Like many here, I wish a public option was put on the table when there was a chance. Like many, I wish the entire "ObamaCare" plan had more teeth. I wish Elizabeth Warren was given a real chance to be a protector of consumers and sheriff of Wall Street. In fact, I wish Wall Street and the rebuilding of the private sector had taken a back seat to rebuilding our embarrassing infrastructure to begin with. Like many, I wish Obama had his "The buck stops here" moment and gave congress the type of hell which made Harry Truman famous. I'm not even talking about the current congress.
Like many, I wish that taxing the job outsourcers wasn't so taboo. I wish that pissing on the poor wasn't so en vogue. I also wish it was our President and NOT Jon Stewart (http://www.thedailyshow.com/...) taking the time to explain how anti-American the arguments made by Bush Tax Cut loving plutocrats are.
There's more but the bottom line is simply this: I wish Obama kept his 2008 pledge to make government cool again.
Last week my girlfriend and I rented a car and drove straight north for about 7 1/2 hours. "Faux Europe" according to a friend of mine. Back in the '90s my friends and I would often take road trips to Montreal, the land of smoked meats, poutines and tabarnak cholis. Over strong beers and even stronger weed, we'd joke about how simply waving a bill with George Washington's face on it could draw a crowd. Not so much today. Certain establishments wouldn't dare accept my weak paper. On the other hand, the people were as nice as can be. They were just as friendly, educated, worldly, multilingual and fashionable as I remember. Like me, they also all wished Obama was doing more. Like me, they wondered when America would create a true left wing party.
Canada, particularly its most hectic province, Quebec, has its share of problems. Health care isn't as simple and clean as you might see in a Michael Moore flick. Well, not in Montreal at least. In fact, the Oscar winning Barbarian Invasions probably better documents the bloated bureaucracy that many Montrealers have to deal with when sick. Of course that still easily beats the American system where many can't even visit doctors to begin with. That said, the people I came across all seem to wish for a better and faster government, not less government. They appreciate free health care, cheap drugs, free two year colleges and four year universities which charge about $2,000 per year. Even elite, private, Ivy League level universities, like McGill University, only charge about $7,000 per year.
The people I talked to appreciate spotless subways which run on time. They appreciate the fact that their modern subway stations could double for museum lobbies.
Especially since many of them feature local art. They appreciate beautiful parks offering grand outdoor plazas overlooking the city.
They appreciate the extra parkland built over two manmade islands.
Islands which from an amusement park, to a casino, to a Formula 1 race track, provide jobs for locals and from an outdoor olympic swimming and diving center, to basketball courts, to half pipes for skate boarders, to a beach, provides the same locals with multiple recreation options. They appreciate clean streets, wide boulevards and a highway system, which despite brutally frigid winter conditions, offer about a tenth of the potholes seen on any given portion of the BQE, LIE or GCP.
Except for the often maligned Olympic Stadium (once called the Big O but more commonly referred to as the Big Owe) when the government does something, they do it right.
Government can build a massive Underground City (according to Wikipedia, 14 miles long in the 1990s before a new series of expansions) which provides space for thousands of businesses that would probably never exist during the afore mentioned frigid winter months.
The people appreciate it and for all the complaints that citizens from all countries share, there's a feel that government is indeed there to help. In fact, to the shock of Raygunites on this side of the border, it's expected. Of course that wasn't enough to keep Tea Party-light types like Stephen Harper from taking office in Ottawa, but even that dickhead knows to stay clear of Quebec politics. Locally, the often detached provence has been governed by either the Liberal Party or the Parti Quebecois for over 40 years now.
Basically the Liberals are made up of socially open but pro-business Clinton types. The PQ consists of straight up socialists. Politically I'd lean towards the PQ although in their attempts at preserving the French language, the PQ has a long history of ridiculous "language police" laws which has often put them at odds with not only the Anglo community, but also new ethnic groups. That aside, and it is a big aside, both the Liberals and PQ have worked to keep the "nanny state" alive and well. And that's cool. There should be no shame or guilt in receiving help from the government. Especially when we all know the help Baby Bush, Baby Mitt, Baby Trump and the many others "born on 3rd base" types have all quietly received along the way.
A land where everyone who needs help can get help leads to a happy populace. A land where anyone can live the American, uhm, Canadian/Canadien Dream leads to less anger, less hostility, less hate and a more unified, tighter, productive society.
Oddly (or not?) despite the "nanny state" culture and steep taxes which come with it, as well as very strict gun control laws, Montreal felt even more free than New York. It was kind of hard to not notice that the girls all seem to wear shorter skirts than in New York. My girlfriend said it was because they don't get groped like they do on our subways or constantly whistled at while simply crossing the street. We both noticed a couple of fist fights here and there outside of certain bars and lounges and I pointed out that it's easier to get into a fight when you know the other guy isn't packing a gun. We also both noticed a lot of herb being smoked down pedestrian sections of Rue Sainte Catherine (their version of Broadway) and realized that the cops don't waste their time on silly crap. Aside from that there were also some less obvious signs of greater freedoms. Most of Montreal is on an island inside the St. Lawrence but it also contains several smaller islands (the manmade ones) off its southern shore. All of these islands offer promenades and on at least one I noticed an open dock leading right into the water.
I figure a government built invite right into the East River would last a few weeks here in New York before somebody drowned and the city was sued.
The subway stations feature open cat walks running directly over the tracks.
Again, this would last a handful of days here before someone jumped or was pushed to their deaths, leading to more law suits.
Even their parks feature wildlife like beavers, skunks and (like the one seen below, on the lower left, just yards from a major roller coaster) red foxes.
Again, it would only take one bite before they were all taken down by New York's litigious society.
Then there was the extra freedom to be found in simple nighttime entertainment. You can step into a nightclub without having your driver's license info being zapped into a computer. You can go to a football game (granted they do punt on 3rd down!) without first being patted down like a criminal.
My girlfriend, who only started going to games since we've been dating, noticed that this was the first time her purse hadn't been checked before entry. You can go to a soccer game (in the ultras' section at least) and bring flags, instruments, air horns and make as much noise as you want. Nothing confiscated at the gate, no soccer moms complaining to security about overzealous fans. From what the ultras told me, during big games, security even looks the other way if you light up a smoke flare or two. Just make sure they're Impact blue and white!
Now I'm not here to knock New York or America. I'm a proud American and even prouder New Yorker. As much as I loved my time away, this is home. This is where many of my idols from the Beasties, to Wu, to Chris Rock, to Larry David, to (early) Martin Scorsese, to (early) Robert Deniro all grew up. Maybe it's because of New York's toughness that these artists and many others like the Ramones prospered. Still, by 2011, after 50 years of Canadian health care, shouldn't this government be looking for ways to make things less tough?
Wouldn't a New York and an America that took care of all of its people be a nice change? Not just health care but in education, smooth roads, efficient mass transit, beautifulparks. Things that can be accomplished when government sets the rules over big business and not the other way around. Three years ago Obama promised to make government cool again. Great! ...When?
I'm not holding my breath. At least I have my memories of that place just 7 1/2 hours to the north. Oh, and at least I don't have to deal with those winters!
Here are some bonus pics w/captions:
A happy face balloon blowing through the city streets after a brief thunderstorm. Notice how the streets are missing wrappers, cigarette butts, random loose newspaper pages. Notice how the sidewalk is lacking the black spots created by old, spit out gum.
The streets of downtown Montreal offer many beautiful statues to look at.
But sometimes the statues look back. These aren't happy with what they see!
Something for Beastie Boy fans. On and on and on til the breaka breaka dawn!
Okay, so it cost tax payers over a billion dollars. So the retractable roof doesn't work. So the locals hate it. So the Expos abandoned the place years ago. I still think Olympic Stadium, the tower, the swimming center, and converted biodome (once a velodrome) make for one of the most stunning venues in sports.
Rue Saint Denis, my favorite street in the city.
The hotel on the left is where John and Yoko held their famous bed-in and where they first sang "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969. Front and center however stands the exquisite Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral. Still, only the second most beautiful church in town.
The Notre Dame Basilica still ranks first in my book.
Saint Joesph's Oratory. We had the car illegally parked at the high school across the street and didn't have time to step inside for photos. Having been there before it is incredible. Quite spooky too!
A final skyline shot from Mount Royal
Yours truly. Highways so smooth I even had time for a quick pic.