Ooo… this is a touchy subject, but some things need to be said - things that apparently aren’t said in school, and things that many hesitate to say for fear of reprisal, ridicule or name calling.

Culture is not just about food, song and dance - it’s goes much much deeper. Culture is a whole set of beliefs, values, customs, ways of interacting with each other, etc. etc.; and it is passed on from parents and teachers to children, and from one generation to the next. Is it generally intertwined with religion, or some kind of spiritual belief, and it evolves, just as nearly everything does…

And there seems to be a kind of “malaise” within our Western Society that seems to be linked with culture - a feeling that things aren’t right, a feeling that maybe we’ve gone astray, for many, it’s a feeling of betrayal, or a feeling that we shouldn’t be that proud of our past and our ancestors anymore; but it’s difficult to pin down, difficult to diagnose…

I’m Canadian, but I think most Americans and Europeans feel the same way since we share similar cultures and political systems - for lack of a better word, let’s call it “the West”. What has been happening over the past 50 years or so in the West is a significant shift in political and social thinking. Here in Canada, it started with Pierre Elliot Trudeau (Trudeau Senior) and his decision to embrace “multiculturalism”, and make it official government policy. The goal was to encourage anyone who emigrated to Canada to “keep their culture” - not to “integrate” as had been the approach in the past. It was based on the belief that all cultures are “valuable”, in the sense that not one culture is inherently “better” than another, and that preserving those different cultures would “enrich” Canada, offer a smorgasbord of different values to pick and choose from, so to speak. This became official Canadian policy in 1971 - I was 27 years old at the time, and frankly, I very open to the idea, having socialized with individuals of many different races/cultures during my university years; so I supported it - even going as far as expressing my support for the way he ran the country in a chance encounter with him (and his two bodyguards) while skiing on the slopes at Camp Fortune, near Ottawa - btw he was a decent skier; his “bodyguards” (on skis as well) had some difficulty keeping up :-). Incidentally, I supported his somewhat left-leaning economic policies as well; he was a very charismatic, engaging, and clever man.

But time passes, things happen, and one grows wiser - I’m now a committed right-winger, and my views on “multiculturalism” have matured as well..

Over the more than ¾ century I’ve been around, I’ve witnessed changes in our society - some good, some not so good…

I started a small business, and that led me to question the government’s economic policies; I became a staunch believer in capitalism (it was not yet a dirty word).

And my views on multiculturalism have changed as well… All through these years, until the end of the 1900’s, I was quite optimistic about the world’s future - I could see steady improvements in race relations, more tolerance - less racism. Yes, there were the occasional complaint about certain groups’ behaviour, and a few minor clashes here and there, especially in cities where some ethnic groups had grown to a point where their neighborhood felt like small versions of their country of origin. And yes, there were the occasional complaint that they were not “integrating” - but let’s not forget, that’s what the government encouraged them to do. But generally, I felt things were getting better. I envisaged a future where the continued growth in international travel and migration would lead to more inter-racial relationships that would eventually result in a fairly uniform medium-brown-skin human race, and racism would just be something you would read about in the history books and on the internet (although I was not so optimistic about our economic future - but that’s a subject to deal with some other time).

But around the turn of the century, things took a turn for the worst (in my opinion). Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, a movement that had been slowly growing in the wings since the advent of multiculturalism, became mainstream. Grumblings among the “New Canadians” about unequal incomes, different treatment, hiring discrimination, etc., etc. grew louder and louder. So, under pressure, the Government and large companies changed their hiring policies focusing on race, gender, and sexual orientation in their hiring policies in order to achieve a “proper” racial and gender mix. Many even hired “Diversity Officers” to ensure this was carried out “equitably”. In some instances, the hiring of white males was put on hold altogether. Smaller companies were encouraged or forced to follow suit. Meritocracy was pushed to the back burner.

This focus on race, gender, and sexual orientation, together with a significant increase in immigration (check out Canada’s Changing Immigration Patterns - The Fraser Institute), led to growing resentment among the population and a rapid deterioration in race relations - one group feeling unfairly labeled as racist, the others feeling entitled to demand “their fair share” in the name of equity, and in the end, never feeling satisfied - but few among the “native populace” dared to complain openly for fear of retaliation, or simply so as not to be labeled as racist; others embraced their “white guilt” as some kind of badge of honor.

At the core of a problem is a failure to differentiate between race and culture. A country can be multi-racial and function very well; but no country can function effectively if it is multicultural - it will eventually tear itself apart. It’s the old saying… You cannot serve two masters!