As a Canadian who spent two decades living in the US, Tom Green is in a unique position to understand the tensions between the two countries at the moment, which is why he's taken it upon himself to explain to Americans why Canadians are so angry about all that "51st state" talk.
In an op-ed for Vulture, Green suggested that the root of the issue is that many Americans don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to be American. Many Americans are only now "realizing for the first time that not everybody from every other country in the world dreams of being in America," Green said. "After being told you're the greatest country in the world your entire life, well, it's a completely shocking statement."
Green claimed, "We've never said, 'We're the greatest country in the world,'" which, to be fair, we absolutely have. Our Prime Minister Mark Carney said it in a tweet February 15, for example, and Justin Trudeau's outgoing message as leader said the same thing.
While Americans think that tariffs will bring manufacturing back to the US, Green pointed out that "Canada is the biggest consumer of American goods outside of America; we buy more American products than any other country in the world." In other words, the US is penalizing its own businesses by starting a trade war.
Green argued, "The thing that gets lost here is that Canadians have traditionally been very proud of being allies of America" (another thing that, in this writer's experience, is definitely not true, to the point that Canadians can get a little smug about it).
He pointed out the many times throughout history that Canadians and Americans have fought on the same side of a conflict. "When all of a sudden it gets framed by a podcast or a 24-hour news cycle that Canada doesn't have a military, or 'America protects Canada,' it's highly offensive," he asserted. "It's more like if your brother turned on you: We were there in battle together. Before there's anger, you're kind of sad about it. Did you forget about what we've done to support you?"
Read Green's op-ed here. See our recent interview with the comedian here.