While our American neighbours are busy celebrating their 250th anniversary, Canadians are still left wondering why we can’t seem to define what our own values are except in opposition to those of the United States. Eva Chipiuk discusses this briefly here:
In writing my book, Reconnect to Canada, the most difficult part was not recounting our history or explaining our political and legal systems. It was answering a simple question:
What does it mean to be Canadian?
Over the last few years, I have asked that question repeatedly.
It was clear that something fundamental had shifted, but I could never quite articulate what it was.
The responses to that question were revealing, and most telling was that there was no common answer at all.
Some said hockey. Some said healthcare. Others said diversity or simply that Canadians are “nice”.
The fact that we cannot define our values should concern every one of us.
Then I came across this article, and it put things into perspective:
Socialism, in its depraved but effective way, appeals to people’s worst instincts and impulses. It presents the world as a zero-sum game in which there are winners and losers. It pits groups of people against each other based on arbitrary measures. For the narrow-minded, it makes sense.
It embodies most of the seven deadly sins.
Pride: Socialists have zero humility because they reject the fallibility of humanity. They can micromanage an entire society. They can create a centralized, one-size-fits-all, command-and-control utopia. They know all and know best.
Envy: Taking one’s property because they have too much to give to others who have less is not noble; it is theft. Stealing with state-sanctioned approval is unjust. The sheer resentment that some have more, better, or bigger material possessions is the driving force of socialist ideology.
Wrath: Socialist doctrine fuels anger, rage, violence, and a desire for vengeance against the so-called oppressors. Instead of mimicking the successful, the people turn their ire toward them.
Sloth: Because socialism is about passing the buck and the blame, it excuses idleness and promotes laziness. It allows one to shirk personal duties and retards personal growth.
The uncomfortable truth is that Canada increasingly reflects these traits, yet we refuse to acknowledge it.
We insist we are compassionate while shaming and disparaging those who hold different opinions.
We claim to value equality while encouraging envy.
We preach inclusion while dividing Canadians into competing groups.
We speak of unity while constantly finding new reasons to divide ourselves.
We demand accountability from everyone except the government.
We expect government to solve problems that citizens, families, communities, and free people once solved themselves.
Worst of all, we have become experts at pretending none of this is happening.
We congratulate ourselves on being tolerant, generous, and virtuous while our institutions fail, productivity declines, public debt explodes, trust evaporates, and Canadians become more divided than they have been in decades.
That is not something to celebrate.
It is something to confront.
If Canadians can no longer articulate what it means to be Canadian, perhaps it is because we have abandoned the principles that once defined us: freedom, personal responsibility, hard work, accountability, respect for the rule of law, and service to one another rather than dependence on the state.
You do not need to take my word for it.
Just open your eyes. Look around!
A country does not lose its identity overnight. It loses it one abandoned principle at a time.
A nation without shared values eventually becomes little more than a collection of people living within arbitrary borders.
So if we are going to celebrate Canada today, let us celebrate the principles that made this country worth celebrating in the first place and commit ourselves to restoring them where they have been lost.
