Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!glee From: glee@cognos.UUCP (Godfrey Lee) Newsgroups: can.general Subject: Re: Canada: one or two cultures? Message-ID: <6651@cognos.UUCP> Date: 24 Jul 89 15:31:11 GMT References: <615662921.9256@myrias.uucp> <568@UALTAVM.BITNET> <609@philmtl.philips.ca> <964@auvax.AthabascaU.CA> <2875@yunexus.UUCP> Reply-To: glee@cognos.UUCP (Godfrey Lee) Distribution: can Organization: Cognos Inc., Ottawa, Canada Lines: 31 In article <2875@yunexus.UUCP> tony@yunexus.UUCP (Tony Wallis) writes: >... charlesv@cs.AthabascaU.CA (Charles van Duren) writes: >>Charles van Duren (Canadian, not Dutch-Canadian) > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >Tony Wallis (Canadian, not -Canadian) I have been in Canada for 21 years, and yes, I did take out citizenship as soon as I could. I have always viewed myself since then as a full citizen of Canada, and in domestic and foreign policy matters, taken what I feel is a Canadian stand (don't ask me what I would do if I was asked to serve in the armed forces if Canada is at war with China, not a fair question, and probably an outdated one at that). However, I have a lot of trouble with people who say that Canadian is Canadian, and not some Canadian with ethnic ties. This seems to be what the United States avocates, the so called melting pot. I fully support the multi-culturalism policy of Canada. I believe that it helps to educate the population about the diversity of people in the country, and helps prevent prejudice. It probably also helps ease the English-French tension, though there are many political factors involved here, many times I feel that it is not so much a cultural clash as it is a power struggle. Perhaps the white majority can be cavalier about being Canadian and not -Canadian, but when your skin colour marks you as something different, I would think that you want the society to accept difference as part of the societal-norm, instead of sameness as the norm. Think about that! -- Godfrey Lee P.O. Box 9707 Cognos Incorporated 3755 Riverside Dr. VOICE: (613) 738-1338 x3802 FAX: (613) 738-0002 Ottawa, Ontario UUCP: uunet!mitel!sce!cognos!glee CANADA K1G 3Z4