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We Canadians pride ourselves on knowing Americans more intimately than any other people in the world. But it may be time to ask ourselves the question: How well do we really understand what worries Americans and what motivates their policies?

Most of us feel we need no coaching about America because 90 percent of us live within 160 kilometers of the US border; we are their best customers and vice versa; we mesmerize ourselves with American TV daily; we drive their cars; and we watch and admire their movies, their baseball, football and, yes, even NASCAR racing.

More intimately, many of us have relatives or friends in the US. In my case, which is not unusual, my sister and brother were both born in the US, and my friend and wife (same person) was born in Canada of American parents. And we, like millions of Canadians, travel frequently to the US.

In fact, we returned a few days ago from the longest visit we've ever made to the US, nearly a month in South Carolina. The trip was revealing, especially because we count ourselves among those who think they know America and Americans well. We got some surprises.

For a start, spending time in America helped us to understand that the all-consuming issue in the US is how vulnerable Americans still feel 17 months after the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. The spontaneous friendliness to strangers, one of the trademarks of Americans, continues to be part of their daily routine. But just below the surface you sense the anxiety. You hear it on the talk shows, read it in letters to the editors and hear it in quiet chats over lunch or dinner.

The new state-of-alert program run from Washington adds to the general feeling of unease. And then there are the long convoys of military trucks and equipment moving over the major highways towards airports for shipment, eventually, to the Persian Gulf. A country that is reminded of terror and war at every switch of the dial and turn of the head is an anxious country. And there is no doubt this anxiety explains much about US policy and the preoccupations of the president.

The president, as you might expect, evokes strong feelings, both for and against. Yet many Americans who don't support him on Iraq and feel he is an illegitimate president, because his victory in 2000 was so narrow, applaud his tenacity and leadership qualities. Most Democrats agree that he has performed extremely competently.

George W. Bush displays many other qualities the world admires in Americans. One is their openness about what they do and say. Surely, no one can mistake what George W. Bush stands for. His message is clear. And while foreigners, including Canadians, often deride his messianic tone, his strong religious convictions are something most Americans share. Unlike most Canadians or Britons, for a majority of Americans religious beliefs play an important part of every day life.

Idealism is another laudable American trait that the president echoes in every speech he makes. He and the American people put a high premium on "life and liberty," especially liberty. And clearly one of the motivations for the policy of regime change in Iraq is the belief that if "life and liberty" could be restored there, it could become a model for other Middle Eastern countries.

Bush's Iraq policies, to be sure, are provoking strong opposition that is visible in the streets of the US and shouted from the university communities, the labour unions and, of course, Hollywood. But nothing has interfered with the high standard and wide range of views heard in the debate about terrorism and Iraq on American radio and TV.

On this score, it is sad to say for a Canadian, but National Public Radio (NPR) and its TV cousin, PBS, are more independent and far more resourceful and professional than our CBC radio and TV. The private TV networks, too, contribute much to the discussion. In short, the determination of the American media to let every view be heard and every piece of evidence be debated remains a remarkable example to the rest of us.

While straightforwardness, idealism, sincere religious belief and making sure there is a full debate on contentious policies don't assure that the policies are right, these remain a few of the attractive attributes of America today, even as it agonizes through one of the most trying periods in the last 50 years.

In the rush to criticize, Canadians sometimes talk as if America should be more like the gentler, kinder Canada. But Americans are no more like Canadians than Canadians are like Americans. And that is not likely to change.

And, finally, in the rush to criticize, we often forget that we have much to learn from Americans and still more to learn about them.

James Ferrabee welcomes comment on this column at jferrabee@irpp.org