Yah this hit the news in Canada yesterday afternoon. If only because Canada scored best loved in the world. But here is the great thing when the pollster was asked why is Canada ranked number 1 it turned out to be almost entirely due to ignorance. No one polled knew really anything about Canada. Ignorance is Bliss! We're # 1 We're #1. Try and stay out of news! ____________________________________
[WS:] I disagree. I know a bit about Canada and I would still put it in the "loved" category. You need to understand that this is not the function of ignorance, but rather the lack of dirt. Canada does not have much dirt in its history - no wars of aggression, no colonies, no genocide, no slavery, no conquest, no hegemony. The worst thing that happened was probably outlawing potlatch - small potatoes vis a vis concentration camps, slavery, or A bomb.
Canada also has a few nice features: open government nicely collaborating with all kinds of social groups, liberal immigration policy, relatively generous _civilian_ foreign aid, good education system, universal health care, one of the best statistical agencies in the world.
In sum, there are many reasons to love Canada and not that many to hate it. It is the latter that plays the pivotal role in lovability - as evidenced by the counter-example of the US. The US is unloved not because there are no reasons to love it (in fact there are a few), but because there are many good reasons to hate it.
Wojtek