The Bed We've Made
To our Canadian security services, our national, provincial and municipal policing agents, we owe a debt of gratitude. For performing in exactly the manner in which they have been charged to do. For safeguarding Canadian citizens and the infrastructure upon which we all depend. For discharging the duties and services which they have been tasked to perform in the protection of our national values which they have sworn to uphold.The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Services, in tandem with government agencies abroad, and with our own municipal police services have informed the public at large that a ring of adults and adolescents have been charged as terrorists on Canadian soil. That those charged are, for the most part, Canadian born or Canadian citizens by virtue of having emigrated to Canada and as such should, by all normal touchstones have a vested interest in good order and governance of this country makes these charges all the more unpalatable.
None of those charged have, presumably, suffered by being a Canadian citizen. The same rights and privileges which are the assured rights of all Canadians devolve upon this group just as well as any other Canadians. That they have chosen not to honour their country, but rather to wreak havoc and terror, to take dramatically harmful actions by which fellow Canadian citizens were likely to be murdered is beyond contempt - or, for that matter, understanding.
What possibly might have driven such young men to betray the society which welcomed and succoured them? It would appear from all the data so far disclosed by the investigators through the media that there is no single unifying cause other than their embrace of a virulent form of Islam. Resentment for a perceived societal (Western) bias against Islam is the motive, the glue that brought these young men from disparate backgrounds together. Under the tutelage of an older man well schooled in the academy of hate and blame they coalesced into a group willing to bring shame to Islam, while under the illusion that they would illuminate and defend Islam by destroying those whom they decry as infidels.
As a country, as a nation, Canada has always prided itself on its inclusiveness, its collective readiness to accept emigrants from a wide variety of countries, religions, idealogies and backgrounds. We encouraged immigrant communities to celebrate their sources, and in the process educate other Canadians to the diversity around us. The kind of assimilation other countries anticipated from their immigrant community was eschewed by the government of Canada, and we felt rather superior about it.
In past decades, of past waves of immigrants who had to blend into the society at large for the simple purpose of surving, of making a new life for themselves, without the assistance of government agencies at various levels, newcomers to the country lived a hardscrabble existence, often aided by charitable groups, but for the main part, resigned to the need to work hard and look after themselves. These immigrants seemed to value their newfound opportunities in their newly-adopted country, became resilient and capable, and joined the mainstream, while retaining those vestiges of their original cultures and memories of their original homeland in perspective.
Now, here we are, in a situation where diverse communities of ethnic origins have divided loyalties and too often bring their grievances to this country with truly deleterious results. Official multiculturalism appears to have been a costly error in many ways, not the least of which is that some new Canadians have the impression that customs and mores which are a part of the Canadian identity which displease them personally should be altered and thus become more acceptable to these groups. Some things should remain non-negotiable, and a country's comfortable ethics of inclusion, customs which reflect the time-honoured expectations and cultural values of the majority population need remain untouched.
A sense of entitlement brought about by the Canadian relaxed attitude toward different cultures' imperatives reflects a kind of arrogance relatively new to the Canadian experience. The majority does rule, particularly if it's a reflection of a country's original majority sharing like values. All the more so when that majority has demonstrated time and again its willingness to extend the courtesy of acceptance of a multi-faith, multi-ethnic community.
Generosity of spirit can sometimes be mistaken as complete surrender of values. The greater the scope of the generosity, the more likely to result in a brewing resentment of the status quo. The result being demands for greater autonomy within the collective; demands for greater restraints on liberties offered to others whose values are not coincidental to the aggrieved groups. Partial assimilation at the very least into the lifestyle, values and imperatives of a host country ensures in the long run equal opportunities for all.
Now we have an untenable situation where tribal, ethnic, community, religious groups long encouraged to celebrate their uniqueness have taken the invitation a step too far. We need to be more like one another, not unlike one another. We need to like one another more, not resent one another increasingly. We need to recognize a common goal, a common interest, a common community-minded destiny.
Instead, we have a small, brutally embittered band of young men determined to bring their noxious version of religious warfare to this country in emulation of what they see occurring elsewhere, in retaliation to what they perceive being enacted against members of their religion.
Passion over reason, self-serving fiction over intelligent introspection.
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, June 04, 2006
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