Image by Sterling Stutz
Patriotism is more than standing tall, wearing my red and white and proclaiming to all what a wonderful country Canada is. Patriotism is to truly be proud of the country of which you are a citizen. It means being able to stand in front of a group of people and defend why your country is truly great, that its foreign and domestic policies benefit the people in that country so strongly that they have nothing but pride in calling themselves citizens. To be Canadian in this age means to be proud of the war in Afghanistan, of supporting Israeli Apartheid, of racist and patriarchal laws, to legitimize the historical oppression of First Nations people. There was a time when I believed Canada was the peaceful and noble nation I’d been told of. However, soon after I learnt the Canadian anthem and the difference between “patriot love” and “pastry love” when I was six, I was first exposed to poverty and racism within my own community. I could not understand how such a magnificent nation could allow so many people to live such oppressed lives.
Throughout my life I have slowly been working towards the realization that I am not a patriot. I am not proud of the country in which I reside. I am not proud of its history or its current actions. I feel no pride at the raising of the Canadian flag, nor the singing national anthem. I am not proud to be a Canadian. It is well known Canada is founded upon European heritage, firmly rooted in Catholicism. What is less-widely publicized is its roots in sexism, racism and oppression. If that is what being Canadian is truly about, then I feel no shame at deeming myself unpatriotic.
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