The beginning of the end for multiculturalism?
Multiculturalism, the great monument of politically correct liberalism, is striking an ironic cord in the province of Quebec this month. It is difficult not to be amused at the public debate over the "reasonable accommodation" of minorities, called by Jean Charest, in Le Belle Provence.
By virtue of their minority status in Canada, Quebecois francophones have defined themselves as victims. They have also greatly benefited from the misguided policies of multiculturalism. Now, the well-oiled Liberal patronage system has come home to roost. The "oppressed" Quebecois are now being challenged as the oppressor by minorities who do not accept the French secular-fundamentalism that has been established in Quebec by enlightened progressives. Undoubtedly, this has struck many in the Quebec nation as completely "unreasonable".
Several instances across Canada have highlighted the problems with promoting multiculturalism. Muslim girls who wear a hijab but want to participate in organized sports that require a uniform have run into safety issues and have been required to remove their headscarves in order to participate.
Instead of properly dealing with it as a safety issue, the self-ordained defenders of minorities immediately spin the non-issue into an argument over racism. In order to demonstrate how well they "tolerate" other cultures, cultural relativists polarize the debate, encourage victimization on one side, and demonize the other.
The veiled voting fiasco is another case in point. Some well-meaning but nonetheless self-righteous groups and individuals were up-in-arms in "defense" of Muslim women's' right to vote while fully concealed in a Burqa. However, as some Muslim groups later explained, there is in fact no problem with female's revealing their identity while in the process of voting.
No doubt due to the politically correct mind control that holds sway over Canadian politics, it just turned out that no one had the courage to ask them to identify themselves in the first place.
Due to its independent immigration policy, Quebec may possibly be an early example of the scaling back of dogmatic multiculturalism in Canada. The militant defense of the French language will now have to be defended, not on the grounds of being an endangered tongue, but rather, on the grounds of being the language of the majority. In other words, Quebec must uphold its culture in the name of pragmatism rather than dogma. Concepts such as the separation of church and state and gender equality, although not universally accepted by all cultures, has to be held up above multicultural considerations and must be accepted by all immigrants and minorities.
Multiculturalism is a bankrupt ideology; by encouraging the creation of "hyphenated" Canadians it only works to alienate minorities, discourage integration and create dependence on government protection. Institutionalized multiculturalism is the greatest barrier to success for newly arrived immigrants. Canadians should not be apologetic about democracy, self-help principles, free-market society, individual rights and its national languages. These are integral building blocks of this successful nation. The quicker they are understood and adopted by immigrants the greater chance they will have at success.
By arbitrarily deciding that a Christmas tree is offensive to non-Christians or that asking a Muslim woman to remove her veil is an act of racism, politically-correct multiculturalists are poisoning the well of cultural exchange. The fact is that Canada does have a culture and values that should be universally complied with by all groups within the nation.
By pitting one culture against another the liberal policy has attempted to reduce Canada into a state of cultural tribalism. Furthermore, by discouraging integration, multiculturalism in Canada is foregoing a great opportunity of reconciling historical differences between ethnic groups.
Instead of encouraging a universal culture for all ethnicities, multiculturalism creates social tension by promoting difference rather than similarities.
By virtue of their minority status in Canada, Quebecois francophones have defined themselves as victims. They have also greatly benefited from the misguided policies of multiculturalism. Now, the well-oiled Liberal patronage system has come home to roost. The "oppressed" Quebecois are now being challenged as the oppressor by minorities who do not accept the French secular-fundamentalism that has been established in Quebec by enlightened progressives. Undoubtedly, this has struck many in the Quebec nation as completely "unreasonable".
Several instances across Canada have highlighted the problems with promoting multiculturalism. Muslim girls who wear a hijab but want to participate in organized sports that require a uniform have run into safety issues and have been required to remove their headscarves in order to participate.
Instead of properly dealing with it as a safety issue, the self-ordained defenders of minorities immediately spin the non-issue into an argument over racism. In order to demonstrate how well they "tolerate" other cultures, cultural relativists polarize the debate, encourage victimization on one side, and demonize the other.
The veiled voting fiasco is another case in point. Some well-meaning but nonetheless self-righteous groups and individuals were up-in-arms in "defense" of Muslim women's' right to vote while fully concealed in a Burqa. However, as some Muslim groups later explained, there is in fact no problem with female's revealing their identity while in the process of voting.
No doubt due to the politically correct mind control that holds sway over Canadian politics, it just turned out that no one had the courage to ask them to identify themselves in the first place.
Due to its independent immigration policy, Quebec may possibly be an early example of the scaling back of dogmatic multiculturalism in Canada. The militant defense of the French language will now have to be defended, not on the grounds of being an endangered tongue, but rather, on the grounds of being the language of the majority. In other words, Quebec must uphold its culture in the name of pragmatism rather than dogma. Concepts such as the separation of church and state and gender equality, although not universally accepted by all cultures, has to be held up above multicultural considerations and must be accepted by all immigrants and minorities.
Multiculturalism is a bankrupt ideology; by encouraging the creation of "hyphenated" Canadians it only works to alienate minorities, discourage integration and create dependence on government protection. Institutionalized multiculturalism is the greatest barrier to success for newly arrived immigrants. Canadians should not be apologetic about democracy, self-help principles, free-market society, individual rights and its national languages. These are integral building blocks of this successful nation. The quicker they are understood and adopted by immigrants the greater chance they will have at success.
By arbitrarily deciding that a Christmas tree is offensive to non-Christians or that asking a Muslim woman to remove her veil is an act of racism, politically-correct multiculturalists are poisoning the well of cultural exchange. The fact is that Canada does have a culture and values that should be universally complied with by all groups within the nation.
By pitting one culture against another the liberal policy has attempted to reduce Canada into a state of cultural tribalism. Furthermore, by discouraging integration, multiculturalism in Canada is foregoing a great opportunity of reconciling historical differences between ethnic groups.
Instead of encouraging a universal culture for all ethnicities, multiculturalism creates social tension by promoting difference rather than similarities.
posted by Cincanadus at
11/17/2007 10:58:00 PM
2 Comments
