The Rise of Anti-American Sentiment Abroad Is Stunning

0:00 What does it mean to be Canadian?

0:01 Like

0:02 that feels completely insane.

0:03 And like I have two gay moms and two gay dads.

0:05 And

0:07 really?

0:08 Yes.

0:08 __] Trump.

0:09 I almost can't even believe this.

0:11 It's like stereotypically what I thought I would find out here.

0:15 As an American living abroad,

0:17 I've become very curious about the rise of anti-American sentiment.

0:22 Something is shifting.

0:24 I want to tell the story of something that's happening in Canada.

0:28 But while I'm focusing on Canada in this video,

0:31 the reality is that it echoes the same trends that are

0:33 happening in Europe and elsewhere in the world right now.

0:37 In earlier episodes in this series,

0:39 I explored how things are shifting between Europe and the US,

0:44 how things are shifting within the United States.

0:47 And now I wanted to go to arguably the United States greatest ally, Canada.

0:52 A country most famous perhaps for its

0:54 welcoming and friendly demeanor as a nation.

0:57 In the entirety of my life,

0:59 I feel like there's never really been a conflict between the US and Canada.

1:02 There's never been anything to be in conflict about.

1:05 Well, I guess until this year,

1:06 there's not a snowballs chance in hell that Canada will ever be the 51st state.

1:12 This is not a video about politics.

1:13 I really want to make that point.

1:14 I am going to talk about politics,

1:16 but I actually could not care less about politics or whatever,

1:19 convincing you of what party to vote for or whatever.

1:22 This is not what this is about.

1:23 What I'm curious about are human social dynamics.

1:26 How do human beings decide what is true, what is good, what is right?

1:30 But to get to that, first I have to give you

1:33 a brief recap of everything that's happened so far this year.

1:36 After 10 years in power, Trudeau, the left-leaning prime minister of Canada,

1:39 who was once very popular, announced his resignation.

1:42 He was resigning.

1:43 It's a long story, but basically because he's become very unpopular.

1:46 All signs pointed to the political right charging

1:48 to a massive and historic victory in the next elections.

1:52 They were leading at one point by a absolutely

1:55 mammoth 27 points which in politics is insane.

1:57 All right, so Trudeau's resignation early January.

2:00 Two weeks later, Trump enters office and Pierre Palev,

2:03 the right-leaning leader in the Conservative party in Canada,

2:07 gets along pretty well with Trump.

2:09 So, it would seem like, hey, win-win.

2:13 Except no.

2:13 Trump starts making a lot of comments about how Canada

2:16 would be much better off being a 51st state.

2:18 And maybe, who knows?

2:20 Maybe he didn't mean it.

2:20 Maybe he did.

2:21 Whatever the case, Canadians really did not like this.

2:25 And Canadians, who are not known for loud displays of patriotism,

2:29 became very angry and offended.

2:34 [Music] But I've been at the hockey game and when the American anthem,

2:39 this is the first time in my lifetime I remember this.

2:41 Me and my dad went to a Leaf's game

2:43 and um the people booed the anthem the entire time.

2:48 That was new.

2:48 So in Trudeau's final speech before leaving fully,

2:51 he had a message for Canadians.

2:54 Elbows up.

2:55 This is a term used in ice hockeying,

2:57 which is kind of like a it was like a rallying cry against Trump.

3:01 So then Canadians began boycotting American products.

3:04 And then a few months later, guess who lost the Canadian elections?

3:09 He just couldn't distance himself enough from Trump.

3:12 So the left just sort of like rebounded.

3:14 Like the best thing that could happen to the left

3:18 was the right coming to power in the US.

3:22 What the heck?

3:23 This is so How does this happen?

3:25 What is it about human beings that just

3:26 activates when they have a clear and common enemy?

3:29 Why does a different side of our nature come out when we face off?

3:33 When we compete like in sports or in gladiator fights?

3:36 All I knew was that I had to investigate

3:42 because of the rise of Trump recently and because of all of this kind of like

3:45 anti-Canada sentiment that Trump is perpetuating that it

3:50 showed Canadians that oh we don't want that.

3:53 Hearing just the sentiment of like you know Canada strong hearing it across

3:56 the country has been a new way that I feel like we've been united.

4:01 It's remarkable to me in a country that we can switch that quick.

4:05 like dude like like that we went from like Liberal government to then

4:09 immediately being like like a 60% polling

4:12 for the conservatives like to the point

4:15 that in the first time in 30 years our house of commons

4:18 would have had so many conservatives that they would have gone right around.

4:21 So usually you have the two parties facing each

4:23 other to within two months you know I could think

4:55 guess it made me sad that we needed to have

4:57 an enemy of the band together to have an identity.

4:59 But isn't that isn't that interesting?

5:01 That's like so human nature.

5:03 It is.

5:03 It is.

5:04 But what made me sad about it is is I don't even think

5:07 people knew what being Canadian was in that moment besides I'm not American.

5:21 I find the people who are most fired up are the older generation like Oh yeah.

5:25 the people in my parents age demographic who they're just like this is not okay.

5:29 Yeah.

5:37 I guess I wasn't resonating with it because I was like what is this coming from?

5:41 It's actually coming out of a distaste for one person.

5:44 And so I'm like I don't know if that's

5:45 glue to keep you stuck together for that long.

5:48 That's interesting.

5:48 So it's like trauma bonding instead of like a better version of bonding.

5:51 I had a particular interest in interviewing not just

5:53 English-sp speakaking Canadians but also the Quebeca largely because it

5:57 is between Quebec and the rest of Canada that there's

6:00 been the biggest source of conflict within Canada culturally,

6:03 linguistically, in terms of identity

6:06 and this is something that goes back centuries.

6:08 I wanted to see how people were feeling

6:10 in light of having something new to worry about.

6:13 Yeah, of course Quebec does have a different historical

6:16 culture and they work real hard to preserve it.

6:30 I I think it is like from their perspective

6:33 right to want to protect their history.

6:35 Do I think that it's being done in a way that aligns with the rest of Canada?

6:40 Not really.

6:47 Oh my god.

6:59 Leblanca is only a party that is valid in Quebec.

7:03 However, they have a major position in the national

7:08 debates and they have a major position within

7:11 the national government and even in the election the blabbekqua

7:16 got 24 seats and the new democrats got nine.

7:20 And so like they're they're very powerful.

7:35 Okay.

7:36 So, how are we going to do our trade with the US?

7:39 Like we we don't really know what's going to be happening now.

7:42 It does kind of feel like French language issues within Quebec have

7:45 been put a little bit on the back burner because now it's like,

7:48 okay, Canada, we need to unite against this threat.

7:51 Before I go any further, I want to briefly talk about BetterHelp,

7:54 whose support in this paid partnership is what makes videos like this possible

7:57 and also makes it possible for me

7:59 to continue sharing these videos entirely for free.

8:01 There is naturally, I think,

8:03 a huge amount of anxiety that so many people are feeling

8:05 in the face of so much change and so much uncertainty geopolitically,

8:10 technologically with the new cycle.

8:11 And speaking from personal experience, it's easy to feel totally powerless.

8:16 But the one thing that you can always do is invest in yourself.

8:18 invest in your own understanding of yourself,

8:21 your own emotions, your own triggers.

8:22 I think it's through working on those things that you can

8:26 develop a greater sense of groundedness in the midst of uncertainty.

8:30 That at least has been my experience with therapy over the last 6 years.

8:33 BetterHelp has a huge network of credentialed therapists

8:36 that can help you make sense of how you're feeling.

8:38 And I've said it so many times before and I'll say it again,

8:40 but I really think it's the best investment you can make.

8:43 And it is also designed to be super flexible to fit your schedule,

8:46 whatever it may look like.

8:46 And another big plus is that if you're not clicking with who

8:49 you're working with, you can freely change therapists until you find a match.

8:52 And all of this can happen via video, phone call, or text.

8:56 It's really easy to sign up and get matched with someone.

8:58 There'll be a link in my description if you're interested in checking it out.

9:01 Or you can go to betterhelp.com/nathaniel Drew.

9:04 Clicking the link helps support this channel,

9:05 and it also gets you 10% off your first month with BetterHel.

9:08 All right, let's dive back in.

9:20 [Music] It seems like sometimes the best solution

9:26 to a problem is to have a bigger problem.

9:42 Was it what I've noticed is that it's

10:06 been an interesting way of like uniting the country.

10:09 I feel like because Canada is so vast.

10:23 Are you boycotting American products or what do you think about all of that?

10:27 I think it again is very good.

10:37 I feel like as Canadians, we've even growing up there was just

10:41 like this idea of like Americans are stupid.

10:43 And I think that's said because a lot

10:45 of Canadians when they interact with Americans,

10:47 they'll ask them things like they'll

10:49 they'll mention small geography things about Canada,

10:52 like oh like I I'm from Calgary and you often

10:54 you'll hear just an average American will be like, "Where's that?

10:57 I couldn't point that on the map."

10:58 And I think Canadians are offended by that because

11:00 the average Canadian would have way better

11:01 idea of American geography than American does.

11:05 There's multiple layers to it.

11:06 I think a lot of Canadians feel offput

11:08 that we're Americans are so disinterested in us.

11:11 Yeah, it's nice to see that we are actually trying to have

11:13 a localized economy again and not rely on the states for everything.

11:18 You know what this makes me think of?

11:20 Sir Isaac Newton's third law of motion.

11:24 Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

11:32 Feels like that applies to a lot of facets of life as a human being.

11:36 Are you shaped by the things that you like and that you want to be?

11:40 Are you shaped by the things that you dislike and that you don't want to be?

11:45 I am only exploring politics because politics for me is theater

11:49 and theater is human beings stepping onto a stage and telling stories.

11:54 I see how easily humans are influenced, how easily I am influenced.

11:58 Why does so much of human life seem to be reduced down to competition,

12:03 to winners and losers?

12:05 Is this how it has to be?

12:11 But also, I feel within myself a deep desire for truth.

12:16 How humans can seesaw like this, right?

12:20 It's like I don't know.

12:21 Are we like,

12:21 but I I've done that like

12:23 No, totally.

12:24 I my my opinions of things shift and change in reaction

12:27 to stuff almost more than me sort of being drawn to ideas.

12:31 I think I react to stuff.

12:32 When something goes too far, I counterbalance in the other direction.

12:36 And I'm trying to understand that facet

12:37 of human nature because it's so fascinating to me.

12:40 Your point about lamenting Canadians

12:45 needing to have to say we're not American to be united is so fascinating to me.

12:50 Well, it's like name Canadian food.

12:53 Well, don't say poutine.

12:55 Well, that's it.

12:56 That's the only one.

12:56 Maple syrup.

12:57 There you go.

12:57 It's like we're a cliche of ourselves cuz

13:00 we've never we've had a few of those things,

13:02 but I think unfortunately a lot of Canadian

13:04 identity has been in not being something.

13:07 It's like we've often been like, well, well, we're peacemakers, which we're not.

13:11 We we we contribute the least amount, not the least,

13:14 but a very small amount to UN peacekeeping and a lot of peacekeeping missions.

13:18 We used to be that, right?

13:19 But the idea is like what we're saying by that is like, "Oh,

13:21 we don't start wars." And it's like you hear a lot of people being like,

13:24 "Oh, we're nicer than Americans." You are.

13:28 Yeah.

13:28 Yes.

13:28 And no.

13:28 I mean, you go to the South and Southern hospitality is a real thing.

13:32 Yeah.

13:32 Okay.

13:33 Yeah.

13:33 We're generalizing massively right now.

13:35 But my experience of Canadians is that they're super friendly.

13:38 Yeah.

13:38 We're we're super agreeable.

13:40 And I'm not trying I I don't I don't like I'm very proud to be Canadian.

13:43 I just I'm also like want to always I like to poke

13:47 around at our own identity to be like what is the strength?

13:50 What the main points of unity and I

13:52 guess pride that I experienced were in Toronto

13:54 was that uh it's a very accepting place for a lot of people from elsewhere.

14:00 Like there are so many immigrant neighborhoods and that's what

14:03 I really appreciated about growing up there is that I

14:06 remember growing up and hearing like oh yeah Toronto

14:08 is one of the most multicultural cities in the world.

14:10 I've had a lot of international friends

14:12 in Toronto and the consistent complaint is that like

14:15 you never know what what a Canadian feels

14:17 cuz they they won't tell it to your face.

14:19 So maybe this is good cuz maybe we are now saying how we feel.

14:26 Okay.

14:25 What does it mean to be Canadian in Canada?

14:28 I made a new Canadian friend by the name of Julian Thomas.

14:32 He's a filmmaker who's done some really great work and he showed me around

14:35 to all the different places he liked to spend time and where he grew up.

14:39 Maybe it seems a little bit out of place to talk about a new friendship

14:42 in a video where I'm touching on so

14:43 many things that have been happening in the news, but to me it feels related.

14:47 It is related.

14:48 This is this is my home.

14:49 As much as I hate to admit it, there's so many things I don't like about Canada,

14:53 but like the materialism,

14:55 the sort of like blandness and yet I'm so attached to this place, right?

14:59 Like that's the sort of like irony of everything

15:02 is that like deep down I grew up here.

15:03 And do you feel Canadian?

15:06 Yeah.

15:06 In some ways, it felt like the questions I was asking him were unfair.

15:10 I wouldn't necessarily know how to answer them myself.

15:13 The thing is like I didn't realize I felt

15:14 Canadian until I traveled and then people would say,

15:17 "Oh, where are you from?" And then I would be really proud to talk about Canada.

15:24 The truth of the matter is that identity,

15:25 a sense of belonging is something that's really hard to put into words.

15:29 more than articulating it in what he was saying.

15:32 It was through Julian's enthusiasm as he was

15:36 showing me these places that he spent time

15:38 that he grew up in that I could see how important this place was for him.

15:43 As a third culture kid myself,

15:45 I feel that kind of conflict inside of myself of not wanting to pick

15:50 one side because I've been shaped by so many different cultures because why?

15:54 All of us are multiaceted.

15:55 Talk to me about this Tim Hortons.

16:00 I probably spend like four days a week

16:02 in this Tim Hortons like from the age of like 12 to like 17

16:07 which is kind of crazy.

16:09 I don't know.

16:09 There's something so bland about it and yet there's

16:14 something so like I grew up here and like this is where I became the person I am

16:20 today and like where I got to know myself.

16:22 And like it's so funny that it happened in the blandest of places in a way,

16:27 you know, like you can find a Tim Hortons like this

16:30 5,000 times across the country.

16:31 It just just so happens to be like the one

16:33 where I grew up and we're like I shared

16:36 all these moments with my friends with I mean

16:37 I I worked at McDonald's down the down the road.

16:40 The irony there.

16:41 Sometimes on the overnight shifts we would send

16:43 people to Tim Hortons when we didn't want to Wait, what?

16:47 Because sometimes we're too lazy to to do the order.

16:50 So, we're like, "Oh, yo, but Tim Hortons is open." And like, "Wait, what?

16:54 But I shouldn't but

16:56 you can't talk about that." My boss is going to be like, "Yo, what the fuck?"

17:00 In the day and age of the internet,

17:01 I feel like it's just so easy to get lost and I

17:05 feel myself gravitating more and more towards just real life human interactions.

17:11 Welcome to Dagwoods.

17:15 We're going to get screwed down by every single cyclist.

17:18 This is making me nervous.

17:20 Like, I do not want my phone to fall off this bridge.

17:22 I'll probably write an essay about this.

17:25 Okay.

17:26 It just makes all the rhetoric and the hysteria and all

17:29 of that drama happening online feel just a little more distant, not so loud.

17:34 So, I guess I don't know.

17:37 In the face of all of this conflict between different groups of people,

17:40 my little act of resistance is to make a new friend.

17:45 A new friend from a different culture.

17:47 a different place.

17:49 Is it weird I feel sometimes embarrassed of being too proud to be Canadian?

17:54 Oh, really?

17:55 Sometimes.

17:56 So, I asked a Canadian friend of mine to sing the anthem.

18:02 Oh, and she sang it so tenderly when she sent me an audio message.

18:09 She sent like this really beautiful rendition.

18:14 Let me play it for you.

18:15 Let me see if this makes you feel anything.

18:23 Oh, our home and native land.

18:29 True patriot love in all thy sons command.

18:36 That's how it goes.

18:37 That's how it goes.