Four men entered the kitchen one morning. Nothing strange about that of course, but the makeup of this group was. One was an East Asian, one African Canadian, one Caucasian and one Canadian native. Really, this is not a joke! They were bantering back and forth in an easy going manner which was a pleasant thing to see, but there was also a small undercurrent of tension; small enough that it did not create any problem, but you could see it was there.
Although this is a personal opinion, I have observed enough in folks to see what affects them, and it was no different with these fellows. I believe the tension, small as it was had to do with their ethnicity. You see, even though each one was of different background, what they were doing, through their bantering, was finding common ground rather than emphasizing their diversity. They joked about their differences which basically were only physical.
That there were cultural differences was obvious although I found that in this group they were acknowledged and in some way respected but they used those differences to find ways to fit in. This made me think about how in this beautiful country the governing forces loudly and forcefully promote diversity (as opposed to fitting in) in its citizens saying that it shows our character in a light to be envied by the rest of the world; not the increasing division we see.
Although I like the different cultures we have in this country and have had a lot of opportunity to hire, work and interact with many of them, and enjoyed it, there is another side to this coin that we don’t realize or just plain ignore.
Mankind is very fickle! Sorry, but it has to be said. When I look at the world in which we live, I see many more attitudes developing against diversity than for. For example, in the wake of refugee migration in Europe, Germany declared its borders were open to them, but after a million, the resident population is developing a hardness of heart. Most other European neighbors are being anything but welcoming in that they are now closing their borders.
History is also a harsh teacher. In the mid 1900s all nationalities were welcomed in the States until the Second World War started. Then the entire population turned against everyone of German decent followed by Italian and then by the Japanese. Even in Canada we interned the Japanese into camps, stripping them of all rights which our constitution guaranteed. And we treated other ethnic groups with great suspicion and negative attitudes as well, even to the point of turning back a boatload of refugees fleeing the blatant oppression of the Third Reich.
I think that before we jump up and down about the diverse nature of people we should take a sobering look at our history, and then tread carefully, and with a wise outlook learn to live with each new culture that graces our shores.
Rather than celebrate our differences, should we not look at ways to assimilate people into the Canadian culture rather than teach them that their culture is important enough to use their influence through sheer numbers to change the basic tenants of Canada?
Can we learn from each unique culture something that will enhance this country to make it a better place? Absolutely! But in doing so, we have to be careful in that we don’t give away the culture and structure that founded this country.
When my family immigrated in 1953, we strove to identify with the country we had chosen to live in. We always hung on to parts of our birth culture but only if it enhanced those around us. When we celebrated, it was not our difference, but rather that we were accepted into this beautiful country.
Chris Salomons is a retired Red Deer Resident with concerns for the downtrodden