What is Canada and being Canadian mean to you?

[Barney Google]

With Canada's 150 Anniversary coming up...

What does Canada mean to you?

What does being a Canadian mean to you?

Here's a funny take that some might enjoy...

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/968217667954/

Edited to add:

The intent is to share positive thoughts and opinions.

Not a Canada or Canadian bashing thread, goodness knows we have enough of those.

[What_the]

What's not in the ugly thread

[Barney Google]

I am hoping to have this thread be a place where folks can post some positive things about being Canadian and Canada.

[What_the]

Sorry, that's just what being Canadian means to me.
Ill refrain from negativity.

[gman313]

it means that a surprisingly high number of children live in poverty

[techrtr]

To me being Canadian means having a holier than thou attitude and thinking we're better than everyone else in the world. It means propagating stereotypes that aren't the least bit accurate, but only if they cast us in a positive light. It means not taking care of the environment, but beating our chests and proclaiming to the world that we are stewards of the land and a shining light of environmental protectionism for all the world to follow. Being Canadian also means believing that we're humble and polite - we aren't. We might have been 40 years ago, but we aren't any more.

When it comes right down to it, we're no better and no worse than anyone else in the world. There are good people and there are bad people everywhere and Canada is no exception.

[jimmy4321]

There's too much good to this country to list and there's always room for improvement.

[Barney Google]

Maybe this is generational...not knowing for sure.

I'm Canadian born from grassroots Alberta stock. Father a WWII navel officer who went on to do great things as a

professional and mother who was of prairie farm heritage both born at the tail end of the Depression.

Each in their own way were very forward thinking and doing people.

It is from them and our years as a family living and growing up abroad that I look at Canada and Canadians from.

To that I add my own life experiences.

Sure we as a country and people have our faults...that's to be expected. And yes our once beloved Canadian reputation

as Peace Keepers and global chancellors is tarnished...and badly, I'm sorry to say. There are terrible things that have gone

on and still persist within our borders that we should be ashamed of...our treatment of our Nation's Indigenous People,

persistent homeless, child poverty, inaccessibility of clean water and food for some, etc....this is all shameless.

Canadians need to own these atrocities and work together to mend, fix and address them.

I'm Canadian, and for me, that means being an optimist, even when I'd rather be repugnantly pessimistic.

What I am proud of is that while we have our many faults we have much to be proud of too.

We as a people are not a complacent lot. In my life experiences I have witnessed Canadians stepping forward to lend a hand

when others have stood by and watched. We are generally a Nation of do-ers not just talkers.

When there's work to be done to help others we are often in the dirt and mud helping to get the job done.

Weather it's here at home with offers to help with sandbagging or off in the World helping to build roads or schools or homes.

We Canadians, for the most part, are a helpful lot. We are also a rather reflective analytical lot too. Canadians have the

heartwarming ability to quietly, most of the time...lol, listen and HEAR an opposing view and then respectfully, sorry,

very passionately disagree...standing up on our hind legs defending our stance. And then, pushing all the bluster away,

throw our arms over the shoulders of those we are in opposition with an invite to join us to belly up to the bar to

figure out a mutually agreeable solution.

My favourite thing about Canadians is our wicked and twisted sense of humour and our ability to find it in all kinds of

situations most often being the first to laugh at ourselves.

We live in the most beautiful part of the World, IMHO, and are very blessed to be doing so.

What we have as a country and as a Canadians, for me, is much to be cherished.

I'm very proud to be Canadian, and believe me that has been challenged a few times in my life, and I am very proud

of our country and what we have done in the World and what I believe we will and can do in the future.



Maybe some of you have some interesting stories you could share about your experiences being a Canadian.

[jimmy4321]