Balancing Act, 4

We pride ourselves at being multicultural. We also pride ourselves in being the best in the world, at multiculturalism, that is. There are certain subjects in which the famous Canadian humility goes right out the window. We are so humble that it has even been agreed that Canadians will deny that they have a culture, just in order to not only integrate people from other cultures into our national fabric, but also because we don't want any feelings to be hurt. How very Canadian. If you step on our foot, we will apologize! I think that we do have a distinctive culture, as Canadians, other than multiculturalism, but it has never had a chance to develop and that could be for the better. When the original French and British settlers arrived there was no Canada, of course. This was a multitude of First Nations all of which were displaced, destroyed or swallowed up by the settler nations. In their respective parts of Canada the French did their thing, and the British did theirs. With Confederation and subsequent evolving independence came the British parliamentary system of government, which remains to this day, along with our system of courts. And our official languages of course: English and French. But before multiculturalism, was there ever a distinct Canadian culture? Something other than an English-French-American variant? Probably not. There are subtle distinctions that identify us, of course: we are polite, reserved, kind, modest, lacklustre, tough and pragmatic, and also quite funny. Passive aggressive, too. Not really much to distinguish us from the British. No problem. This is a new country, a settler culture, and our cultural distinction, including our First Nations, is going to be in our diversity. There is no other way. This country is coming of age during unprecedented globalization and internationalism, and this means that all national cultures are going to be negotiable. What we have to our credit in Canada is that our identity is not bases around race, but around values, such values that can very easily and comfortably be adopted by anyone coming here from Hong Kong, the Philippines, India, Iran, Mexico...to name a few. We are still in utero as a culture, and it is going to take a few years for us even to decide whether our national food should be sushi, pizza or poutine. Here is something else that I wrote in 2001..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... I am acquainted with two individuals from Peru (they don’t know each other.) who help illustrate my position on multiculturalism: Wendy and Sergio. Wendy is ethnically Chinese. She doesn’t speak a single word of Cantonese. In Mandarin she can count up to four. Her family in Peru goes back three generations, at least. Her languages are Spanish and some English. A Chinese-Canadian man, with whom I was learning Spanish, met one day in a cafe with Wendy and me. Steve speaks only English, and a little Spanish. His family has been in Canada for several generations and he speaks about as much Chinese as Wendy. They both seemed quite captivated by each other. Sergio is of Greek and Spanish parentage, but he is no more or less Greek or Spanish than Wendy or Steve are Chinese. Ethnic origins, whether racially visible or not, simply do not matter, though this does present many of us with the challenge of redefining our sense of cultural identity. To an extent we all carry in our beings the burdens and blessings of our ancestors. But now it seems that our sense of self is undergoing some momentous changes. This is where globalization becomes a bit of a problem, and for the simple reason that it’s largely based around trade and commerce, which does nothing to affirm cultural roots and quite a lot to undermine them. On the other hand there is also a growing movement and exchange of peoples, causing in many countries, quite an open exchange and fusion of a huge variety of cultural attributes. So if what we have now is diversity and fusion, then one could say that our sense of self, whoever and wherever we are, is embarking on a huge transition of major historical dimensions. With the technological and information revolution still in its infancy, then what we are currently experiencing is but the beginning of change. There are problems here, especially with the huge emphasis on business, trade and commerce, as well as the cult of individualism. In short, the American Way. It seems to follow then, that globalization is having quite a disruptive effect on communities, and on people’s sense of community. This makes sense, given that, most traditional communities have always been a natural outgrowth of extended families, and networks or villages of such families being held together by common language, traditions, religion and ethnicity. We still have common language, and English is the global tongue of commerce. Religion has been displaced by commerce, and thanks to the increased acceptance of diversity, racism is no longer tolerated. What brings people together here in Canada? That we are all Canadians? What makes us Canadian? And what about our aboriginal peoples, who for thousands of years before there was any Canada, or England, or France, and religious beliefs? What brings us together as Canadians? Certainly language, though between French and English Canadians this has also created bitter divisiveness. Geography? The fact that most Canadians, apart from those fortunate enough to live on the west coast, share in common a harsh and unforgiving climate, is axiomatic. That we are not Americans? Yankee-bashing in Canada is a favourite pastime. Who can resist an easy target? But we, as Pierre Trudeau once said, are like a mouse living next to an elephant. The American hegemony that we commonly experience, especially in the areas of entertainment, mass media and the production and distribution of consumer goods and high tech, justifiably causes many Canadians to feel very nervous and insecure.