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Canadian Love - Why I'm proud to be Canadian

I'm Canadian and I'm damn proud of it. I hope that all Canadians my age feel the same way I do: Proud and honoured to be part of a great nation. Mind you, my patriotism isn't blind (similar to our southern neighbours) and I'm not trying to be egotistical either. I don't think Canada is the most powerful nation, nor the richest, nor the best to live in. My reasons for loving Canada are strictly personal. Of course, I'm the first to admit that Canada has its faults. In fact, I criticize many aspects of Canadian life regularly. To criticize not because I hate Canada, but I do it because I want Canada to be even better than it is now. So, onto the personal reasons why I love being Canadian.

I supposed the number one reason is the unique Canadian identity. What?! You Say? Canada unique? We're nothing but close cousins to the Americans! That's where I tend to disagree. Being Canadian is being that quiet, behaving kid in school who does all his work and can be relied on to do his share. He doesn't seek recognition and he doesn't want to control anything. However, whatever he does, he gets the respect of his peers. Canada can be perceived as quiet and passive, but when there is a need, Canadians are perhaps the most aggressive nation in the world. An easy example is the Canadian military. I complain about the grotesque lack of resources that our military suffers from. Yet, I am still able to compliment that same military on their accomplishments at home and abroad. Our military has the respect of the international community as an efficient, deadly and humanitarian force. I don't think there is any other nation in the world like Canada and that makes us unique. It's definitely not because we say eh.

The second reason I love Canada is that it is so diverse. I'm Chinese, yet I fit in quite well into Canadian culture. If I'm hungry, I can enjoy authentic sushi, have some Egyptian delicacies, or delight at the flaming cheese at a Greek restaurant. One minute I'm in Chinatown, the next I'm in little Italy. Canada is so multicultural; it's sometimes hard to define what ethnicity a Canadian is. I'd just settle for "a Canadian is all ethnicities eh." When I first attended school at the age of six, I was part of a handful of minorities in a predominantly white school. Now, in university, it's a sea of colours. As I write this article at the local teashop, there's a table of students sitting across from me. I see Asians, Europeans, middle-eastern people. How many places do you see that many ethnic races sitting together chatting in a Chinese tea shop? How f**cked would this scene be thirty years ago, or even in some parts of this world today? I hear from my father that in Malaysia, where I was born, the predominantly Malay government openly discriminates against the Chinese minority. This is enough for me to reconsider ever moving back or doing business in Malaysia. In fact, it makes me sick. Sure, I agree that racism and bigotry also exist here in Canada, but the number of bigots and racists are a lot less than other places. Besides, these idiots are nearing the end of their gene pool. Darwinism at its best n'est pas? Being Canadian means I'm part of every culture in Canada because that is the definition of what Canadian culture is.

My final reason why I'm a proud Canadian is simple: There's just no other place I would rather spend the rest of my life. Sure, I'd vacation in Europe, Asia, the Pacific islands, and any other exotic locales, but my heart belongs to Canada. From the coast of Labrador, to the Canadian shield, across the Prairies and over the Rockies, and finally up to the Great White North, I love Canada's natural beauty. I don't care about the harsh winters, since I love snow and I don't care about the hot, muggy summers, since I love the sun. Living in Canada, I get the best of both worlds. On top of natural beauty, I've got free health care, a national pension fund, a monarchy, and a crazed sport that we all love called hockey. You tell me any other nation that has all this and I'll move there (that would have to include maple syrup and crazed, killer beavers).

So these are my three major reasons why I love being Canadian. I have more, but I think these three make my point. I felt the need to write this because I feel a little guilty. I haven't done anything to do Canada proud. I've always wanted to achieve some goal that would make Canada proud of me. In essence, I want to be a great Canadian. I know it's a far-fetched plan, but I'm going to slowly work towards that goal. So by writing this article, I've taken the first step towards that goal. To make public my patriotism and my intentions, I want to be part of something bigger. I want to be part of the next generation of Canadians whose goal is to make Canada an even better nation for it's future generations. In my future, my kids will be writing an article exactly like this one because they'll be Canadian and they'll be damn proud of it eh?

DRAGONCRYPT June 3rd 2002