There is a great difference between the US view of government, and the Canadian/European view of government. While there is of course every variety of opinion in both areas, and plenty of those who do not agree with the prevailing view, nonetheless --
In the USA many view government as the enemy and the stifler of enterprise - "they". Americans do NOT want the government telling them what to do. The fact that contention keeps much legislation from passing is viewed as good as it keeps the government weak. Goverment is expected only to provide for national defense (until one is eligible for Social Security). Government trying to make metrication happen is viewed as government telling you what to do. In Canada and Europe many view government more as a facilitator, something working for the common good - "us". Government is expected to provide for the common welfare and keep corporations and individuals from becoming too powerful. Government making metrication happen is viewed as government making things better. As someone else wrote, metrication starts to get personal when it hits retail. No one cares how big a soda bottle is, but they don't like learning a new way to buy bananas, and they will turn on government if it tries to do this -- and there are those who will take advantage of this; Mulroney in Canada in 1983 is a good example. Carleton -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Chimpsarecute Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2004 11:52 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:29315] Re: Canadian metric muddle evident Han, I don't think economic status is the reason for achievement or lack of it. It has more to do with arrogance and attitude. The so-called poor nations were colonies of the so-called rich nations. Metrication of former colonies was seen as an attitude of independence. The colonizing countries were empires and their arrogance dictates that their ways are the best and everyone must follow them. Many in the UK still think of them selves as being part of the empire and as rulers. They hate the EU and metric because it means that others are telling them what to do instead of the other way around. Metrication is a symbol that their ways are no longer the best and no longer accepted. They are being forced to adopt the ways of former enemies and rivals. This is something they can not bear. The US is now where the UK was just prior to WWII. The neo-con masters are trying to establish a new world order based on US domination. The Iraq war was meant to secure gulf state's oil under the dollar hegemony. The creation of the euro and the strong stability of the euro has threatened the dollar hegemony and has forced the neo-cons to accelerate their globalisation efforts. By globalisation, I'm not speaking of world trade, but neo-con control of the of the world and its economy. The neo-cons in an effort to secure vital assets under their control are putting into practice the means to limit democracy and to turn the US (and the world) into a police state under their control. If their agenda is pro-metric, then shortly after they assume full power, they will under force of severe punishment or death, metricate the US. If they are anti-metric, or neutral, then no enforced metrication will take place. Can you imagine being sent to a concentration camp for being a supporter of metric or even an opponent? It can happen and it will. See: http://www.angelfire.com/music2/fullcircle/con1.html http://www.freedomfiles.org/war/fema.htm Americans who have been so conditioned to believe that they live if the land of the free and home of the brave, and that their democracy is written in stone, will be the easiest people to enslave. While they are being lead by the tens of thousands into the camps, they will be shaking their heads in disbelief, because something this sinister just can not happen in the USA. How will they achieve this? By labelling all crimes as terrorism, and charging every criminal (in their eyes) as terrorists. If the neo-cons are in fact anti-metric, we could right now be on their list as a terrorist group and the USMA may be labelled a terrorist organisation. At least you Han, living in the EU would be immune from their control for a short time. Euric ----- Original Message ----- From: "Han Maenen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, 2004-03-27 06:47 Subject: [USMA:29313] Re: Canadian metric muddle evident > This is exactly the reason why I do not believe in 'democracy' in such > cases. It leads to muddle and endless confusion for decades. I hope that it > will work in the USA, where many people are suspicious of what the > government does. It evidently does not work in Canada and Britain, and it > did not work in many nations that went metric in the past. > Many nations tried the voluntary approach, but as soon as metrication > reached the retail trades, trouble started and this is what happened in > Britain and Canada. In France it almost destroyed the metric system. Only > strict laws that forced trade (not private citizens!) to use metric ended > the muddle. > In Canada some conservative politicians thought of the ballot box and > climbed the anti-metric bandwagon, with this madness as a result. > I am glad that we have not adopted the euro the 'democratic' way. We would > have double pricing and double currencies for decades. On all other issues > we are democracies. > Years ago I read a Letter to the Editor in the Guardian, where a British > person reported that the street markets in Kenya went metric almost > overnight with no difficulties whatsoever, no consumer and traders > resistance. This also seems to have been the case in other Third World > countries. Why can these poor nations achieve what some rich nations cannot? > > Han > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ezra Steinberg" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, 2004-03-26 23:14 > Subject: [USMA:29310] Canadian metric muddle evident > > > > Someone posted recently an article from a newspaper in the prairie > provinces arguing against the current Canadian metric muddle and > recommending going back to Imperial or completely forward to metric. (Hard > for me to see how they can go back given all the current investment in > metric, like speed limit and distance signs, and the fact that the last > hold-out, the USA, is inching -- yes, that's deliberate on my part --- > towards conversion.) > > > > I saw this quite clearly on the Science Channel last night on a program > that talked about monster trucks. (No, not what you see at the speedway on > Saturday night, but the huge multi-million dollar trucks that are used in > mining, etc.) They shot the program in Canada, and the engineers and other > folks interviewed kept bouncing around from metric to Imperial. The pattern > I thought I discerned was that they used metric for short distances (metres) > , liquid quantities (litres), and temperature (degrees Celsius) and Imperial > for longer distances (miles). > > > > Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like what most Brits seem to be > doing these days, n'est-ce pas? Don't they have a muddle there, too?? ;-) > > > > Still, there miles ahead of US! (Still deliberate ... ) > > > > > > > >
