Ottawa’s professional football team actually is called the Redblacks and plaid shirts are a sort of national costume. Thanks, eh.
Our prime minister said we were a great country but we could be better and people kind of nodded along like, “yep, fair enough.” That’s what passes for “nationalism” here. I capped off my night by making a donation to my favourite First Nations charitable organization for educational scholarships and community building. We can do better and should do better. Kanata 150+
“Uniformity is neither desirable nor possible in a country the size of Canada. We should not even be able to agree upon the kind of Canadian to choose as a model, let alone persuade most people to emulate it. There are few policies potentially more
disastrous for Canada than to tell all Canadians that they must be alike. There is no such thing as a model or ideal Canadian. What could be more absurd than the concept of an “all-Canadian” boy or girl? A society which emphasizes uniformity is one which creates intolerance and hate. A society which eulogizes the average citizen is one which breeds mediocrity. What the world should be seeking, and what in Canada we must continue to cherish, are not concepts of uniformity but human values: compassion, love, and understanding.”
~ Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Remarks at the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress, October 9, 1971.
I thought you might like it. This is the ethos and world view of my elementary school years. We were taught that the US was a melting pot, but that Canada was a mosaic. That self-image really took root here in the 1970s and has become part of who we like to tell ourselves we are (and mostly do genuinely aspire to be). I remember making mosaics in school and once won a greeting card contest with some sort of multicultural theme; as I am without any artistic ability whatsoever, my skills peaked there at age seven 🙂
Yeah. Growing up in the later years of Trudeau Senior, I always got the impression that he truly believed in doing what was best for Canada. (Granted, he was also arrogant enough to believe that he knew better than anybody else what was best for Canada, and that caused some problems.)
He may not have originally come up with the line about ‘There’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation’, but he actively used it (and did thank the person who came up with it) when pushing to de-criminialize private sexual acts.
Camestros Felapton 
5 responses to “A Canadian Dragon”
Ottawa’s professional football team actually is called the Redblacks and plaid shirts are a sort of national costume. Thanks, eh.
Our prime minister said we were a great country but we could be better and people kind of nodded along like, “yep, fair enough.” That’s what passes for “nationalism” here. I capped off my night by making a donation to my favourite First Nations charitable organization for educational scholarships and community building. We can do better and should do better. Kanata 150+
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“Uniformity is neither desirable nor possible in a country the size of Canada. We should not even be able to agree upon the kind of Canadian to choose as a model, let alone persuade most people to emulate it. There are few policies potentially more
disastrous for Canada than to tell all Canadians that they must be alike. There is no such thing as a model or ideal Canadian. What could be more absurd than the concept of an “all-Canadian” boy or girl? A society which emphasizes uniformity is one which creates intolerance and hate. A society which eulogizes the average citizen is one which breeds mediocrity. What the world should be seeking, and what in Canada we must continue to cherish, are not concepts of uniformity but human values: compassion, love, and understanding.”
~ Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Remarks at the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress, October 9, 1971.
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Oh, very good.
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I thought you might like it. This is the ethos and world view of my elementary school years. We were taught that the US was a melting pot, but that Canada was a mosaic. That self-image really took root here in the 1970s and has become part of who we like to tell ourselves we are (and mostly do genuinely aspire to be). I remember making mosaics in school and once won a greeting card contest with some sort of multicultural theme; as I am without any artistic ability whatsoever, my skills peaked there at age seven 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah. Growing up in the later years of Trudeau Senior, I always got the impression that he truly believed in doing what was best for Canada. (Granted, he was also arrogant enough to believe that he knew better than anybody else what was best for Canada, and that caused some problems.)
He may not have originally come up with the line about ‘There’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation’, but he actively used it (and did thank the person who came up with it) when pushing to de-criminialize private sexual acts.
LikeLiked by 1 person