"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells"

- Dr. Seuss

Wilfred Laurier on Canadian Citizenship.

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes a Canadian and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet a Canadian, and nothing but a Canadian.

There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is a Canadian, but something else also, isn’t a Canadian at all. We have room for but one flag, the Canadian flag…. and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the Canadian people.’

Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier 1907

I couldn’t agree with this more, finally a prominent politician that feels the same way I do about immigration. It’s just a pity he was in office over 100 years ago. We need more politicians like him, men and women who aren’t afraid to speak their mind, who aren’t concerned with bending over backward to every minority and special interest group.

If you want to immigrate to Canada, and become a Canadian citizen, you should do so “in good faith”. Your heart, mind and soul, every faucet must become a Canadian. You must be loyal to Canada, and only Canada.

Canadians in general don’t appreciate nor tolerate discrimination, but it becomes increasingly easy to discriminate when immigrants don’t learn at least one of our official languages, our customs and our laws. When immigrants are ungrateful for what Canada represents, or when one ethnic communities group together in isolation from others. Isolation and an inability to communicate in an official language only slows our growth and divides our nation.

I grow tired of hearing immigrants using language as an excuse for ignorance of our laws, and of immigrant communities wanting special laws and exemptions. I’m sick of hearing immigrants complain about Canada, and tell me how much better their homeland is. If it’s so great, why do you not move back?

People come here to live in one of the greatest nations in the world, to have a higher standard of living or for better opportunities. If you want what Canada offers, you must embrace what has made it great.

Don’t get me wrong, Canadians are proud to have a multicultural nation; a mosaic rather than a melting pot. However, if Canada is to move forward and become a prominent world leader, and we know it can, we must do so united as Canadians. We must consider ourselves to be Canadian. Not French Canadians, Indo-Canadians, Chinese Canadians or African-Canadians. No more hyphens. I think of myself as a Canadian. Not an Anglo-Scottish-German-Russo-French-OnlyGodKnowsWhat-Canadian. I am Canadian, and damn proud. That is what the future of our great nation must be.

Matthew Bleasdale,
(No hyphen) Canadian

"Erasers aren’t for people who make errors, but for people who are willing to correct their mistakes."

- Unknown

12
July

#quote

#inspirational

"Ars longa, vita brevis. Art is long, life is short."

- Unknown.

A lesson in everyday art at the MOA.

I visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia this past weekend. Despite it’s location very near my residence, it was my first visit to this Vancouver jewel. If you appreciate anthropology, history and/or art, I highly recommend it. While it has exhibits from around the globe, the museum’s primary focus is on British Columbian and Canadian First Nations peoples.

I’m a big history buff, and while the First Nations people of Canada have a rich and diverse history, what always strikes me is the art. Simply put, it’s amazing.

Most of us in BC are familiar with First Nations art, it’s everywhere. The beautiful craftsmanship, colours and detail of the totem pole dot this land. Galleries and gift shops are filled with everything from masks, to carving, to prints, to massed produced coasters and t-shirts.

The art influences local graphic and logo design, sports teams uniforms, public mural and sculpture, and even the look of the Olympic Games. It’s a huge commercial industry. Some people feel it has become over used and gimmicky in the Vancouver lower mainland.

However, the art that fascinates me is not what you’d find in a Robson street boutique gallery or an YVR airport gift shop. The First Nations peoples of Canada had an appreciation for art and detail that permeates the mundane and everyday.

The amount of care, craftsmanship, tradition and detail was put into common items that we now take for granted is truly awe-inspiring. We live in a country with strong roots to the European tradition, so it’s easy for some us to slip into a modern euro-centric view of traditional art: paintings, photography, sculptures and etchings, neatly displayed in an almost sterile setting.

The First Nations peoples, however, mixed art with functionality and necessity. Beautiful weaving, beads and embroidery create a palette of colour on mats, baskets, hats, sweaters, parkas, pants, leggings, mittens, shoes and boots. Skilled carvings adorn house posts, simple tools, cutlery, bowls, combs, canoes, kayaks, and even weapons. Some of it tells a story, some a family history, others depicts the natural world around us. One thing all this art shares in common is the time and dedication that would put into crafting everything.

Pablo Picasso once said “art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”. Centuries earlier, the First Nations people took that statement even further and mixed art with the everyday life. What would our world be like if art filled our everyday lives? If aesthetic, quality and craftsmanship were more important than speed, profit and fame? Perhaps here is a valuable lesson for western society, a mindset long forgotten.

Summers Would Never Be The Same …

Do you remember the dawn of the Super Soaker water gun? I sure do. It was the summer of 1990, and friends and I had gathered in the Cul-De-Sac for another water fight. We had the usual arsenal of hydro-weapons: the traditional squirt gun, buckets, water balloons and the garden hose.

Our screams and laughter must have attracted some boys from just down the street, and they came running. Their arrival, however, would change the summer water fight in our neighbourhood forever.

They came armed with the latest in H20 pumping technology. The size of the weapon and it’s neon glow struck us with awe. Surely it was from the future, or at least from a really expensive toy store.

I’m speaking of course, about the original Super Soaker 50. It held more water, and utilized manually pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt guns. It immediately made everything else obsolete. Never again would a dollar store water gun be good enough.

As the sun began to set, we all scrambled home to tell our amazing tale to our parents, and beg them to buy us one. I remember I finally convinced my grandmother to buy me one. She didn’t understand it’s significance, but none-the-less took me to several different malls before we found one (they were all sold out).

Some weeks later of course some rich, spoiled kid, traded up for the Super Soaker 100 - and the water fight arms race was born. Kids today just don’t understand the kind of power that they wield. They don’t remember the way it used to be; tiny little streams in short bursts, traveling only a few feet. Remember kids, with great power, comes great responsibility.

The tradition, puny squirt gun.