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space. And in 1889 he accomplished an analogue for music, with his patent for the gramo-
phone. Canadians invented the electronic microscope in 1937, thereby making possible the
exploration of the smallest “spaces.” In medical matters, Frederick Banting and colleagues
received the Nobel Prize in 1923 for isolating insulin, thereby saving from certain death
millions afflicted with diabetes.
Canadian inventions enrich comfort and pleasures worldwide: the snowmobile in 1922
and the game of Trivial Pursuit in 1980. In 1922 Gideon Sundback patented the zipper. And
in 1891 James Naismith created the game of basketball.
Canadian authors of world renown include those writing in English and in French:
Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies, Mavis Galant, Antoine Maillet, Rohinton Mistry,
L.M. Montgomery, Farley Mowett, Stephen Leacock, and Mordecai Richler. And among
Canadian-born actors and public personalities are Genevieve Bujold, Raymond Burr,
Glenn Ford, Michael Fox, Peter Jennings, and Raymond Massey.
WHAT IS THE CANADIAN OUTLOOK?
Some ideas are too useful ever to be discarded. When Alexis de Tocqueville toured the
new American Republic in the early 1800s, he searched for an understanding of the world's
first large republic. “Habits of the heart” is how he described the American outlook: widely
shared ideas about the world, about fellow citizens, about civic duty and obligation, and
about preferred ways of living one's life and getting on in the world. Today, “national out-
look” is close in meaning to habits of the heart, what social scientists call civic culture.
Casual travelers crossing from Canada to the United States and vice versa find little to
differentiate the two countries. This is especially the case if the border crossing is accom-
plished somewhere other than a large urban place. Dress, language, speech patterns, and
body language are alike. So, too, are architecture, automobiles, and popular music. But if
the border crossing is through a large city, the contrasts are striking. Windsor, Canada is
an orderly, prosperous city. Its streets are well maintained, and there are no signs of urban
violence and decay.
Nearby, however, Detroit's cityscape is light years away. Downtown Detroit is derelict.
Its business establishments have long ago departed; storefronts are boarded up; sidewalk
traffic is sparse, and pedestrians are few and shabbily dressed. The cityscape is reminiscent
of a scarred battle zone. What habits of the heart can explain the differences between the
lively, safe streets, excellent public transport, and striking architecture of, for example,
Toronto and the American cities that cluster near the southern shores of the Great Lakes?
WHAT IS THE CANADIAN OUTLOOK ON GOVERNMENT?
History and geography mold the Canadian outlook. When Canada resisted the American
Revolution, it also rejected those American habits of the heart that embraced unen-
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