Quote:
Originally Posted by Igottago
I don't really see your point. People already share commonalities..people generally want the same things, a safe society to raise their children, opportunity, health, etc. In fact, no culture doesn't want these things. So what are these cultural "differences" that are so extreme that they hurt our society? The food we eat? The clothes we wear? Is someone wearing a turban going to undermine our culture? Is the traditional way that different cultures perform marriages going to affect the fabric of our culture?
According to you multiculturalism doesn't work..so I'm assuming that means we all need to shed our differences and become a singular people, with a singular vision of what Canadian culture is. Who gets to decide what that vision is? You? The Asian population? The First Nations?
Fact is the cultural differences we have are primarily aesthetic differences. Now if you're talkng about muslims wanting to practice muslim law in Canadian courts, I agree, that shouldn't be allowed. But I don't consider that a flaw of multiculturalism, I consider that part of keeping our legal system and religion separate. I'd feel the same way if it was fundamental christians attempting to influence our legal system, which happens all the time as well.
Canada's definition of multiculturalism has worked, compared with the rest of the world. I don't think any country has pulled it off quite as well as us. Are we perfect? No..but we are dealing with our differences a hell of a lot better than any other example I can think of.
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I didn't say it doesn't work. It worked too well. Now we are all "separate but equal" in cultural ghettos. 30 years ago Canada's model was of pluralism: people of different sorts maintaining independent cultural traditions, but living side by side in an integrated society. No reasonable person opposes the right of immigrants to respect their homeland cultures and retain aspects of their pre-Canada lives. Multiculturalism unfortunately has become a way of putting people in narrow categories. The (pick your country, region, religion) - Canadian. Some groups have decided to live in ghettos of their own making, apart from the rest of us.
While living apart temporarily often is a necessary part of the immigration process, if only because of language, ( I know, I deal with it everyday) those who see cultural isolation as a permanent way of life tend to cripple their own possibilities, limit their ability to contribute to Canada, and create impregnable communities in which they can swim in their imported grievances. I know that as well as I was once a volunteer at the quinticential Multiculti-lovefest....Heritage Days in Edmonton (Not sure if there is one of these in Calgary or not). All the pettiness, racism, the "don't let these people in or we'll walk", the "We don't want to be beside these people", having to keep two groups apart to prevent violence, the farce that people were actually sharing other's cultures.....made me want to puke.
The official policy of multiculturalism has produced young (hyphenated) Canadians that neither understand or care for our institutions.
It has made it ok to be prejudgist, racist and bigotted towards one group. WHITE (and male).
It has chipped away at the values and principles of Canada. Those values and priciples that made people want to come here in the first place. These principles and values are what differentiate us from those place that no one in their right mind would migrate to.
So multiculturalism in it's present form needs to be re-thought.