Raise the Hammer

Bob Innes,

Here are some thoughts of other anglo-saxons on: 'Canadian Identity' and 'Superior Ways' - as you continue to look through the lens of history:

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"...we must quickly learn and earnestly desire to do something never before achieved in Canada; to learn to live together as a people in equality. To be truly Canadian in the 21st century means we must find within ourselves a new tolerance and we must fight a latent desire or need to be racist." ..."Can we fashion an enduring concept of citizenship and identity that will unite the people of this country, separated not only by vast stretches of land, but by language, race, religion and culture?" ~ Sen. Donald Oliver, 1998, The Canadian Essence: Rethinking Canada for the 21st Century Conference.

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"Have Canadian values remained constant since 1970, 1950, 1930, 1890? Are there new values emerging which all Canadians share?"

"Beauty in the Canadian garden comes from the many colours, and sizes, and varieties of the flowers which bloom in it. Ours is not a monoculture, but a pluralistic society." ~ Patrick Boyer, 1998, Opening Remarks: Rethinking Canada for the 21st Century Conference.

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The House of Difference: Cultural Politics and National Identity in Canada ~ Eva Mackey.

"Eva Mackey's The House of Difference is an study of the construction of national identity in Canada. ...Mackey explores techniques whereby Canada's "dominant culture" manages internal diversity for the purposes of creating its own national identity."

"Her analysis challenges the tendency of some critical theorists to emphasize the homogenizing nature of nation-building, and shows that Canada, rather than seeking to expunge or homogenize cultural pluralism, has tended to appropriate it, pressing it into the service of a variegated process of identity construction. ...and she argues that, such appropriation obscures the ongoing hegemony of Canada's dominant culture."

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WHITE: Richard Dyer

"Dyer argues that "white culture" has so established itself as a norm as to become invisible and that "coloured" cultural entities are defined in terms of their differences from the "white". [The Dyer Straits of Whiteness - a critique by Todd M. Kuchta]

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Bob, fears often are nothing more than a misread of a situation - and all that may be required is a good cleaning of the lens, and a re-read of history.

Mahesh P. Butani

Comment edited by Mahesh_P_Butani on 2010-06-18 21:40:46