QotD: Visiting Canada

Canadians are very trusting. Much more of life exists on the honor system here.

For instance, at a tourist spot, the cashier asked us if we were AAA members, since that would entitle us to a discount. We said we were, and she just replied, "Well ok then." Michelle automatically pulled out her card as proof, and the cashier was a little surprised. And at the motel where we're staying, my keycard had become demagnetized, and at the front desk they didn't ask for any proof of who I was before rekeying it to the room I requested.

Canada (or at least BC) seems altogether quite a bit like, say, Minnesota: white, economically and socially quite liberal in its politics, but pretty conservative in the lives of its citizens.

Steve Sailer pointed out once that such local homogeneity and personal conservatism often leads to political liberalism because the polity assumes that everyone else will be as prudent and responsible as they are, and therefore they don't percieve things like welfare as an antisocial incentive. After all, who would choose to live on payments off the government when they could just work hard and save like us and everyone else we know?

Russell Wardlow, "Canada", Mean Mr. Mustard 2.0, 2006-09-21