A bit of background…..

About me, that is. I am your typical Canadian guy. 37, white male, born of immigrant parents, college educated, recently married, no children and completely confused when it comes to issues of identity. What I mean by that is, what am I?

I always thought of myself as “Canadian” but lately my idea of what “Canadian” is has changed so many times that I have completely lost it’s meaning.

I thought being “Canadian” was being able to overcome adversity and prosper by hard work. I thought being “Canadian” was being inclusive to all while maintaining a strong sense of conviction through honest, truthful dialogue. I thought being “Canadian” was finding similarities in people, discussing differences and uniting with each other to find the best possible solution.

It would appear, I was mistaken.

Being “Canadian” now seems to mean doing as little as possible and blaming those that have more than yourself for not sharing their wealth with you. Inclusiveness? How? By dividing ourselves on lines of gender, race, language, sexual orientation and geographical location? What conviction is left in our actions? Have we solved any of the “serious issues” we have endlessly debated over the last 30 years? Remember Education? Health Care? Now the environment? Honest and truthful dialogue now means being able to say anything and deny everything, but be sure to be sensitive to people’s “feelings”. Solutions? Good luck, folks! You have to be able to accept all possibilities with an open mind before that happens.

All in all, I have taken a good look at what we have here in Canada and what we’re doing with it and haven’t been overly impressed. I identify better with the politics of other democratic nations and see something that seems to be missing from our system. Primarily, vision & purpose.

Is there anybody else out there that feels this way? I’d sure like to know that I’m not the only one.