Link to the Show / Show Notes
This
edition of Canadian Voices features Andrew Cohen, author and
journalist, speaking on themes from his 2007 book, The Unfinished
Canadian: the People We Are. The talk was originally broadcast on TV
Ontario's Big Ideas programme in November, 2007.
Taking
from his book, the Carleton University journalism professor asks why
Canada is so reluctant to understand and commemorate her
accomplishments, and so content to forget her past. He ponders
questions of national character, and delves into our past and present
in search of our defining national characteristics. He argues that we
are the product of many different forces, including our political
culture of moderation and ambiguity, and that we have a lack of
memory with regards to our history.
Cohen
breaks down Canadaâs identity into different facets â The
Unconscious Canadian
who knows nothing of history; the American Canadian,
who holds onto great myths of national differences; the Casual
Canadian,
who is flippant about the responsibilities of citizenship; and the
Capital Canadian,
who is indifferent about Canadaâs lacklustre capital city.
In
this lecture Cohen argues that our mythology, our jealousy, our
complacency, our apathy, our amnesia, and our moderation are all part
of the unbearable lightness of being Canadian.
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