Stephen Downes

Like Doug Peterson and some millions of others, I've been more attentive to 'made in Canada' labels recently. I'm not sure it's appreciated south of the border how inappropriate it is to depict Canada as a '51st state' (such as was found in the NY Times recently). We very much do not want to become Americans, as surprising as that may seem to Americans. But I would add to Peterson's remarks by taking note of a Doritos ad I saw yesterday appealing to Canadian nationalism. Doritos is an American brand of flavored tortilla chips produced by Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. We don't need American companies telling us how to be Canadian (especially when it's as full of stereotypes as this ad). It goes to what I've said for years - advertising is the first and most pernicious source of disinformation. Advertising not only misleads, it normalizes the practice of dishonesty in a society.