tcg 无微情以效爱兮，献江南之明珰

如果"表现得稍稍好一点，便会成为全国人物。" 恐怕加拿大全国人民都要成为"全国人物"了。再说，加拿大勋章也不是随便什么人就能得上一枚的。那可是加拿大的最高平民荣誉勋章，用来表彰在各行各业取得杰出成就或做出突出贡献的加拿大人。勋章获得者必须符合"期望有个更好的国家" "desiderantes meliorem patriam"（《希伯来书》11：16）的信条，并不是"只要表现超群"便会立刻得到一块的。

加拿大人是否才能平庸莫兰说了不算，不过这个"平庸"要是换一种说法就比较合适了。比如说，加拿大人从上到下提倡一种以平民化，平常心为特色的政治文化，那是没有错的，而加拿大人要的就是这种平民化色彩。听曾经两任加拿大总理的克里靖讲话很好玩儿，这人嘴稍微有点而歪，说起话来一口一个"you know，you know" 的，和一个平头百姓说话没啥两样儿，一点儿也不拿腔拿调，让人感到很随和，很亲切。现任总理哈柏倒是有点贵族气，但是也不能背离加拿大平民化的政治传统。

那个叫莫兰的英国人自视甚高，来到加拿大还想居高临下，还在戴着有色眼镜看加拿大人，无非还认为加拿大理论上还是英联邦的一个自治领，英国女王还是加拿大的最高统治者。但是，大多数加拿大人并不买英国佬的帐，英国女王访问加拿大，也没有人感到什么皇恩浩荡，受宠若惊。事实上，加拿大人在电视娱乐节目中一直变着法儿嘲弄"尊贵的女王陛下"。比如，为了取得更强烈的喜剧效果，他们会让一个男人扮演女王来搞笑。今年11月份，查尔斯王子和他的妻子卡米拉要来访，虽然加拿大总理办公室宣布，查尔斯来逛一圈儿 "对加拿大人而言是巨大的荣幸"，但是，加拿大人却并不觉得查尔斯有多了不起。听记者采访了一些路人，大部分人表示根本不care查尔斯来不来，有人甚至表示不欢迎，特别对那个由情妇转正的卡米拉更是没有什么好感。

美国人崇拜名人，中国人崇拜名人，加拿大人却不这样。在加拿大出名不容易，出了名也没有什么了不起。没有人把你宠上天，你也不可能像在美国和中国那样借着名气赚大钱。

虽然加拿大的民族性格还在形成之中，但是已经表现出比较鲜明的特色了。要是你比较一下加拿大电视主持人和美国电视主持人，就会发现巨大的差异。美国电视节目主持人的说话的语速要快得多，那眼神大多很锐利，思路敏捷，从长相、打扮到语言风格都很"专业"。而加拿大电视节目主持说话总是慢悠悠的，眼神很柔和，从长相、打扮到语言风格都很家常。不信，你自己去比较一下看看。但是，家常却并不意味着平庸。这反映了加拿大文化和美国文化的本质不同。我相信，那些美国电视节目主持人到了加拿大主持节目恐怕也不得不入乡随俗，改变自己的风格，变得"平庸"一些。

我生活在加拿大，自然会念加拿大的好。美国人强调竞争，而加拿大人则强调享受生活。电视节目主持人说话的语速代表了两个社会的特点。美国是一个讲究速度和效率的社会，而加拿大则是一个节奏缓慢、平和、讲究规则、更富有人情味的社会。有一个笑话说，在十字路口就可以分辨出谁是加拿大人，谁是美国人。看见黄灯踩刹车的准是加拿大人，猛踩油门冲过去的则肯定是美国人；遇到纠纷，美国人靠的是枪，加拿大人则去叫警察；如果塞车了，美国人急得嗷嗷大叫，加拿大人则冲到马路中央维持秩序。这有点绝对化，理想化。实际上，在加拿大的一些大城市，如多伦多，可能比美国人还美国人，都很aggressive，唯一不同的是很少人有枪，这点儿不如美国。

加拿大建国不像美国那样经过流血斗争，而是用和平演变的方式达到的。直到现在，还和英国保持着面子上的上下尊卑关系。加拿大每年还庆祝"维多丽亚" 节，名义上还接受女王委派来的总督。平和、温和、理性是加拿大人的国民特点，这是加拿大的传统。在历史上，加拿大没有驱赶、杀戮印第安人和贩卖黑奴的不光彩历史，对印第安土著人、黑人奴隶和所有少数族裔的态度与政策都比较温和。加拿大是北美也是英帝国中第一个宣布取消奴隶制的国家。加拿大实行多元文化政策，各民族和平相处，关系相对融洽。加拿大人在社会生活中强调秩序。

和别的国家比起来，加拿大的历史的确平淡无奇，没有跌宕起伏、惊心动魄的情节。加拿大历史上没有发生过流血革命和大规模战争。加拿大人爱好和平，喜欢妥协，中庸，得过且过，因此，鼓吹极端主义和战争的人在加拿大没有什么市场。加拿大参加过战争，但是联合国维和部队中总是有加拿大军人的身影。

美国人认为加拿大的"社会主义"养懒了加拿大人，骂加拿大人 CHEAP，POOR AND SLOW，自有他们自己的道理。在美国有一则笑话，说是魔鬼把美国人、加拿大人和犹太人抓到地狱里去了，最先从地狱里出来的是美国人，因为魔鬼要多少钱美国人就给多少钱，而犹太人还在和魔鬼讨价还价，加拿大人则躺在地上等政府来救。因此，很多美国人看不起加拿大，根本不怎么关心加拿大发生了什么。

本人曾在加拿大和美国都教过书，很留心地比较了一下两个国家的学生。我发现，加拿大学生大都非常了解美国，而美国学生对加拿大的了解却非常有限。有一次，我在课上问学生，有没有人知道加拿大的首都在哪个城市？全班学生竟面面相觑，没有一个人能回答出来，让我好生感慨。后来，在和一位教授私下聊天时，我把自己的这个"惊人"发现告诉了她，谁知道这位教授竟然主动承认，她也不知道！还一个劲儿地猜，"是多伦多吗？"，"是温哥华吗？"弄得我很不好意思，连忙告诉她，加拿大的首都太不起眼了，就在一个叫渥太华的小城市。美国人不关心加拿大，美国的电视新闻多以美国国内或本州当地人与事为主，很少报道加拿大的消息。

加拿大的社会制度的确有比较明显的社会主义色彩。但是，这种社会主义并不属于传统的马克思主义，而是受英国费边社会主义和基督教社会主义影响的具有加拿大特色的社会主义。这种社会主义对特权、等级和资本主义制度下的分配不公持较强烈的批评态度。虽然这种社会主义的确会养懒一些人，但是它避免了贫富过分悬殊，一些人陷入绝对贫困。而对大多数加拿大人来说，看病不要钱，失业有救济，退休生活有保障，因此生活在加拿大还是比较踏实的。

Saving thousands while still spending.

Millionaires make up just 2 percent of the population. They get a bad rap during recessions for being wasteful with their money and are frequently used as examples of excess. It's the millionaires that you don't see that you can learn from in times like these. I call them the frugal millionaires and interviewed 70 of them to uncover ways we can all be smarter with money.

Nearly 70 percent of the economy is based on consumer spending. To keep the economy going we need to keep spending but not waste money in the process. This is where the frugal millionaires come in. They've been smart with their money all along and haven't lost it all and had to remake it. These are the kind of people you want to learn from when it comes to spending your money.

Spending philosophy.

Frugal millionaires are unique thinkers when it comes to spending money: 1) they can easily delay their need for gratification when purchasing; 2) they are resourceful in getting what they want by carefully timing their consumer purchases; 3) they make living below their means painless; 4) they don't like wasting anything (especially money); 5) their sense of "self-entitlement" is highly minimized: and 6) spending is OK with them...depending on what they are buying (think: appreciating vs. depreciating assets).

[For more, see, "10 Secrets of Millionaires' Money Management."]

Buying tips.

These millionaires keep more money than they spend, that's why they are rich. Their tactics work for them so they'll work even better for you. Key Point: They don't view shopping as a sport. They shop efficiently and spend their time doing more important things with their lives. Here are their tips that will help you save while spending:

Cars: Buy used (or off lease) fuel-efficient cars, often with "certified pre-owned" warranties. This warranty can be better than a new car, plus the initial depreciation hit is avoided. Drive the car for a long time and never lease it.

Eating Out: Bring half of a meal home to eat later (this also saves the waistline). Eat at happy hours. Bring wine from home and skip dessert. Value food quality over expensive ambience.

Eating In: Eat better and less expensively by cooking at home. Make it a friends and family event. Get your kids involved. Bonus: You can have that extra drink without worrying about getting busted for driving under the influence. Also: buy day-old bread at the best bakery in town and freeze it. Eat oatmeal, because it's the most cost-effective breakfast food. Get a supermarket "club card" and buy food on special. Play the game of trying to see how much of a discount can be saved off the total food bill.

Clothes: When you buy something new donate something used to charity. Buy traditional clothes, but wait for the off-season to acquire them. Go for high quality - not high price. Buy vintage clothing and avoid logo clothing and keep people guessing who the designer might be. Hint: There shouldn't be one!

[For more, read: "Juggling Your Money in the Recession."]

Consumer Electronics: Buy low-end gear that has the basic functionality of the more expensive stuff. Don't be the first to buy new technology. Wait at least one lifecycle so the bugs are worked out. Buy refurbished electronics whenever possible.

Computers: Buy more mainstream computers with proven technology. Select higher capacity hard drives, a decent amount of RAM (the memory that the program runs in) and a cost effective processor. Super fast doesn't always equal super good...unless you are building airplanes or bridges. Laptops are a good compromise between desktops and netbooks. Don't go through the pain of upgrading operating systems on existing computers, it's not time efficient and you will probably go insane trying.

Going green: Being green and frugal go hand-in-hand. Yet frugal millionaires don't readily fall for the trendy green hype machine. They typically buy green if it helps the environment and lowers their costs. They look at the timeframe when a product can pay for itself. They do use compact fluorescent lighting, turn off lights and equipment that isn't being used, monitor AC and heat usage (with programmable thermostats), drive efficiently, live in "right-sized" homes and turn off the water when they aren't brushing their teeth or washing dishes. Because they have trained themselves to not waste money they won't waste anything else either. They get into good habits and keep them going. You can, too.