1 post tagged “cbc”
When Barak Obama was sworn in, I shared the tears of millions of Americans realizing that finally, we have a leader we can be proud of. As he has managed his first bumpy weeks in office, I was particularly impressed that he was able to gracefully utter the magic words that seem to elude most politicians of lesser stature and confidence. “I’m sorry. I screwed up.” Well, halleluiah! It was almost as moving a moment as him taking the oath of office. With all its problems, the U.S. needs and deserves a sane and smart leader with his ego securely in check.
At the same time, the recent approval of our permanent residency means that we are deepening our roots here in Canada. We are officially landed immigrants here, and will soon apply for citizenship. Canada allows for dual citizenship, so we will have two passports.
When I think about the word “immigrant” and what it means to be an immigrant, I reflect upon the experience of my grandparents coming here from Italy. In a time when airplane trips were a rare luxury, they left friends, family and a familiar language and lifestyle behind forever. My paternal grandfather’s strategy for coping with all of this was a “never look back” attitude. He forbade any family members to speak Italian in his presence. They threw themselves into their new world with intensity. Their passionate love for their country was strikingly at odds with the tight-lipped and entitled descendents of the original New England settlers we lived among. My family didn’t take the privileges and opportunities of being American for granted. They were (and remain) almost religiously patriotic.
By comparison, moving to Canada requires much less adjustment. Our countries speak the same language; eat the same basic diet; and share a long undefended border. I can leave here at a civilized time of morning and be in a meeting in San Francisco by mid-day. Moving here is a less dramatic culture shift than moving from the east coast of the U.S. to the west coast – I can tell you that from experience!
But there’s something special about becoming Canadian. Not being a superpower allows Canada more freedom of thought about what’s going on in the world. The national conversation (and there is a national conversation thanks to the excellent, publicly supported CBC) has a more modest and nuanced tone. There are no real equivalents of Rush Limbaugh (well, maybe in Alberta). The CBC runs serious documentaries with adult language if it’s called for. Canadians are largely secular, which contributes greatly to the national I.Q. There is no identified “moral majority.” There would never be a national outcry over a “wardrobe malfunction.” Most Canadians have seen naked breasts on the public airways and seem unscathed by the experience.
The Canadians I have met, at whatever level of formal education, participate thoughtfully and intelligently in their communities. More than anything, what’s possible to experience here is a sense of belonging – something maybe my grandparents felt when they moved to a younger and more naïve America.
