The Polycultural Traditionalist

 

On March 19, 1998, I thought I was going to die.  Laid out on the floor of a small apartment in the bedroom community of Sangolqui, Ecuador, I was an emaciated wreck without the strength to walk, to even sit up without Herculean strain.  My whole system was succumbing to toxic shock brought on by some intestinal bug I'd picked up at a local eatery. 

 

I was living in Ecuador on a year-abroad program through Trent University; for the first half of the year, we were staying with host families.  My little apartment was on the property of the family I was billeted with.  The mother, a Latina matriarch of the finest tradition, was very concerned and also very frustrated with me; she kept pushing me to drink some traditional concoction of hers, suggesting it would help settle my stomach.  Having done nothing but purge everything in that stomach for nearly 24 hours, I was certainly not inclined to put myself through another bout, this time over some local snake-oil remedy.

 

The mother was doggedly persistent, though and in my weakened state, I eventually relented and drank the mate she offered me.  To my Western experience surprise, the tea worked wonders; it didn't soothe the toxicity I felt coursing through my veins, it did ease the wretching enough for me to see a doctor.  It turned out that I had picked up an e coli bug; a course of antibiotics followed, without which I certainly would have died.

 

This story came back to me this morning as I endured the onslaught of a migraine.  Without hesitation, I consulted my Hong-Kong born mother-in-law for a Chinese traditional remedy to assist.  She produced an oil which I rubbed on my forehead; a couple hours later, the migraine is now gone.

 

Having lived around the world a bit, I've had the great fortune to be exposed to traditional wisdom from a wide variety of cultures.  Through this exposure I've learned that, with every Old Wives' Tale, there is a grain of practicality.  I'm not the first to realize this, either; Big Pharma has been mining the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities for ages.

 

There is a big debate these days in Canada about tradition - whether progress undermines a preference for tradition, whether different customs in proximity inevitably lead to conflict.

 

Social conservatives tend to see multiculturalism as an assault on traditional practice; equally, they see progress as straying from the core practices that define a given culture of society.

 

I see things a bit differently.  Multiculturalism isn't about diluting existing traditions; instead, it's about adding new ones to the mix.  Progress isn't about replacing customs of yore; it's about building upon them and adapting to the needs of the present.

 

We are facing a myriad of problems in our society that the traditions we have build up over the past few centuries are incapable of addressing, on their own.  Reactive healthcare is becoming too expensive; traditional models of training and employment are leaving far too many people without work and without the skills to meet current demand.  Productivity is suffering, family cohesion is suffering, we have a democratic deficit at least as troubling as are our economic woes.

 

In taking firm stances against diversity, we're trying to solve the wrong problem.  We can't dial back society so that it looks as it did a century ago - we have to make what we have work today, possibly even plan for a better society tomorrow.

 

Traditional wisdom will be part of that solution - not just that of "traditional" Canadians, but of all Canadians. 

 

Stigma and the Evolution of Multiculturalism

One of the biggest problems with prejudice in modern society is that we often perceive people as being threatening even if they pose no real danger.

Cara Santa Maria says it far more succinctly than I've been able to; whether it's "separate but equal", "distinct society" or some variant thereof, the underlying principle is the same.  People reject multiculturalism not because, by it's very nature, it can't work.  We reject difference because weren't programmed to handle it.  Everything else is just rationalization for biological instinct.

Here's the best part - we all do it, to some degree or another.  We all stigmatize, though we can all rise above instinct when we do so, consciously.

Yet another common link that binds us all together.

Crystal Clear in Quebec

But not to worry, the minister responsible, Bernard Drainville, assures us: "It will be done humanely."  But of course.  They will not be told to get out in a cruel way, but with care, compassion, or what the minister calls "good old common sense."  It will simply be made clear to these people, as kindly as the occasion permits, that, notwithstanding their years of blameless service, their continued employment is incompatible with Quebec's common values - that their insistence on wearing the yarmulke or the turban, in accordance with the deepest teachings of their faith, has become a source of "tension" and "division" and that for that reason they will have to find other work.

There's a shift happening here that goes far beyond just Quebec.  Intolerance is creeping back in to the mainstreet dialogue and even Parliamentary debate in places ranging from Hungary and Greece to our very own Quebec.

I have to admit - when I wrote "I hate to say it, but I would keep an eye out for a party further to the right of the CPC gaining some presence, too" I was particularly thinking about the inevitable rift forming between hard-right social conservatives and their more electoral-win focused brethren in places like Ontario and Alberta.  It still wouldn't surprise me if some of the muzzled or turfed MLAs take their grievances as a rallying cry, turning some of their supporters against the conservative Party's that were once their home.

The angrier your foundations, the more vindictive becomes your direction.  As perhaps opportunistic politicians add legitimacy to xenophobia for their own gain, the haters of our world gain that much more credibility, plus a broader platform to speak from.  That Party's moving in the right direction, they can say in validated fashion; they just need to go further.

How the rest of us and, in particular, our leaders respond to this trend is of critical importance.  You can't ignore it - like cancer, hatred left unchecked will inevitably spread.  At the same time, you don't want to fuel the fire by creating an "us vs. them" mentality that, as in North Korea, justifies increasingly alarming decisions and actions.

This is where neuropsychology comes in.

For ages we have known, in anecdotal fashion, that courage, altruistic acts, a positive spirit and creativity are great tonics against hatred and intolerance.  Thanks to advances in how we understand emotion, behaviour and the engine that drives them, we've gotten better at influencing mind and the social matrix.  Its up to those who would represent the Canadian Idea - above all, strength through diversity - to borrow from neuromarketing and wage a hearts and minds campaign to counter the dangerous direction Quebec's government is taking.

This isn't a Quebec/ROC thing any more than it's a religious people/ROQ thing - it's a human thing.  Politicians and their policies set the tone of the province in much the same way as different corporate leaders change the entire culture of their companies.  Our ultimate goals are twofold:

1) To inoculate people against hatred and intolerance, reducing their efficacy as a populist tool.  

2) To support those within Quebec who would stand against intolerance, ensuring them the safety needed to raise their voices in opposition without fear of undue reprisal.

The main tool for accomplishing this is the same it has been throughout history - education.  

It's time Canada's leaders take their hand off the fear button and stop oppressing information which challenges them; that merely fuels the problem.

It's time Canadians start holding them to that - not narrow mandates and limited focus, but sustainable leadership.

Get informed, folks; get engaged - because, when we do, we can make a difference.

Stephen Harper - Indian Giver?

"The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian residential schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on aboriginal culture, heritage and language," Harper said.

It was a proud moment for Canada when Stephen Harper stood in the House and apologized for the way First Nations youth were treated - paternalistically, abusively, with no respect for their culture or custom.  I've been up and down the Americas and have seen Aboriginal peoples mistreated and lost because systems of European origin have been imposed upon them.  I don't think you can really grasp how significant an impact such impositions have if you've never been on the receiving end, if you've never lived in a country where your customs aren't the norm.

I'm sure Team Harper has the best intentions with their own attempts to impose Western concepts of property on First Nations.  They're all about capitalism; take away social rules, make profit the singular end goal and everyone will do just fine.  If they need a bit of coaxing to take that system, well, it's just a matter of survival of the fittest.

The road to hell is littered with best intentions; the Residential Schools were created with best intentions in mind, too.  While change is desirable and necessary, it has to be agreed upon by the communities in question; the consequences need to be carefully explored and communicated, too.  Harper and co. think one or two elections - about seven years - ahead; here, they really must think of the impact for seven generations.

We're not in separate canoes on separate rivers; we need to find mutually agreeable ways to move forward together.