myth

In that same discussion, I said this in comments:

Interestingly, I haven't found people in Canada - not online, in person - any more informed than people in the US. In casual conversations I have at work, or in my neighbourhood, I see an extremely low awareness and understanding of global events.

I'm starting to wonder if the supposed contrast between Americans and Canadians/Europeans, how informed each is supposed to be, is perhaps a bit of a myth itself.

I've always known many thinking, informed Americans, and through this blog I've met equally informed Canadians. But is the "average" (whatever that means) Canadian better informed than the average American? Do Canadians have a broader world view?

The media is less biased here, and reports more on international news. Yet the people I'm thinking of get their news mainly from CNN. Is the presence of US-based media in Canada dumbing down the public? Or, as one side of the debate would have it, are they just dumb for relying on it?

With all due respect to Rick Mercer, I wonder if "talking to Canadians" might be just as funny.