This has been a difficult couple of years for Canadians. First there was COVID and the complexities of an international epidemic: economics on the one hand and the death of vulnerable populations on the other. That was complicated by the occupation of our capital, Ottawa, and the "Freedom" Convoy, which was ultimately connected to international funding and Trump supporters. Eventually the protest that had paralyzed our capital was ended by invoking the Emergencies Act, a legal action that was criticized by many who opposed the government, even if they might have also been impacted negatively by the Convoy. Partisan negativity seemed to balloon, ultimately personified in the visage of Pierre Poilievre, who seems determined to abuse and exploit any minority in his personal quest for power. In the midst of all this we had possible "unmarked graves" discovered at a number of closed "residential schools" where indigenous children had been separated from their roots and re-educated to be part of a Western, capitalist society over the last century and a half. Survivors of those schools speak of abuse and torment and children who "disappeared", presumably who ended up in the graves: mostly due to malnutrition and/or disease, true, but still far away from their families and their parents. The denialist response has just compounded the damage to indigenous peoples, heightening the abuse and the disrespect of the past and firmly setting it in the present.
And yet I remain proud to be Canadian. Because at least he bulk of us are trying to do better. Many of these events and happenings were in the past, and we are making an effort to provide reparations and correct them today. The treatment of indigenous peoples in different part of the world was rarely better than in Canada, and frequently worse: and has often been covered up or ignored. I am proud to see my country facing the darkness of our legacy. Even if it is difficult and there is a loud minority of deniers, I feel that we are moving forward in support of those whom our forefathers abused.
I lived for two over decades in the U.S. in the latter part of the last century. I was married to my ex-wife for much of that in Pennsylvania: before that a student in Chicago, and after that I came out and explored my sexuality in Arkansas. But in so doing I experienced what it was like in American society as both one of the privileged, white, Christian and apparently-straight majority, and what it was like just being gay and having a hidden disability. The contrast was enormous. I witnessed and experienced abuse as I became more part of my community. And it seems to be getting worse rather than better. At the time I left the States I only saw the rumbling of what we see today. The distrust of those who are different and the xenophobia that I saw at the time in the American church has been nurtured and has grown into full-grown hate.
I never became an American citizen. My husband is American, though we live in Canada. We both feel more free to be ourselves and to pursue "life, liberty and happiness" than we did when we lived down south.
Just yesterday, on the last day of Pride month for 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court came out with a decision that makes it legal for businesses and individuals to discriminate against individuals in the LGBTQ community because of their religion. For those who believe they have a religious justification for xenophobia, the American courts now support them. Strangely, this case that was the base for this decision turns out to be fabricated by the religious right (The Guardian, 2023). It was a case that didn't actually exist, and presented no real "harm" to the plaintiff. But the harm was perceived, even though it was generated by those for whom she (apparently) thought she was fighting. Through six years of deliberation, no-one actually checked to see whether the situation actually existed. But in spite of that, the court has decided that religious hate trumps modern civility and tolerance. Which will only give more power to those who want to hate. I do not look forward to hearing how this decision will be tested and pushed over the next few years.
Canada is not perfect. The very fact that Poilievre commands even the percentage of political thought that he does, illustrates that Canada has successfully imported the kind of capitalist, exploitationist, anti-diversity thought that is more characteristic of our Southern neighbour. And fear of the future infects us all. That's what conservatives capitalize on. I hope that being able to see the kinds of politics that are destroying our southern neighbour will give us the confidence to reach out in new directions to make changes to encourage what will come, rather than hiding from it.
And for this year, I will once more celebrate Canada Day with gusto.
No comments:
Post a Comment