Irish eyes - Bakersfield.com - More than before.

TORONTO, Canada – It’s a bit of a sport in Canada to watch Americans at war with themselves.

There’s nothing malicious about it: We’re a generally bored and inward-looking bunch, so when our neighbors unleash another full-blown clash over ideology, we’re grateful for the distraction and the front row seat.

Pure entertainment value is part of the attraction — like the congressman who, during a town hall meeting on health care reform, said he refrained from pissing on a protester’s leg for fear of wasting his urine, or Rush Limbaugh huffing and puffing about socialist hordes at the gates.

Laughs aside, the American tendency to treat policy debates as life and death struggles over “the American way of life” reminds many Canadians, rightly or wrongly, of how lucky they are to be living north of the border. It’s hard not to feel civically more evolved when, in some U.S. states, people can legally show up at presidential speeches sporting handguns or assault rifles.

U.S. culture wars, in other words, often reinforce Canada’s national identity.

The latest to have that effect is U.S. President Barack Obama’s attempt to extend health care coverage to the 47 million, mostly working Americans, who can’t afford private medical insurance.

The move has unleashed a ferocious defense of private insurance companies by Americans scandalized at the notion of the government providing its own health insurance as a competing alternative. For Canadians, the debate highlights a key difference between the two countries: In the U.S., health care is a commodity to be bought and sold for profit; in Canada, it’s considered a human right.

Canada’s publicly funded health insurance, known as Medicare, covers all residents. In other words, except for the taxes Canadians pay, the health care they receive is free. They’re also free to choose their family doctor and to get second opinions.

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