Nurtured Nationalism
Nurtured Nationalism
A separatist friend of mine was bitching at me that Trudeau was a separatist so I re-posted this for him to read…it is actually one of my better posts…
Pierre Trudeau used to be a separatist in his youth. SCANDAL!!! Stop the Presses! Sound the Alarm!
Actually I’m not all that surprised.Many Quebeckers grow up separatists only to come to their senses when they see that Quebec shouldn’t leave Canada on the basis that they are different.I grew up a federalist.
I was raised Italian, Liberal, and federalist. There simply was no alternative. I heard my MP, Alfonso Gagliano, say the same federalist propaganda 3 times but in different languages (by the time he hit language number 3, we could say the speech along with him. Good times Isabella) it was the only viewpoint I understood.
My involvement with politics was brought on by my Canadian History teacher, as it is with most Quebeckers. While most francophone teachers preach separatist propaganda, anglophone teachers would preach federalist propaganda. There is no common history in Quebec because blatant nationalism creates an environment that encourages otherwise.
I was lucky. My mother busted her ass to get me into Lower Canada College, at quite the discount, and I had a great Canadian History teacher. He walked into class, and promptly threw the two history textbooks into the garbage. We sat there wide-eyed; he was also the headmaster of the school. He threw both propagandas in the garbage. We only saw that book again when it was time for the final exam. (96% woohoo!)
We still learned about the Acadian Deportation, the Riel execution, the domination of British society in Quebec through the Quiet Revolution. The Charter was a contested document. Meech was potentially flawed, but it was a solution. We learned both sides of every story. We also had to take on roles in historical simulations to help us learn. As I was an adamant student, (much more in history than in Math class trust me) I had the benefit of taking on three roles.
Lord Durham, the British fool who didn’t know any better so he picked the simplest answer for Canada, assimilation. Canadians, all Canadians, said no to that vision. You mean Anglos had a chance to wipe out French Canadians and preferred not to? Guy Carleton made the same choice in 1774. My friends in French school told me they didn’t know Carleton was British and told me francophones fought for the Quebec Act from the British government. Close. Carleton the Bloke fought for them!
Louis Riel, the innocent victim of French Canada. Quebeckers never forgave les Bleus until the Charter was signed in 1981. Then they were pissed off about something else. Louis Riel is the best example we Canadians have of French Canada, not francophones in Quebec. This country is more than two tracts of lands with a language for each tract.
Antoine-Aimé Dorion, leader of les Rouges, or the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party, back during the days of Confederation. They opposed Confederation because they knew Macdonald wouldn’t respect provincial jurisdiction. (The Ghost of Benoit Pelletier?) I guess the PLQ existed back in the 1860s! I got to see all the sides of Canadian History I had grown up to disagree with. I put myself in their shoes, and I understood their points of view. It allowed me to develop my own arguments. I was no longer a blind federalist.
Most Canadians learn how great this country is after they finish high school. Once they truly discover Canada, they no longer wish to see its demise. Pierre Trudeau’s most famous writing, and my personal favorite, is about when he is canoeing alone in the Northwest Territories. Word that he used to be a separatist actually makes even more sense now. That epiphany that entered his head as he paddled down that river solidified the views he would carry throughout his entire life.
Being a separatist at 16 or 18 is not a horrible thing. Many of us are enveloped in a nationalist vision because it brings hope and we don’t have the mental capacity to think of all the factors. Our lives have yet to be shaped by events which will develop our ideas. (To Mark Holland, that’s why vote 16 sucks)
Until I went to Ottawa to join a national program with Canadians from coast to coast to coast, I always thought of myself as Italian first then Canadian. I grew up in the ghetto, woptown as I so lovingly call it. Pride to be Italian coursed through my veins more than pride to be Canadian. Meeting people from across Canada helped me develop that Canadian pride. We weren’t all that different. All Canadians, despite language barriers, are actually quite the same.
National symbols are there to reinforce that. They tell us that we share the same citizenship that binds to each other. Some take that nationalism too far and make citizen turn against each other. That is taking it to the extreme and is quite dangerous. However, some national symbols are there simply to remind us we all share the same citizenship.
When Canada wins a hockey game, does it matter where the players come from? Is there a more Canadian moment than the 1987 Canada Cup clinching goal Gretzky to Lemieux?
Is Antoine drinking a Cappucino Glacé any different in Quebec than Anthony drinking an Ice Cappucino in Newfoundland? Not really.
I doubt Pierre Trudeau was thinking about hockey or Timmies as he paddled that day, but he passionately felt bound to this great country. It is that calm sense of belonging that has developed into Canadian nationalism. Would we Canadians do it any other way?
A separatist friend of mine was bitching at me that Trudeau was a separatist so I re-posted this for him to read…it is actually one of my better posts…
Pierre Trudeau used to be a separatist in his youth. SCANDAL!!! Stop the Presses! Sound the Alarm!
Actually I’m not all that surprised.Many Quebeckers grow up separatists only to come to their senses when they see that Quebec shouldn’t leave Canada on the basis that they are different.I grew up a federalist.
I was raised Italian, Liberal, and federalist. There simply was no alternative. I heard my MP, Alfonso Gagliano, say the same federalist propaganda 3 times but in different languages (by the time he hit language number 3, we could say the speech along with him. Good times Isabella) it was the only viewpoint I understood.
My involvement with politics was brought on by my Canadian History teacher, as it is with most Quebeckers. While most francophone teachers preach separatist propaganda, anglophone teachers would preach federalist propaganda. There is no common history in Quebec because blatant nationalism creates an environment that encourages otherwise.
I was lucky. My mother busted her ass to get me into Lower Canada College, at quite the discount, and I had a great Canadian History teacher. He walked into class, and promptly threw the two history textbooks into the garbage. We sat there wide-eyed; he was also the headmaster of the school. He threw both propagandas in the garbage. We only saw that book again when it was time for the final exam. (96% woohoo!)
We still learned about the Acadian Deportation, the Riel execution, the domination of British society in Quebec through the Quiet Revolution. The Charter was a contested document. Meech was potentially flawed, but it was a solution. We learned both sides of every story. We also had to take on roles in historical simulations to help us learn. As I was an adamant student, (much more in history than in Math class trust me) I had the benefit of taking on three roles.
Lord Durham, the British fool who didn’t know any better so he picked the simplest answer for Canada, assimilation. Canadians, all Canadians, said no to that vision. You mean Anglos had a chance to wipe out French Canadians and preferred not to? Guy Carleton made the same choice in 1774. My friends in French school told me they didn’t know Carleton was British and told me francophones fought for the Quebec Act from the British government. Close. Carleton the Bloke fought for them!
Louis Riel, the innocent victim of French Canada. Quebeckers never forgave les Bleus until the Charter was signed in 1981. Then they were pissed off about something else. Louis Riel is the best example we Canadians have of French Canada, not francophones in Quebec. This country is more than two tracts of lands with a language for each tract.
Antoine-Aimé Dorion, leader of les Rouges, or the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party, back during the days of Confederation. They opposed Confederation because they knew Macdonald wouldn’t respect provincial jurisdiction. (The Ghost of Benoit Pelletier?) I guess the PLQ existed back in the 1860s! I got to see all the sides of Canadian History I had grown up to disagree with. I put myself in their shoes, and I understood their points of view. It allowed me to develop my own arguments. I was no longer a blind federalist.
Most Canadians learn how great this country is after they finish high school. Once they truly discover Canada, they no longer wish to see its demise. Pierre Trudeau’s most famous writing, and my personal favorite, is about when he is canoeing alone in the Northwest Territories. Word that he used to be a separatist actually makes even more sense now. That epiphany that entered his head as he paddled down that river solidified the views he would carry throughout his entire life.
Being a separatist at 16 or 18 is not a horrible thing. Many of us are enveloped in a nationalist vision because it brings hope and we don’t have the mental capacity to think of all the factors. Our lives have yet to be shaped by events which will develop our ideas. (To Mark Holland, that’s why vote 16 sucks)
Until I went to Ottawa to join a national program with Canadians from coast to coast to coast, I always thought of myself as Italian first then Canadian. I grew up in the ghetto, woptown as I so lovingly call it. Pride to be Italian coursed through my veins more than pride to be Canadian. Meeting people from across Canada helped me develop that Canadian pride. We weren’t all that different. All Canadians, despite language barriers, are actually quite the same.
National symbols are there to reinforce that. They tell us that we share the same citizenship that binds to each other. Some take that nationalism too far and make citizen turn against each other. That is taking it to the extreme and is quite dangerous. However, some national symbols are there simply to remind us we all share the same citizenship.
When Canada wins a hockey game, does it matter where the players come from? Is there a more Canadian moment than the 1987 Canada Cup clinching goal Gretzky to Lemieux?
Is Antoine drinking a Cappucino Glacé any different in Quebec than Anthony drinking an Ice Cappucino in Newfoundland? Not really.
I doubt Pierre Trudeau was thinking about hockey or Timmies as he paddled that day, but he passionately felt bound to this great country. It is that calm sense of belonging that has developed into Canadian nationalism. Would we Canadians do it any other way?
par / by Anthony à / at 9:40 a.m.
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