[electricbuford]

A little something from Souvenir of Canada by Douglas Copeland published in 2002 . the following is directly quoted from page 131 and titled - Young Country :

On July, 1,2002,Canada will be 135 , the same age that the united States was in 1911. People who know about U.S. history confirm that the Americans of 1911 had a very sketchy view of themselves as a nation.Civil war amputees still walked the streets,and the hatred and resentments of that gothically bloody war still poisoned the common debate.Quebec separatism mercifully pales in comparison .The two world wars had yet to rouse the the united States from it's isolationisim,and the twentieth-century dream apparatus of TV and film had yet to manufacture and reinforce the American mythic canon .

This is a long way of saying that Canada is a staggeringly young country,and we really ought to be easier on ourselves than we are.We beat ourselves up trying to define ourselves when,comparitively,we've generated more myth and identity in our short lifespan than many countries ever did before their 135th birthdays.There's only so much national mythology that can be created in 135 years.Relax

An added bonus of being young is that you're not,well,old.So the future still belongs to you -- you can still make your country what you want it to be,and you can protect it from what you don't want it to be.Most countries have permanently locked into their myths and identities,and their time for experimenting is over .

Also,when something happens out there in the world,most nations provide their citizens with a default response,thus sparing them the nuisance of reflection,but Canada has no set of default responses for most situations - except perhaps,for caution .

[RoyalHighlander]

im going to get that from my library and read it, it looks interesting to say the least

[electricbuford]

This is what Douglas Copeland says on the inside jacket of the book :

It's never felt as different to be canadian as it does right now .
Maybe everybody else has changed and
we've remained the same, but I doubt it .
You could call this book a very personal
X-ray of Canada .It's something I want to
hand to visitors and say, " Here. This is what
makes us , us."
Until I wrote it , sure , I felt canadian , but I
didn't quite know why , or how deeply...
which is, I suppose , a very canadian thing .
If you're a Canuck and you read this book,
I hope it can do for you what it did for me---
Make you stop and look and marvel at who
we are, what we have and where we might
be going.
So put down your ookpik , pass the vinegar
and crank up the game ...

[TheDarkCanuck]

I think you give some very good points and I also agree that we are way to hard on ourselves, there's no way to be perfect but realy, we aren't doing bad at all for the amount of time we have been a nation.

[ABSOLUT_SS]

LOL. Somehow the arguement "the South shall rise again" rings a little hollow this time, so I'll save it. Touche.

[ABSOLUT_SS]

Any progress, Buf,? Told ya, black, french, crippled, woman= the key to the vault!

[Rev_Blair]

I dunno SS...Doug seems to be a white hetero-sexual anglo-saxon male and he's been writing classics since the moment first picked up a pen... and being recognised for it. He's even become successful in spite of being from one of those lost generations that come along every twenty years or so, arguably the most lost of those generations to date.

The silly little reverse discrimination argument doen't match here any better than it does any place else. If you are a white male who can't find work, then you best point the finger elsewhere because in redneck terms, "That dog don't hunt."

[ABSOLUT_SS]

Now Rev, that's dirty little debating rule no. 243...take some of what I say out of context, and apply it to a wider arguement. I have no sympathy for white-boy f*ck-ups, just as I have no sympathy for people who use "minority status" to step on others to get ahead professionally. What do you know about immigration policy in this country? What the "globe and mail" tells you? I see & hear how this country runs, sometimes from the inside. Quebec has its own immigration policy & conditions to apply for status. Funny, french-speaking countries, mostly Carribean, former French colonies, are the preffered choice of the dept. of immigration ( l'office de-la- fuck-the-Canadian bastards) in Quebec. Many are black (who cares), some are crippled (who cares). ALL are french-speaking. I ain't that far off, dude!

[ABSOLUT_SS]

...and, for the record I've always had a job, man. Some not so great, but like another poster said somewhere, the beer ALWAYS tasted better after work!

[Rev_Blair]

Grow up SS. Walk into a building...any buiding...and actually count the race, sex and physical disabilities.

We do hae more minorities etc working in government jobs. The government has rules that effectively fight against discrimination so if you belong o a group that tends to be discriminated against it would be a natural place to apply. If privately owned companies enforced the same rules against discriminatory hiring practices then the workforce would be more evenly spread, but privately-owned companies don't generally do that.

[ABSOLUT_SS]

And a friendly "fuck-you" to the grow-up comment, Rev. How's that for maturity? I agree, the Govt. shouldn't preach, they should do, and they do try to set an example for private industry, a noble endeavor, agreed! But what Govt. are you referring to? Almost 30% of the population of Quebec count themselves as "English-as-a-mother-tongue", yet only 2% of the Quebec public service count themselves as "English-as-a-mother-tongue", if they dare! Official racism? Just a little, me thinks. Don't grow up Rev, wake up,...When we fix THIS dirty little secret most Canadians will be better off. Especially the ones in Quebec who feel abandoned by the rest of you self- righteous chest beaters! " Walk into a building, any building" he says, fuck you, says I...

[Rev_Blair]

And a big, "Fuck you," right back at ya SS.

How many anglophones have tried for those government positions? Were they fluently bilingual? Were they qualified? More qualified than those who were hired?

Do the number of francophones working for the Saskatchewan and Alberta governments match those provinces' french-speaking populations?

I don't have the numbers...just wondering if you did.

[IRONMIKE]

Wooah, I thought that we were the only nation with minorities that get systemic preferential treatment. We had some rich old white guys that owned slaves along time ago....what did Canadians do?

Last week I had to try to explain to my 15 year old honor student why, just because he may have the best grades, does not mean that he will get accepted to the college that he is working to go to. Talk about a motivating speech from your father huh?

<< you just keep up the good work and bringing home those 4.0 report cards son, I know that you may not gain entry to ******* college even though your grades are better than other folks that were selected, but you see son, some men owned slaves a long time ago and,...well....someone has to pay (even though our forefathers came here after slavery was abolished). So you see son, we suck because we happen to be white.
Try your hardest son and even if you don't get into a first tier college because of affirmative action. There are lots of second tier colleges you can go to.>>

I respect all folks here but do me a favor. Spare the politically correct crap. People are happy to spout the politically correct line until it stares them in the face.

By the way, I also believe that a person does not have to be a racist to not believe in political correctness. I am NOT a racist my friends.

Mike

[RoyalHighlander]

I dont judge a man by his color, but whats in his heart.. Its pretty easy after talking to a person to see what kind of man he is..Then make a judgemnent..Remeber first impressions are important

[ABSOLUT_SS]

Oh Oh, Rev's talking through his ass again. Here, have a mint asshole....