Dear James--I don't disagree with your comments, though I will clarify a bit. I fully realize Canada is a foreign country, but it doesn't so much seem like one. When you compare the U.S. to Mexico, or Germany to France, these neighboring countries have much more obvious differences than you see in comparing the U.S. to Canada. The somewhat large degree of similarity, spanning the great majority of a continent, I believe is a factor in many Americans' different perspective on the world community. The magnitude of cultural difference from state to state, or province to province, or U.S. to Canada seems to pale in comparison with that offered from country to country on the European continent.

Sadly, I think it's true that most Americans don't even know what Canada's capital city is. It's rather embarassing.