Canadians spend a lot of time trying to come up with reasons why they are not like Americans. Or, just as often, why Americans are worse.   Attempting to find a single root cause of the sometimes intense, sometimes subtle anti-Americanism in Canada is a complicated topic which many Canadians have written about at length. Generally, the most commonly held belief is that by vilifying America, Canadians are able to create a collective identity for themselves. Especially in an era where Canadians and Americans are becoming more similar in their lifestyles, language and culture, Canadians tend to focus on what they are not rather than what they are. We are not Americans. Therefore, we are Canadians.  In Canada, anti-Americanism—usually genial, often blithely gratuitous, occasionally vituperative—is a cultural preoccupation bordering on an obsession - particularly in the Canadian media.