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Vancouver Off-Topic / Current EventsThe off-topic forum for Vancouver, funnies, non-auto centered discussions, WORK SAFE. While the rules are more relaxed here, there are still rules. Please refer to sticky thread in this forum.
Good point! To me, nationalism is pointless and does nothing but cause problems
so no cultural identities? that doesn't sound very diverse.
__________________
Gold is the money of kings;
Silver is the money of gentlemen;
Barter is the money of peasants;
But debt is the money of slaves.
-Norm Franz
so no cultural identities? that doesn't sound very diverse.
You didn't say cultural identity, you said "country" aka national identity.
So the question you ironically asked "why bother being a country" can be put another way "why bother with nationalism". To that I'd say, unironically, I agree!
Now if you want to have a cultural identity, go for it. Just don't expect everyone to have to follow yours if they don't want to. Even if they live in the same country as you. They don't have to, that's what makes less-nationalistic countries so awesome.
and where do cultural identities/differences generally stem from?
__________________
Gold is the money of kings;
Silver is the money of gentlemen;
Barter is the money of peasants;
But debt is the money of slaves.
-Norm Franz
How about: Just be a good person, whether you want to eat at Chinese restaurants or western. Be a good person whether you live in a mansion by yourself, or a shitty condo. Be a good person whether you want to play ice hockey or bandminton or whatever.
Just be good to each other should be the message we send, not "be more Canadian". (ie "be more white") That is so uncanadian .
Maybe it's me, but again, "being good" also involves at least attempting to learn what's Canadian. You don't have to agree with everything(I don't watch hockey, but then again, I don't care about any sport unless you count motorsport) and you can still keep your own identity.
And wouldn't you say that now showing off and not fucking up the economy is part of being good as well?
Both sides have to work together to create harmony.
As for the nationalism bit, it's pretty much taught at every country and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Nothing you can do about it.
and where do cultural identities/differences generally stem from?
Not from the state, unless you want to live in Mainland China
Quote:
Originally Posted by UnknownJinX
Maybe it's me, but again, "being good" also involves at least attempting to learn what's Canadian. You don't have to agree with everything(I don't watch hockey, but then again, I don't care about any sport unless you count motorsport) and you can still keep your own identity.
And wouldn't you say that now showing off and not fucking up the economy is part of being good as well?
Both sides have to work together to create harmony.
As for the nationalism bit, it's pretty much taught at every country and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Nothing you can do about it.
There are plenty of greedy cunt Canadians who will do anything to fuck people over to get ahead. And plenty of them who like to show off their wealth. These are not things that are specific to one country/race/culture/whatever. The housing thing just happens to be an issue now because of sheer volume and the way things are turning out.
People are going to take advantage of their situation, so as much as it sucks other people, how can you ask someone to not buy a big house or whatever out of the kindness of their hearts? Instead, you have to make it harder for them to do so... The system can currently be taken advantage of, so alter the system a bit. All this can be done totally agnostic of culture/nationality/whatever.
As for nationalism, it's just something of an issue for me. I know it's taught everywhere around the world (to varying degrees) but personally I don't agree with it. I don't agree with nationalism or racism, I see everyone as potential equals. I've met enough good people and bad people from all over the world to realize that we really are exactly the same, just that some people like some things, and not others. Whether that's influenced by family, friends, television, or the state, doesn't really matter to me.
It's not about being more 'white'. It's about social cohesion.
By all means, go ahead and read one of the many studies on multiculturalism and social cohesion. It may be surprising (although it really shouldn't be) that trust amongst people is significantly lowered in ethnically diverse regions.
This is true of all ethnicities. All over the world. And it's reason for the self segregation of nearly all ethnic groups in Canada.
Think honestly about it. How segregated are Aboriginal communities? Chinese? East Indian? Once a minority group reaches a certain number, rather than assimilate, they will inevitably cluster. Birds of a feather flock together. Nothing particularly racist about it. It's called 'kin selection'. A natural aspect of human evolution.
The problem with Canadian policy on multiculturalism is that it encourages that segregation. If you read through the multiculturalism act of 1988, it's explicit about accommodating for diverse cultures. Rather than encouraging assimilation, like all other immigration models.
Essentially what's formed is a multitude of small countries in a federal land mass. Low national cohesion. High division.
People can say 'diversity is a strength' as many times as they want. And while it does sound nice, it doesn't correlate with empiracle data. Or even common sense.
Unity is a strength. And in a country comprised of such a number of different ethnic backgrounds, I'd think it as being paramount that we have one thing that all of us can identify with.
__________________
Gold is the money of kings;
Silver is the money of gentlemen;
Barter is the money of peasants;
But debt is the money of slaves.
-Norm Franz