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June 29, 2007
What are we all about, anyway?
Veteran journalist takes another look at Canadian identity, in
its many permutations.
RYAN NADEL
In a country that has become known for its cold weather and quiet
complacency, Andrew Cohen tackles the issue of defining what it
means to be Canadian with both optimism and self-obsession.
Cohen's book The Unfinished Canadian: The People We Are is,
in his own words, an attempt "to ask the pointed questions
that hadn't been asked before."
Cohen, a longtime journalist and veteran commentator on Canadian
national affairs, grew up in Jewish Montreal.
"Where I grew up in Montreal, the consciousness of being Jewish
was acute – we grew up with our faith," said Cohen, who
described himself as observant, but not fervently so. In an interview
with the Independent, Cohen was quick to note that his faith
never conflicted with his national identity. "I can be a good
Canadian and an observant Jew," he said.
This book is his fourth about Canadian matters.
"In my previous books, I tried to ask existential and fundamental
questions about how we see ourselves, and now I'm asking more general
questions about our character," he said.
In true Canadian fashion, the impetus for writing this book was
not a major political event or an internal struggle with identity,
but rather, a hockey game. Cohen describes the event that sparked
this discourse in the introduction to the book and reiterated it
when interviewed.
"When the Canadian women's hockey team destroyed their opponents
at the 2006 Winter Olympics, they were greeted at home not with
congratulations, but with hissing and hand-wringing," he said.
"To me, this illuminated a corner of our character and I began
to think more about what it means to be Canadian."
Cohen's book is formulaic, but not definitive; it is personal in
perspective but far-reaching in its conclusions. Cohen referred
to it as "diagnostic, not prescriptive." He breaks down
the Canadian national psyche into seven neatly defined categories:
the Hybrid Canadian, the Observed Canadian, the Unconscious Canadian,
the American Canadian, the Casual Canadian, the Capital Canadian
and the Chameleon Canadian. In these chapters, Cohen draws on current
events and academic works to construct the groupings.
In the final chapter, he puts forth what he sees as the "Future
Canadian." This is essentially the only section where Cohen
systematically outlines what he sees as the answers to the questions
he raises throughout the book: "How to become a more self-confident,
more accomplished people? How to fashion ourselves to make a new
claim on the 21st first century – or to ensure that we survive
it? Dear Canadians, there are ways. There are always ways."
The title of the book speaks to Cohen's optimism for the future
of Canada. "We are an evolving place, that's why we are unfinished,"
he explained. "We are and always have been a nation that responds
well to our past and our present. All that we are today does not
mean we will be this way tomorrow."
One of the most defining aspects of Canadian culture is multiculturalism,
or the "cult of multiculturalism," as Cohen refers to
it. And, although for Cohen, personally, his Jewish background does
not conflict with his identity as a Canadian, multiculturalism can
challenge national identity "when people see themselves as
only by where they came from, not by where they are," he said.
In Cohen's eyes, the struggle is to create a society in which civic
nationalism triumphs over ethnic identity. "We must ask things
of our constituency not in terms of pragmatism necessarily, but
in terms of pride," he argued.
Cohen adds much fodder to the ongoing national discussion about
ourselves.
"Talking about ourselves is an occupational hazard of being
Canadian. As a journalist for more than 30 years, I've seen the
country from close and far and this book documents these observations,"
he said.
According to Cohen, the Jewish community at large is not at risk
of falling into the pattern of losing its Canadian identity to its
ethnic heritage. "[The Jewish community] has been here long
enough that we've managed to strike a balance between faith and
Canadian identity," he said. The historical presence of anti-Semitism
does not change this for Cohen. "We had an anti-Semitic country,
but we have moved beyond that," he declared. "That's the
glory of the country." He draws a more universal lesson from
this observation: "One of the greatest accomplishments is the
ability to move beyond such things," he said. "We are
enormously pragmatic in evolving."
Ryan Nadel is a Vancouver freelance writer and an editor
at NowPublic.com.
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