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I can understand that someone who is in the sunset phase of their life moving to a nicer climate - the bones aren't what they used to be and I get that - Having said that, true red and white canucks wouldn't leave the homeland when the country needs them the most (from their mid twenties until late fifties). Canada has afforded us such wonderful opportunities in this life. I have travelled to many a third world country and we are immensely lucky to be where we are from and I for one want to pay back as much as I can to a nation that stands for what it does and offering us so much in this life. So what that the winter is cold for four months or that you are more apt to live in a smaller house or an apartment.
I agree absolutely and unequivocally with the totality of your post and would never relocate anywhere else on a permanent basis.
Having gone through my life enjoying winters to their fullest with X-country, downhill skiing and snowmobiling for a major portion we are now extending our ability to enjoy longer lives through additional days of more easily performed exercises of golf and swimming during the winter months.
Like yourself we have been well travelled through not having children and being able to take extensive vacations whenever the mood behooved. There is no other place I can think of that I would have preferred to have called my home.
Canada has afforded us the amazing opportunity to attain the wherewithal to support such a lifestyle with virtually no concerns for our healthcare costs, our safety and security, or our emotional well being.
There will be presented to you younger people and your progeny evermore critical challenges and it will fall to you to call up to the bridge on occasion to remind the helmsman that there are shoals ahead, reduced speed is prudent, strict course maintenance imperative, and you will be monitoring his progress on your chart plotter to replace him immediately it becomes apparent he's not up to the task.
I made it clear in my post that I respect that people are different and that the choice to leave one's homeland is a personal choice.. I for one am cut from a very different cloth than you and I think most Canadians are quite frankly.. We wouldn't want to leave our country permanently for another because there is a sense of pride in living here and being a Canadian. Ultimately, if you are working here, pay taxes here and are supporting the economy here than you are supporting your homeland in a fundamentally important way. People with roots in the country that stick with it are truly the bread and butter of any society.
It just so happens you have chosen to root yourself somewhere else and are now a proud American - even your handle is such that you take pride in your new home and honestly as much as I'm happy for you and your family I just could never relate to permanently leaving our great nation for another. There are probably plenty of Americans who feel the same way, even if they had better job or life opportunities in Canada - they have a pride in homeland and want to support it thick and thin and I can relate! As I said before, if everyone in Canada wanted to leave we'd be up s**t creek without a paddle - think of what would be lost. I for one will make a solid and principled choice to stay and support this great land through thick and thin! Is this wrong? I'm in the prime of my life at an age where I can support this nation in the most meaningful way - should I and every Canadian who is of working age leave Canada? What will happen to the country, would you feel any sense of loss for it?
What a judgmental post! Are you serious?
Dude, it's 21st century, people move around! Get over yourself. Life should be interesting and full of adventure and having the opportunity to move and live in different countries and experience different cultures and ways of doing things is one of the best parts of life. This is what makes you a better and more well-rounded person in many ways.
There are thousands of proud Canadians (or Americans or Germans and so on), just like you, who live outside of Canada and are still proud of their homeland (sounds stupid to me, but whatever ).
Who are you to judge, anyway? If you actually moved to a different country and spent some time there, you'd probably never write stupid posts like that.
I agree with both views here. I think it's a good thing to be a patriotic Canadian, and the words "patriotism" and "Canadian" don't go hand in hand enough as they should. I feel I am Canadian first, that's why I like posting more on Canadian boards and do keep up with Canadian news and try to learn about it's history. I may even be moving back. There are some things I like about Canada and some I don't and I have no problems saying them - being pround doesn't mean you can't critique. How else is one supposed to get better? But at the end of the day if Canada went to war, I would be there to defend it.
But I also agree that being proud doesn't mean you can live and experience a different country and culture for a time period - this is one the greatest treasures of life and an opportunity that we have coming from a rich country. Living in another country may not be for everyone but it's a very global world and people move all over the place nowadays, I think there's anything better for tearing down barriers and stereotypes. I would love to live in Asia or Europe for a couple of years if possible.
Also, half of the population of Toronto (my hometown) is from another country originally, does that mean they betrayed their homeland and have no patriotic attachment to it because they are not living in their birthplace? I don't think so. In many cases, it's the opposite. Our very own multicultural policy encourages people in some ways to put their home country ahead of Canada. How in the world can you build a patriotic country with this type of messaging? IMO, I personally don't like nor understand multicultural policies and wish we would encourage people to be Canadian first while retaining their home culture second (like the US or European countries or most other places in the world). This is how the country was built over time and how a soul, identity, patriotism in a nation is better formed, as opposed to being a more pragmatic and less binding place, especially for newcomers.
Last edited by johnathanc; 10-01-2014 at 08:48 AM..
I agree with both views here. I think it's a good thing to be a patriotic Canadian, and the words "patriotism" and "Canadian" don't go hand in hand enough as they should. I feel I am Canadian first, that's why I like posting more on Canadian boards and do keep up with Canadian news and try to learn about it's history. I may even be moving back. There are some things I like about Canada and some I don't and I have no problems saying them - being pround doesn't mean you can't critique. How else is one supposed to get better? But at the end of the day if Canada went to war, I would be there to defend it.
But I also agree that being proud doesn't mean you can live and experience a different country and culture for a time period - this is one the greatest treasures of life and an opportunity that we have coming from a rich country. Living in another country may not be for everyone but it's a very global world and people move all over the place nowadays, I think there's anything better for tearing down barriers and stereotypes. I would love to live in Asia or Europe for a couple of years if possible.
Also, half of the population of Toronto (my hometown) is from another country originally, does that mean they betrayed their homeland and have no patriotic attachment to it because they are not living in their birthplace? I don't think so. In many cases, it's the opposite. Our very own multicultural policy encourages people in some ways to put their home country ahead of Canada. How in the world can you build a patriotic country with this type of messaging? IMO, I personally don't like nor understand multicultural policies and wish we would encourage people to be Canadian first while retaining their home culture second (like the US or European countries or most other places in the world). This is how the country was built over time and how a soul, identity, patriotism in a nation is better formed, as opposed to being a more pragmatic and less binding place, especially for newcomers.
I second that. I've lived in two countries other than Canada and Canada is not necessarily the country I will stay in. But in as far as I have a nationality, it will be Canadian. I admire fusion's dedication to making the place of his birth a better place and I even agree with it. But I think that at least in some instances, having the experience of living in another country, can only help one do that upon return.
I disagree with your evaluation of multiculturalism and from it I would guess that you form part of the majority 'traditional' population. I don't and multiculturalism is what I feel fiercely loyal to about Canada. That I can be most fully myself is what would make me support Canada in as patriotic a way as I can get. The policies of the past that involved not being allowed to speak your mother tongue on the schoolyard without getting beaten for it, or to have second-generation Chinese and German Canadians having their loyalty doubted because Canada was engaged in wars, didn't inspire warm and fuzzy feelings in immigrants about Canada.
It doesn't take away from loyalty to Canada to also have a fellow feeling towards the country of your birth. But if you push the issue, then all feeling towards the new country dissolve. I'm not a parent but I imagine it is the same way you can love two or more children at the same time without it taking away from either one.
I agree with both views here. I think it's a good thing to be a patriotic Canadian, and the words "patriotism" and "Canadian" don't go hand in hand enough as they should. I feel I am Canadian first, that's why I like posting more on Canadian boards and do keep up with Canadian news and try to learn about it's history. I may even be moving back. There are some things I like about Canada and some I don't and I have no problems saying them - being pround doesn't mean you can't critique. How else is one supposed to get better? But at the end of the day if Canada went to war, I would be there to defend it.
But I also agree that being proud doesn't mean you can live and experience a different country and culture for a time period - this is one the greatest treasures of life and an opportunity that we have coming from a rich country. Living in another country may not be for everyone but it's a very global world and people move all over the place nowadays, I think there's anything better for tearing down barriers and stereotypes. I would love to live in Asia or Europe for a couple of years if possible.
Also, half of the population of Toronto (my hometown) is from another country originally, does that mean they betrayed their homeland and have no patriotic attachment to it because they are not living in their birthplace? I don't think so. In many cases, it's the opposite. Our very own multicultural policy encourages people in some ways to put their home country ahead of Canada. How in the world can you build a patriotic country with this type of messaging? IMO, I personally don't like nor understand multicultural policies and wish we would encourage people to be Canadian first while retaining their home culture second (like the US or European countries or most other places in the world). This is how the country was built over time and how a soul, identity, patriotism in a nation is better formed, as opposed to being a more pragmatic and less binding place, especially for newcomers.
It's unfortunate that some people still see international migration as a zero-sum game and a losing proposition for Canada. People move between countries all the time. Some leave Canada, many more come to Canada.
Canada's actually very much on the winning end of the global migration game, so I wouldn't worry too much.
I second that. I've lived in two countries other than Canada and Canada is not necessarily the country I will stay in. But in as far as I have a nationality, it will be Canadian. I admire fusion's dedication to making the place of his birth a better place and I even agree with it. But I think that at least in some instances, having the experience of living in another country, can only help one do that upon return.
I disagree with your evaluation of multiculturalism and from it I would guess that you form part of the majority 'traditional' population. I don't and multiculturalism is what I feel fiercely loyal to about Canada. That I can be most fully myself is what would make me support Canada in as patriotic a way as I can get. The policies of the past that involved not being allowed to speak your mother tongue on the schoolyard without getting beaten for it, or to have second-generation Chinese and German Canadians having their loyalty doubted because Canada was engaged in wars, didn't inspire warm and fuzzy feelings in immigrants about Canada.
It doesn't take away from loyalty to Canada to also have a fellow feeling towards the country of your birth. But if you push the issue, then all feeling towards the new country dissolve. I'm not a parent but I imagine it is the same way you can love two or more children at the same time without it taking away from either one.
I was born in Canada but come from immigrants and qualify as half white and half SE Asian. My parents came to Canada with nothing in their pocket so I'm not really the "traditional" majority. I don't like multiculturalism as a policy because I don't see how it's necessary. It basically exists in all English western nations in some form naturally. I have nothing against people speaking their own languages and practicing customs. I am a part of this world myself. I have many relatives who do their own thing and I don't believe in legislating how people should live. But I just don't think promoting multiculturalism the way Canada does creates a more cohesive nation with a defined culture - there is a tradeoff. Many will not agree with me I'm sure and I respect all reasoned opinions, including yours. And I also can see your point in terms of the reality that people can have multiple loyalities. I know it is natural and expected that a new immigrant will not be fully adjusted to Canadian life and that their offspring will likely be more mainstream. But I just don't see the benefit of the "government" encouraging people to not adopt Canadian norms and lifestyle and to live within their own circles. I'd just like to see a more Canadian first mentality in the country, that's all. I'd like it be something people gravitate towards more.
Last edited by johnathanc; 10-01-2014 at 01:24 PM..
I come from immigrants and qualify as half white and half SE Asian. My parents came to Canada with nothing in their pocket so I'm not really the "traditional" majority. I don't like multiculturalism as a policy because I don't see how it's necessary. It basically exists in all English western nations in some form naturally. I have nothing against people speaking their own languages and practicing customs. I am a part of this world myself. I have many relatives who do their own thing and I don't believe in legislating how people should live. But I just don't think promoting multiculturalism the way Canada does creates a more cohesive nation with a defined culture - there is a tradeoff. Many will not agree with me I'm sure and I respect all reasoned opinions, including yours. And I also can see your point in terms of the reality that people can have multiple loyalities. I know it is natural and expected that a new immigrant will not be fully adjusted to Canadian life and that their offspring will likely be more mainstream. But I just don't see the benefit of the "government" encouraging people to not adopt Canadian norms and lifestyle and to live within their own circles. I'd just like to see a more Canadian first mentality in the country, that's all. I'd like it be something people gravitate towards more.
Thank you for responding. I would have repped you on your previous post despite my quibble with some of it, but I had to spread the rep love around. I'd like to elaborate more on my post and thoughts on multiculturalism but this is a busy day. I will try later.
Thank you for responding. I would have repped you on your previous post despite my quibble with some of it, but I had to spread the rep love around. I'd like to elaborate more on my post and thoughts on multiculturalism but this is a busy day. I will try later.
I'm American and if I was offered a job in Canada, I would be more than happy to take it. I actually trying getting a work visa. I did it because I saw some postings for jobs in Calgary. However, from what I heard, getting a sponsor was not going to be an easy feat. I figured get a visa. I was turned down for the visa.
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Are you serious? 
).