Pride in the Canadian Mosaic
Standing up for the Canadian way
Jesse Beach, Volunteer Staff
No one is going to accuse Canadians of being devout, unabashed nationalists; it’s simply not in our makeup. We are known globally for a variety of impressive conceits and traditions: peacekeeping, generosity, and general, all-round friendliness come to mind, but ardent patriotism? Not likely. Canadians prefer to leave such ostentatious displays of national pride to our southern cousins who, in the single-mindedness that only Americans can accomplish, proudly display the stars and stripes in and around every hotel, motel, and gas station in the country. I suppose we don’t see the point in such displays; it’s obvious where we live after all, why expend the time and energy required to display that fact everywhere? There are also notions that Americans simply have stronger tendencies towards flagrant displays of prominent gaudery than Canadians do, a mere result of a history that has formed the American people into the arrogant, capitalist-loving, red-white-and-blue-wearing stereotype that we all love to hate.
Meanwhile, to a disturbing number of people, the Canadian national identity simply does not exist. Despite our vast history and numerous traditions, Canadians do not identify with their country as strongly as Americans do, resulting in this shortage of devout pride within and for the Canadian nation. For too long we have refused to define ourselves based on what we are, content with limiting our identity to what we are not — Americans.
For too long we have refused to define ourselves based on what we are, content with limiting our identity to what we are not — Americans.
The effects of this are not merely limited to the deficiency of Canadian flag-decorated businesses; this notion resonates throughout our country and culture. From the failure to form a majority government in Ottawa, to the large separatist population in Quebec, and even the lack of support for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers prior to their Grey Cup appearance can all be attributed to a lack of regional or national loyalty.
Is this lack of loyalty the result of a perceived lack of history within our country? Do we feel that the Americans, who fought for the right to govern their own nation, have more to take pride in than our own rise to power, which was little more than a business deal within the safe seclusion of Charlottetown?
Though these notions are simply not true, Canada has gone through its own periods of war and struggle that ultimately led to Confederation; and I will not debate this aspect of history as it should not serve as the sole basis for national pride. If one is to have a basis for an ardent display of nationalism, it should not be built on supposed tendencies towards flagrant gaudery or lack thereof, but on current beliefs and values that make a nation great. It is in this respect, of morals and values, that Canadians should take pride in, reinforcing their loyalty to a nation that sets a global example in terms of cultural, religious, and ethnic preservation.
Canada has been described as having a “cultural mosaic”; that is, the co-existence of all ethnic, religious, and cultural groups within our society. The term “cultural mosaic” was first used by Scottish-Canadian writer John Murray Gibbon who, in 1938, introduced his work the Canadian Mosaic which, clearly pessimistic of the American immigration policy, promoted and commended Canadian society for its progressive thinking.
The cultural mosaic concept was developed as an ideal of multiculturalism, allowing members of all cultures and ethnicities to identify with being Canadian citizens, while at the same time still retaining their own distinctive culture, language and religion. By having the largest per capita immigration rate in the world, Canada has become the leader in multicultural policy, showing continual support and commitment for the development and promotion of its diverse society.
The Canadian policy of the mosaic was developed in contrast of the American melting-pot theory of immigration. The melting-pot theory, developed in the United States, is the theory that people of different cultures, religions, and ethnicities, when living in a homogeneous society, will combine to form a single, multi-ethnic culture. This cultural theory has been criticized as being an attempt to force immigrants and their descendants to cut ties with their cultures of origin and assimilate into the American way of life.
Canadians have rejected this depraved theory of assimilation and, in doing so, have created a strong base for internal pride and national recognition. Canadians may not be known for grandiose, devout displays of nationalism. And we may lag behind, way behind, in the exhibition of our national flag. But when it comes to true patriotism, in the actually belief and maintenance in what we believe to be the greatest nation on earth, Canadians are second to none. In our development of the Canadian mosaic, we have imprinted our display of nationalism into the very fabric of our culture.
Therefore, you won’t see as many Canadian flags as American ones. Nor will you find as many business names manipulated to fit the word “Canada” within them. But in the development of our multicultural society, Canada has created the largest display of nationalism in the world, something not even the United States, in all their tendencies towards the ostentatious, can top.
Jesse Beach is a fourth-year English student.
