresolvable conflict between people on opposite sides of the culture war (e. g. Ann Coulter vs. Jesse Jackson).

5. Americans work alot, and this adds to the stress we already experience.

I am sure there are some Americans who will take offense with me since I stated the U. S. is a pushier place than Toronto. But what I am saying is often expressed by older generations of Americans. I've noticed they are more likely to complain that the value of courteousness has eroded, and almost every young American has been subjected to hearing about this, often to their annoyance. My own dad sometimes tells me "people are crazy nowadays." Also, out of all the places in the world--including every city I've been to in the U. S.--I have never been anywhere where politeness was as widespread as it is in Toronto. The people of Toronto have achieved something special that alot of places strive for but never fully attain, which is something I hope I can go back and experience again.