(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

I live in two very different worlds…the U.S. and Canada. My homes are different beyond the predictable, superficial ways that Americans and Canadians often swear they differ…saying “sorry” even when you shouldn’t feel apologetic…or changing television channels with a “remote” rather than a “converter.”

I don’t take the light-hearted trash talk I hear from time to time from Americans and Canadians about their neighbours very seriously. I’ve learned to look well past the stereotypes and biases that are too easy to embrace when we oversimplify complexities.

In a half century of travelling and living in more than 60 countries, I’ve found people have much more in common than not…especially when you take time to really know them. It’s not poking fun of others if your intention is hurtful…or if you intend to make yourself feel better at another’s expense. Our sense of humour shouldn’t be a one-way street.

But I’m much more concerned with real differences…serious differences…deadly ones. As of Feb. 3 the death rate during this pandemic is more than three times higher in the U.S. than Canada. Last week, we lost more than 1,000 Canadians…and 17,000 Americans.

Any hopes that the less severe Omicron variant would somehow spare Americans are pretty much dashed. Despite having vaccines for more than a year…America’s death rate from the Omicron variant has surpassed that of the Delta variant at its peak last Fall…and is two-thirds of the death rate when there were no vaccines.

In fact, despite having more vaccine capabilities than any other nation worldwide - to the point of even giving away hundreds of millions of the vaccine doses to less fortunate countries - the U.S. has vaccinated fewer people than most other large, high-income countries.

Not only that, but the death rate gap will likely grow because even fewer Americans have taken booster shots than citizens in Canada, Belgium, Britain, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Sweden and Australia.

The Omicron variant didn’t hit America until Dec. 1, but to this date - just over two months - the death rate in the U.S. is 63 percent higher than any of the countries named above. America languishes with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, The Czech Republic and Greece…countries where the best COVID-19 treatments are hard to find.

Even Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - countries devastated by Ebola in recent decades - are all doling better at protecting their citizens from COVID-19 than the U.S.

One of every eight Americans over age 65 is not what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider fully vaccinated…either two shots of Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or one Johnson & Johnson shot. And 43 percent of those over 65 have not had a booster…so with every passing day tens of millions of Americans are losing protection…dropping from 57 percent effective to something less or not at all.

Co-morbidity issues like age and obesity further complicate America’s ability to pull out of its pandemic death tailspin. The number of people over 65 is an issue for Canada, as well…with 17 percent of the U.S. population over 65, and 18 percent of Canada’s population over 65.

Likewise, the U.S. and Canada are ranked first and second, respectively, in how many people are obese…36 percent in the U.S. and 29 percent in Canada. But as the data prove, Canada is faring much better. Despite those in the U.S. who are killing people by disregarding science…Canadians are more thoughtful…not that a substantial contingent doesn’t exist here that is intent on undermining science.

But the question - the elephant in the room - is how does an America with every medical research and pharmaceutical advantage end up at the bottom of the pandemic vaccination heap? Spoiler alert: the answer is in the previous paragraph…trust.

Americans - and when I say Americans it is overwhelmingly those who identify as Republicans, Right Wingers, Conservatives and religious folks - not only don’t trust government…they don’t trust science…they don’t trust people in positions of authority…and, in general, they don’t trust other people.

Republican politicians - including the previous president - and Right Wing media have been churning out lies and propaganda since the Tea Party formed 13 years ago. Together this cult-like group spends its time pulling loose strings of America’s fabric of democracy…to the point that more Americans believe their democracy will die than at any time since the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1788.

Ironically, it is home-grown terrorism that is undermining American democracy most…not foreign immigrants or Muslims or Democrats or liberals or African-Americans or Jews or any others the Trump cult members have demonized.

Canada should keep its guard up…not against Americans necessarily…except for the white supremacists fomenting unrest here, too. The biggest threat to Canadian democracy is the same as in America…home-grown terrorists - Canadians - who believe they don’t have to follow rules that benefit society. These folks believe violence is okay against people who wear masks or take vaccines…they’re part of a government conspiracy. These people fund, support and believe the few should dictate to the many.

That’s not democracy…in America…in Canada…or anywhere else.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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