You've got a lot of vague disdain for the state of Canada, but offer next to nothing when it comes to specific issues. Who is "they," and what culture is it that you perceive "they" have taken from us?
Glide
joined 2 years ago
Right, my anti-nationalism spiels goes both ways. I don't think we should feel a personal sense of shame for the things others who came before us have done. But that lack of personal shame doesn't take away being responsible for the future. I've been advantaged by my forefathers at the loss of others, and that makes me responsible for using that advantage to give back. That is not the same as feeling shame for the circumstances of my birth.
Even outside of politics, I tend to preach a philosophy of accountability, but not blame. Blame is "I should have done better," while accountability is "I can and will do better."
Why do we need a strong, aimless, nationalistic pride to see value in having a strong military? It's a job like any other that provides a service a group of people, in this case the country. To go back to the statistics this thread is discussing, the shift from having "an emotional connection to canada" versus "being attached to Canada as long as it provides a good quality of life" doesn't reflect a population that is completely unwilling to work for the Canadian military. Just one that expects to receive good living for doing so, as they should.
Likewise, I don't think caring about if America takes over should have anything to do with national pride. I don't want to be a part of America for a long list of practical reasons, from the fact they the country doesn't at all share my values, to the complete disregard America seems to have for the fact that Canada is about as diverse as America, and the notion of governing it as one state is about as sensible as governing Florida and California as one state. I don't need to drink the nationalism Kool-aid to recognize that joining America would be a horrible thing.
We should fight tooth and nail for our existence as a country because joining America would be a fucking horrible thing for many of our peoples, not because "hoo rah, Canada!"
And yet, the data you've provided disagrees. 81% of surveyed Canadians either are deeply and emotionally attached to Canada, or are attached to Canada as long as it provides a good standard of living for its citizens. Regardless of how you or Angus Reid attempt to spin that data, it's right in front of you: Canadians are not disgusted with our country.
Because that's simply not true. A country is not its government. Look at literally any revolution in the entirety of human history and that's an obvious fact. The peoples, the cultures, the social norms that give a country the distinct feel that defines what it is survives beyond any given government.
The Canadian government works for, or at least is supposed to work for, Canada. It is not Canada in of itself. I'm so sorry that you feel so disenfranchised that you seem to believe otherwise, but we collectively decide what out country is. No elected official gets to decide it for us.
I'm believe your the one who has missed the point. The data provided is being misinterpreted to suggest that Canadians are in some way disgusted by their country. A closer look at the data reveals that this is not true. They just believe that the state is responsible to them, rather than the other way around. Again, the percentage of people who value their country has not changed much, so it's not "Canada" that anyone is upset with.
I'm not sure why you feel so strongly about attaching your personal value to a national identity. You are more than the piece of dirt you were born on. You don't need to attach your entire conceptualization of self to the happenstance of your birth.
This whole self-loathing thing seems like something you should be looking inward to fix, not something you should be looking to your government to fix for you.
The fact that we've let the CPC continue to maliciously conflate "publically funded" with "state run and managed," while diehard Conservatives nod along, heads firmly positioned beneath the heels of their media conglomerate ogliarchs, is such a gut-wrenching reality.
Jesus christ, I wish Pollievre would put down the fucking fascist playbook. Canada and the CBC are highly rated and respected for journalistic integrity in across respectable sources. And that's the problem: fair and factual reporting threatens the lies constantly put forth by the CPC. But don't worry, once he defunds the CBC, you'll have no choice but to tune in to privately funded news sources, where "truth" is dictated by wealth before facts!
The fact that he's been permitted to get away with lying constantly about the role of the CBC is a perhaps the biggest fucking insult I've had the displeasure of watching Canadians suffer.
Jesus christ, we're still polling on values like nationalistic pride? Don't get me wrong, we're not doing awesome right now, but fervent, aimless pride in the piece of rock I was born on isn't something I value.
Actually, after reading the article: the collective response for "I have a deep emotional attachment to my country" and "I am attached to my country as long as it continues to provide a decent quality of life" was 84% in 1991, and is 81% as of the most recent poll. People are just substantially more inclined to agree with the latter. So we've moved away from blind, fervent nationalism, and instead recognize that the goal of the state should be to provide a good quality of life for it's citizens, and agree that Canada is doing a good job of this.
...fucking good? Nationalism is down, and satisfaction with our country remains the same. This is a win, and it's kind of insulting that the headline, and discussion here, tries to suggest otherwise.
This is a strong list of good things our government has done for the betterment of Canada, and the world. You have drank some uniquely powerful far-right kool-aid to see that list and think there are the reasons "no one gives a shit about the federal government." These are actions that the majority of Canadians are pleased with.
Get off Facebook, or whatever insane echo chamber is leading you to these absurd delusions and try interacting with a variety of people. This imaginary category of "everyone" you have created in your head is a small, tightly-knit, loud minority.
Fuck no, I do not agree with you, and I'm not sure I could disagree with you more. The notion that we're a joke of a country unless we find some insane, nationalistic zeal led by a small circle of ogliarchs is fucking insane.
You certainly have not explained anything beyond showing a vague hatred for the government, and a deeply held belief that they're somehow responsible for killing any sense of a national body. Perhaps you've explained yourself in detail in another conversation, but I was certainly not aware of it.
Maybe I can ask more directly: What do you think makes Canada uniquely Canada? Ignoring the whos, whys and hows, what do you believe we have lost, culturally speaking?