Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Proud to be Canadian


An Australian Definition of a Canadian - Written by an Australian Dentist

You probably missed it in the local news, but there was a report that someone in Pakistan had advertised in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed a Canadian - any Canadian.

An Australian dentist wrote the following editorial to help define what a Canadian is, so they would know one when they found one.

A Canadian can be English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. A Canadian can be Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, Arab, Pakistani or Afghan.

A Canadian may also be a Cree, Métis, Mohawk, Blackfoot, Sioux, or one of the many other tribes known as native Canadians.

A Canadian's religious beliefs range from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or none. In fact, there are more Muslims in Canada than in Afghanistan. The key difference is that in Canada they are free to worship as each of them chooses. Whether they have a religion or no religion, each Canadian ultimately answers only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

A Canadian lives in one of the most prosperous lands in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which recognize the right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

A Canadian is generous and Canadians have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return. Canadians welcome the best of everything, the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services and the best minds. But they also welcome the least - the oppressed, the outcast and the rejected.

These are the people who built Canada. You can try to kill a Canadian if you must as other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world have tried but in doing so you could just be killing a relative or a neighbour. This is because Canadians are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, can be a Canadian.

Texto: Alguien me lo envió por e-mail.
Foto: Atardecer cerca de Victoriaville, Quebec

5 comments:

A Cuban In London said...

Excelente pieza, Al. Gracias por compartirla y me parece que tiene mucho que ver con tu espiritu de vivir en Canada.

Saludos desde Londres.

Rosa said...

You are right to be proud!
Siempre oí decir que Canadá era muy especial, esto que compartes con nosotros lo explica perfectamente. Que suerte la tuya amigo! Saludos desde Asturias, mucho más "cerradita", aunque por supuesto mucho menos que de donde venimos, thanks goodness!

Rosa

Al Godar said...

Recuerdo cuando me dieron mi residencia hace mucho tiempo, salí emocionado a compartir con los canadienses. Me metí en un café y sólo pude ver chinos, Koreanos, rusos, haitianos, italianos, etc. Habia como 20 personas en aquel Donkin Donuts y todos éramos extranjeros...
No obstante, compartimos una forma candiense de ver las cosas. Somos vecinos, socios comerciales y amigos de los americanos, pero nos dejamos arrastrar mucho por algunas ideas americanas. Hay dinero a montones en Canada, pero hay menos obsesion por el dinero que en muchos otros lados. Siempre nos estiramos para tratar de ser los primeros, pero no nos jactamos mucho de ello.
Creo que realmente Canada es un buen lugar para vivir y criar a los hijos.
Y si no fuera por el frio...
Saludos,
Al Godar

Belkis Cuza-Malé said...

Viva Canada!!!!, Algodar.

Amo Canada.

Dios bendiga esa tierra de libertad!,

Belkis
www.Belkiscuzamale.blogspot.com

Betty said...

multicultural, nature-surrounded, lovely people...

la primera aproximación que tuve, en detalle, a la vida en Canadá fue hace un montón de años, siguiendo las Olimpiadas de Invierno de Calgary desde Moscú, y resultaba un país encantador, lleno de color y naturaleza.

Tienes razón Al, es un buen país para vivir, y lo mejor es estar a gusto con el lugar en que se vive...saludos