What does it mean to be Canadian?
“I can be proud of Ryan Reynolds.”
“It’s a country that I’m proud of saying I’m from when I’m travelling. People say they like Canada, but not America.”
“It’s having a shared, peaceful, nice way of interacting with others.”
“Being better than Americans.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/how-canada-is-perceived-around-the-world-1.3132343
Upon asking several friends and family members there appeared to be a common theme; Canadians are perceived to be generally nice, polite and down-to-earth people both internationally and locally. However, when asked about Americans most of those answers changed to highlight all of the differences between ‘them’ and ‘us’.
“I like that I am proud to wear a Canadian flag when I travel. People always tell me they love Canadians, and that they’re glad I’m not American.”
American Exceptionalism is the idea that America’s history, political system and actions are unique. It is the widespread belief held by Americans that their country will act differently than other countries, and carries with it a strong sense of pride and unwavering nationalism. Sounds close-minded, right? How can an entire country have such an unwavering pride in spite of how they handle immigration and refugees, racist tirades from their president, and the general distaste other nations have in regard to them?
In response to American Exceptionalism, the US’s northern neighbours formed Canadian Exceptionalism. This held the idea that Canadians were everything that American’s weren’t– Canadian immigration policies are always less racist than the States. If an entire nation is taught the same story then they will inevitably start to believe it. In the past Canada has held immigration policies that were more racist and exclusive than that of the States; but you probably wouldn’t have learned about that in school.
It is incredibly easy to use othering to elevate one’s own status at the expense of unknown, mass populations. Anyone can use exceptionalism as a lens to critique another’s culture without applying critical thinking to question how our own worldviews and experiences shape our opinions. When discussing the Nacirema case our group shared that our original impression of the customs were that they were alien, inhumane and primitive. We were using our own gaze to compare where the Naciremas were different than our own rituals, and different was associated with being less. This thought process was further illustrated with the dangers of a Single Story. When an entire opinion is based off of only one viewpoint it can be extremely damaging.
This can be seen with Orientalism and The East vs. The West. The idea that the West is full of opportunities while the East is everything that the West isn’t sounds familiar… Myths and worldviews can be used to explain the world around us. They can be tools for preserving cultures and religious traditions, and they can be used as archetypes to illustrate the values held by each culture. They can shape future generations and worldviews, and they can be used to further distance oneself from ‘others’..
This was an incredibly useful grouping of resources to shift our perspectives and question what has shaped our opinions, and how they may differ from the opinions of the rest of the global community.
https://www.philosophyforchildren.org/lessonplans/different-perspectives-game/
Lewis, M. W., Wigen, K., Wigen, K. E., & Wigen, K. (1997). The myth of continents : A critique of metageography. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca
Hobsbawm, E., & Ranger, T. (Eds.). (2012). The invention of tradition. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca
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