I want them toĪppreciate the privileges that living here affords us. Of the world matters more than how we “identify” as Canadians. To understand how things work in Canada and how Canada’s relationship to the rest
When I dig deep, what I really want is for the next generation I will let these things go inįavour of promoting good citizenship within and beyond our national borders. I will bite my tongue when they tell me about something they heard happening “inĪmerica” or if they spell colour without a U. Kids say “Zee” and refer to “the 10 th grade,” but I will get there. It will take me a long time before I stop cringing when my Times: “With great power comes great responsibility.” The most powerful and influential species on the planet. Means understanding my place in the world as a global citizen, as a member of And that’s it, really: how does being Canadian make me a better global citizen?īeing Canadian is important to me because I have a life-longīelief that my country stands up for decency. Recognizing the complexity of the question of Canadian identity, my simple aim here is to come to terms with “Zed vs Zee” in a way that will make me a better person. it’s about balancing unity with inclusion and diversity.it’s about hockey, poutine, and Tim Hortons (which was, ironically, absorbed by American corporate interest).Canadian identity is whatever makes us not American.there is no such thing, really – it’s political, not cultural.Written on the subject, coming to all kinds of conclusions ranging from the Spelling, and there is less and less tolerance for anything in between.Ĭanadians have struggled with their national identity as longĪs the country has been in existence. We opt to leave out the u in colour, neighbour,įavour, humour, and behaviour.The 8 th grade, not from Grade VII to Grade VIII We call the country to the south of us America,.We’ve moved, almost completely, from Zed to Zee.Let’s consider that in my adult lifetime, I have watched the following sweepingĬhanges in the way the Canadians around me speak and write: This is not how I want to beīut in mild self-defence and an effort to find perspective, To these subtle speech and language differences apparently causes me to comeĪcross as stubborn, petty and chauvinistic. To my insistence that Canadians call it Zed and not Zee. More than one of my kids has taken pretty strong exception And when I did finallyĬlue in, I reconciled it by thinking “well, that’s fine if you’re American, but Heck a slogan like “EZ-clean” held any meaning whatsoever. It took most of my childhood years to figure out why the Generations – and please note that I have to write “Gen Zee”, because if I
My kids span the line between the Millennial and Gen Zee How those things proved we were not American. Thus began my sense of Canadian identity,Īnd, as for many of my generation, it was centered on how we talk and spell and Language was French, while in the same show on PBS, the alphabet ended in ZeeĪnd the second language was Spanish. When I watched Sesame Street on CBC, the alphabet ended in Zed and the second I knew the difference between the CBC and PBS, and the difference was simple: I grew up on Sesame Street, Mr Dressup, Mr Rogers and the Friendly That would suggest I don’t feel as old as I think I may actually be. Recently, I have had several conversations with my children
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