MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE CENSUS

First, a little housekeeping matter:

If you’ve been following the comments portion of the blog you will know that not everyone agrees with me on this census thing. This is as it should be. Discussion is all about the exchange of opinion and I welcome dissenting points of view. That said, however, I would appreciate it if we could avoid becoming too personal in our responses. An open forum needs to feel like a safe place or people will not participate.

If, in the course of discussion, you feel you need to get more personal, please feel free to drop me a note (dan.colborne@gmail.com). I’m sure we can have a loving and respectful disagreement via email, or even meet for coffee if you’re in the Edmonton area, but it’s hard to conduct a personal exchange, in a public forum, with an anonymous contributor.

Now, some things that matter more than the census.

“Anonymous” has raised a couple of interesting points that warrant a little more discussion. First, “Why don't you focus on things that actually matter.” And second, “Do you have a better idea of a country to live in than Canada?”. I’ll take the second first.

I trust my reply made it clear that I am a loyal Canadian, and that there’s nowhere else on earth I’d rather live, but there’s more that should be said. When someone criticizes a government policy, or confronts what they perceive to be a national problem, they are not disparaging the country. If Canada is a great place to live – and it is – it’s largely because so many people have loved it enough to support the things that make it better and oppose the things that don’t. If we fail to recognize this we will marginalize legitimate opinions, and the country will be poorer for it.

In the US, the expression “un-American” was common at one time, and still turns up occasionally. It’s function was to delegitimize opponents and opposing points of view, and to serve notice that those who support these persons or views will be similarly marginalized. I’m sure it occasionally expressed a sincere concern about the motives of some people, but eventually it was used as a tactic against just about anyone who challenged the status quo: preachers, presidents, students, professors, unions, management, entertainers, and politicians of every stripe. Pretty much anyone who was opposed to anything for any reason could be shut down by the charge of un-Americanism.

Our Canadian practice has been similar, but it has its own nuances. In Canada our politicians don’t say an opponent is “un-Canadian”, but rather that they are promoting “American-style” health-care, law enforcement, cultural activity, etc. It then becomes unnecessary to demonstrate how a given proposal is bad. It is enough to know that it’s “not-Canadian”.

And our politicians use the subtle phrase “Canadian values” to imply that their opponent’s values are not Canadian, or they say “Canadians believe”, suggesting that those who don’t believe are somehow less Canadian. To question the loyalty of an opponent, or the essential Canadian-ness of an idea, marginalizes these people and proposals. It excludes them from the discussion and deprives the county of good people and new ideas.

One of the reasons so many politicians in Ottawa are howling so vociferously right now is that the recent political realignment – the Reform/Alliance merging with the Progressive Conservatives to form the new Conservative Party, and the subsequent rise of the Conservatives to power – has resulted in some new voices being heard; voices that have been ignored for decades in Canada. These are the loyal “not-Canadians” who dare to question the value of some things that have been deemed “Canadian values”, and presume to openly doubt some of the things that “Canadians believe”. These voices are disruptive to the status quo, but that’s democracy.

Of course, some good and loyal Canadians fear that recent changes are the beginning of a gale that might scuttle the ship, while other good and loyal Canadians hope they’re the beginning a gale that might empower the ship. And I think both are right because the outcome of a storm is not in the storm. Rough weather will come from time to time no matter what we do, but the secret to sailing is seamanship; a competent crew, that works as a unit, for the welfare of all.

So, all together now...

“...Haul on the bow line”, we sang that melody,

Like all tough sailors do, when they’re far away at sea. – Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream