Saturday, June 30, 2007
chest thumping - Saturday, June 30, 2007
today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park
13C/55F (high 21C), sunny; last day of the first half of the year will be swept away by this steady breeze that took away last night’s fierce thunderstorms and will no doubt bring more of them this afternoon; everything damp, fresh and feeling very alive; Gusta just knows it is another day to drag her coat through tall wet grass
being Canadian, for all of us who are not First Nations descendants, is that of being a newcomer or descendent of a newcomer in this large strange harsh beautiful land; on this cusp, this hinge day, that connects to Canada Day tomorrow – that day when citizenship ought to be front and centre, when flag waving and chest thumping ought to be on everyone’s mind, it is surely not
our southern cousins do that much better (not sure if I mean ‘better’ as much as ‘louder’) than we, not because we don’t love our country, not because we do not have – current and past – Canadians laying down lives and spilling blood for their country – we do, but because we are more inward with our patriotism; we are far more likely to shout out ‘I am Canadian’ in a sing-a-long chorus of a beer commercial than we are to sing our anthem loud enough that our neighbour in the next seat might know we sing off key; Americans celebrate predecessors fighting oppression and unfair taxation to win freedom and independence from Britain; our predecessors were Britain defeating France, then compromising with each other after the fact leaving Canadians with a complex identity . . of English and French, but today the ‘English’ an ‘French’ descendants taken together count less than 50% of Canadians . . . a complex identity, but I like it
the Swiss do this too, I’ve heard; a melting pot that has not melded . . multiple cultures and languages under a single flag in one country; we are larger, more complex and far from neutral though some would argue our identity has been neutered by NAFTA and US network television destroying our cultural identity; yes, our culture is affected and to some degree diluted, but not eradicated; on the world stage our country is young and relatively un-noticed for things that do not connect with our size, natural beauty and enormous natural resources; the world, when it pauses a moment might remember the extraordinary contributions to society in Canada and well beyond our borders of Banting and Best and Douglas and Pearson to name a few; our identity is alive, distinct and symbolized by far more than the CPR, the Confederation Bridge, salmon and polar bears - so many spectacular wonders and great Canadians make for a proud legacy, a great place, a proud people who pretty much tend to keep it to themselves
a recent CBC survey to identify the seven wonders of Canada helped celebrate our unique elements; most are natural occurrences like the Rockies, the prairie sky and Niagara’s falls; Pier 21 in Halifax and the old city in Quebec are iconic symbols of new Canadians arriving, the Canoe and Igloo emblematic of timeless art and innovation – each of them as unique to this country as red surge uniforms and beavers; other wonders of Canada are unique things to see and touch like landscapes, critters and history and maple syrup and the loon and the Canada goose - these things are all found in Canada, about Canada and symptomatic of Canada, but what is ‘being Canadian’?
often we need our newest immigrants to reflect it best for us; freedom like nowhere else, space like nowhere else, sky and water like nowhere else, opportunity like nowhere else; Canadians do battle less than most countries, spend a lot of energy playing referee on the world stage, are generous in terms of helping developing countries and rushing to aid when disasters strike; we don’t always agree, we don’t get it right all the time, but it seems we keep getting it better
in Canada the term ‘chest thumping’ best describes what people do with someone who can’t breathe until the paramedics arrive; tomorrow our country’s citizens celebrates its 140th birthday; this land and its inhabitants have been here for thousands of years, settlers from far and wide for a few hundred now; we are young, we are true, we are north, we are strong, we are free, we ARE Canadian
Mark Kolke
223,848
200.4
Musings need not be a monologue, but to make it a dialogue is dependent upon your responses, which are welcomed - please write me feedback/comments.
To subscribe to Mark's Musings daily email distribution, write to musing@maxcomm.ca
©2007 MaxComm Communications, all rights reserved.
13C/55F (high 21C), sunny; last day of the first half of the year will be swept away by this steady breeze that took away last night’s fierce thunderstorms and will no doubt bring more of them this afternoon; everything damp, fresh and feeling very alive; Gusta just knows it is another day to drag her coat through tall wet grass
being Canadian, for all of us who are not First Nations descendants, is that of being a newcomer or descendent of a newcomer in this large strange harsh beautiful land; on this cusp, this hinge day, that connects to Canada Day tomorrow – that day when citizenship ought to be front and centre, when flag waving and chest thumping ought to be on everyone’s mind, it is surely not
our southern cousins do that much better (not sure if I mean ‘better’ as much as ‘louder’) than we, not because we don’t love our country, not because we do not have – current and past – Canadians laying down lives and spilling blood for their country – we do, but because we are more inward with our patriotism; we are far more likely to shout out ‘I am Canadian’ in a sing-a-long chorus of a beer commercial than we are to sing our anthem loud enough that our neighbour in the next seat might know we sing off key; Americans celebrate predecessors fighting oppression and unfair taxation to win freedom and independence from Britain; our predecessors were Britain defeating France, then compromising with each other after the fact leaving Canadians with a complex identity . . of English and French, but today the ‘English’ an ‘French’ descendants taken together count less than 50% of Canadians . . . a complex identity, but I like it
the Swiss do this too, I’ve heard; a melting pot that has not melded . . multiple cultures and languages under a single flag in one country; we are larger, more complex and far from neutral though some would argue our identity has been neutered by NAFTA and US network television destroying our cultural identity; yes, our culture is affected and to some degree diluted, but not eradicated; on the world stage our country is young and relatively un-noticed for things that do not connect with our size, natural beauty and enormous natural resources; the world, when it pauses a moment might remember the extraordinary contributions to society in Canada and well beyond our borders of Banting and Best and Douglas and Pearson to name a few; our identity is alive, distinct and symbolized by far more than the CPR, the Confederation Bridge, salmon and polar bears - so many spectacular wonders and great Canadians make for a proud legacy, a great place, a proud people who pretty much tend to keep it to themselves
a recent CBC survey to identify the seven wonders of Canada helped celebrate our unique elements; most are natural occurrences like the Rockies, the prairie sky and Niagara’s falls; Pier 21 in Halifax and the old city in Quebec are iconic symbols of new Canadians arriving, the Canoe and Igloo emblematic of timeless art and innovation – each of them as unique to this country as red surge uniforms and beavers; other wonders of Canada are unique things to see and touch like landscapes, critters and history and maple syrup and the loon and the Canada goose - these things are all found in Canada, about Canada and symptomatic of Canada, but what is ‘being Canadian’?
often we need our newest immigrants to reflect it best for us; freedom like nowhere else, space like nowhere else, sky and water like nowhere else, opportunity like nowhere else; Canadians do battle less than most countries, spend a lot of energy playing referee on the world stage, are generous in terms of helping developing countries and rushing to aid when disasters strike; we don’t always agree, we don’t get it right all the time, but it seems we keep getting it better
in Canada the term ‘chest thumping’ best describes what people do with someone who can’t breathe until the paramedics arrive; tomorrow our country’s citizens celebrates its 140th birthday; this land and its inhabitants have been here for thousands of years, settlers from far and wide for a few hundred now; we are young, we are true, we are north, we are strong, we are free, we ARE Canadian
Mark Kolke
223,848
200.4
Musings need not be a monologue, but to make it a dialogue is dependent upon your responses, which are welcomed - please write me feedback/comments.
To subscribe to Mark's Musings daily email distribution, write to musing@maxcomm.ca
©2007 MaxComm Communications, all rights reserved.
