What does the re-election of George W. Bush say about American values?

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The amusing thing is, when starting to write this up, I used an old Buffy article as a template. And weirdly, these were the first two paragraphs in that article:

But of course, a lot of people in Canada and around the world felt that they did have the facts, but they didn't get a say. And that most the 51% Americans who did vote Bush were either wilfully or honestly ignorant of all the facts.

The next day, a lot of Canadians talked about how they watched the election, flicking from channel to channel, fascinated by the different approach to the coverage, biting their nails over the results.

Me? I was wilfully ignoring the whole thing.

Oh, not completely. I did take the occasional sneak peek at Salon.com to see how the results were coming in. At 10:00 (or shortly after—no point in watching anything live when you own a PVR), I did tune in to the Daily Show's election special.

Thing is, the results just weren't looking good. And there was no way I was going to lose sleep watching that man, that agenda, be re-elected. I stayed with Jon until he made the comment about how very, very sad his audience (no doubt among the 85% of New York who voted Democrat) looked, and went to bed.

As the results became clearer the next day, Canadians were not a happy bunch. It seemed no matter what their Canadian political affiliation, from Green/NDP to Conservative/Alliance, no one wanted Bush back in.

Trying to understand what happened

Nothing, it seemed to me, could better have illustrated the points made in Michael Adams' Fire and Ice: The United Stated, Canada, and the Myth of Converging Values. If you're Canadian, and you haven't read this yet, you really should—it's fascinating. (If you're American, you might still find it interesting, but you'll need a thick skin: Adams definitely panders to his Canadian audience.)

Adams basic point is that, contrary to expectations and previous dire predictions, in terms of values, Canadians are not all that similar to Americans. Furthermore, despite our economic, we're just becoming more different as time goes on, not less so.

On a values map, Canadians tend to mass in one related to Individuality and Fulfillment, with values such as adaptability to complexity, ecological concern, global consciousness, rejection of authority, and brand apathy. And that mass seems to be growing bigger.

By contrast, a declining percentage of Americans agree with the Individuality / Fulfillment values, and more agree with the opposing values of Survival, marked by sexism, acceptance of violence, confidence in big business, and importance of brand. This is different from not only Canada, but all other Western countries as well.

It's all somewhat complex, but here is one of the more striking examples of this difference: in 2000, 49% of Americans agree with the statement “The father of a family must be master in his own house.” This was an increase of 7% since 1992. By contrast, only 18% of Canadians in 2000 agreed with that statement—down 7% since 1992.

So that's a micro look. What would a macro look be? Well, to be just super-obvious, how about the issue of gay marriage? In the US, one Presidential candidate is so against it he wants to amend the constitution. The other? Well, he's against it, too; he just didn't think mucking with the constitution is really necessary. During our federal election, only one party expressed misgivings with the whole gay marriage thing, and that party didn't win. Canada is leading the way, the first country to legalize gay marriage in 7 provinces or territories, with the federal government slowly working to make it a national law.

In the US, every single gay marriage amendment introduced is defeated. In Mississippi, it's defeated by 92%. Some have argued that, were it put to referendum, it would likely be defeated here too. And they're probably right—but not because most Canadians are against it. Polls show a slight majority support it, but I believe opponents feel much more strongly about it and would therefore be more likely to vote. Voter turnout would likely result in its defeat, but not by anything like 92%. I'm guessing maybe 60%.

But the important point, of course, is that Canada tends to not allow its majority to suppress minority rights via mechanisms such as referendums.

So is Canada better?

While feeling dismayed by the results, and knowing this could be very bad news for the planet, the Iraquis, the poor of America, I could nevertheless take some comfort in my not living there. In instead, living in a country where the majority, most of the time, generally, share my values.

That's when it really struck me just how crappy it must be to be a progressive American right about now.

49% of Americans voters did not want George Bush anymore than Canadians did. In “blue” states, he often lost really big. My friend Beth, stuck in red Indiana, burst into tears the next day. Writers and readers of Salon.com talk of crying jags and lingering depression. And there is anger. Anger at the right-wing, family-values, who-cares-what-the-world-thinks fellow Americans. People they didn't understand.

It would be too simple to paint this as proof that Canada is good, and the Americans are bad. There is a division between Canadian and American values, yes, but there is also notable value divisions within America itself.

In Fire and Ice, Adams further breaks down the “Father of a family must be a master in his own house” question by region. In Canada, the regional gap is not too extreme: it ranges from a low of 15% in Québec to a high of 21% in Alberta—just a 6% difference.

In the US, it starts with 29% agreement in the New England states and ranges up from there to a stunning 71% agreement in the Deep South states (but, still paling to the number who are against gay marriage). (And just so you don't miss it: notice how their lowest percentage value is still a good 8% above Canada's highest.) That is an amazing 42% value difference there, in one country. It means that the average person in the Northeastern US really does have more in common with the average Canadian than with their own southern compatriots. (Yes, it's just one question, but the trend holds for the map as a whole.)

Still, I'm not advocating that progressive Americans leave for Canada. Really, we need them to stay there and fight for the good of the world. And frankly, Canada's immigration policies are serious, serious need of reform. Until we get the whole process streamlined and improved, Canada's immigration queue is not one I'd recommend.

As in the election itself, ultimately, there's nothing I can do but watch and hope the tide turns without too much being destroyed first. And maybe take hope in the fact that youth voters massively selected the Democratic party...

Links of interest

Sorry, everybody: Hundreds of photos of Americans apologizing to the world for the election results. And some responses from the world.

Election results maps: The seas of blue and red are an overly simplistic view of American values. Progressives are everywhere, even in Texas.

Marry an American: Joke site of Canadians pledging to marry progressive Americans to save them. [no longer live]

F*** the South: An expression of that rage I was mentioning above...