You're Pretty Great Too, Canada | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics

You're Pretty Great Too, Canada

Canada's #TellAmericaItsGreat Initiative Brings Kindness to This Election Season

12
You're Pretty Great Too, Canada
The Garden Collective

Canada, you're the sweetest.

Last week, a few Canadians decided that Americans needed some positivity within this never-ending black hole of an election season. They know we're all worried and stressed about the future of our country. This election has truly brought out some of our worst qualities, and now we're left to pick up the pieces of months of destructive rhetoric and controversy. So, Canadian citizens thought that they'd help us wade through the constant bombardment of negativity to see that, despite our multitude of problems, we've got some good qualities after all.

The initiative was started by a Toronto based company called the Garden Collective that advises business brands on everything from marketing strategy to production issues. They launched a website along with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages as a way to voice all the good things they think about America. The video that kicked the whole campaign off can be found here.

In addition to sending in individual video submissions for the site, many Canadian citizens also took to twitter to fill up the #TellAmericaItsGreat hashtag. From our beautiful national parks to the infamous 'Carlton dance' originating on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, they came up with a lot of nice, and sometimes silly, things to recognize and praise us for. Here are a few of my favorite tweets:

And there's plenty more where that came from. Go check out the hashtag for yourself!

And listen, I know some of you will feel obligated to cast this initiative aside as just another way to ignore or normalize the injustices and problems that are ever-present in our country. I promise that I am aware of our issues with systemic racism, the education system, economic inequality, and countless more things. All of those problems and more absolutely exist and need to be brought to the attention of every citizen. But not with a Canadian website and twitter hashtag meant simply to cheer us up. Maybe we should just accept this campaign for what it is: an act of kindness in an otherwise depressing political climate. No, this movement won't solve our political issues or help us deal with what's to come after November 8th. No, America is not perfect. It never was and probably never will be. Further, what the tweets actually say doesn't really matter, either. It's the thought that counts. Canada just wanted to let us know that even when things seem really bad, we should keep fighting for what's right, continue working towards a more just and fair society, and try to stay hopeful that things will get better. And that, along the way, it's okay to remember all the things in our country that are great.

I think Twitter user Anthony Basco has it right when he says that we should strive to be the America that Canada thinks we are.

#TellCanadaThankYou for pushing us to be our best and comforting us with your kind words when things are really rough down here. You know what, Canada? You're pretty great, too.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

181
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

264
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

882
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

The Great Christmas Movie Debate

"A Christmas Story" is the star on top of the tree.

2174
The Great Christmas Movie Debate
Mental Floss

One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."

Keep Reading...Show less
student thinking about finals in library
StableDiffusion

As this semester wraps up, students can’t help but be stressed about finals. After all, our GPAs depends on these grades! What student isn’t worrying about their finals right now? It’s “goodbye social life, hello library” time from now until the end of finals week.

1. Finals are weeks away, I’m sure I’ll be ready for them when they come.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments