Unity...Not Diversity is our Strength
Post 64 | Unity, Meritocracy & Respect - the new DEI
Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno
National unity and pride have been weighing on my mind.
In a recent fit of melancholy, I recalled days when we rose for the national anthem before a movie at the theatre and when it played around midnight on television before giving way to the rainbow test pattern.
Quiet and respectful patriotism provided a reliable backdrop to life. We embraced the concept of Canada being a cultural mosaic as taught in grade school and readily accepted hyphenated Canadianism, because people celebrated their cultural heritage while also grateful and proud of being Canadian.
Indeed, all was not perfect as the English/French tensions from which we were forged have always dominated national angst; western disaffection has been an undercurrent, often in response to what’s seen as an Ontario-centric national agenda; and our east coast has had ongoing economic challenges leading to grudging dependency on the federal purse. None of this is a surprise, given significant regional differences and a federated structure with considerable provincial autonomy. But despite our squabbles it has always felt like this country was more than just a place where we happened to all live, and where a pulse of Canadiana ran through it.
Until recently.
Our national disunity is more palpable than ever - recently seen in shameful displays on our streets and campuses, and vitriol in the digital public square. It is no longer singular issues that rise briefly then fade and they are not particularly regional; rather an ongoing litany of grievances, outrage, protests and dissatisfaction from nearly every quarter on matters domestic and foreign. It now seems more divides than unites us.
The question of how we got here is at once complex and simple. While it can’t all be laid at the feet of our current PM, he bears enormous responsibility for gathering the tinder, lighting the match and stoking the flames of our current national fracturing.
Amid the countless areas of policy and worldview where I disagree with Justin Trudeau, his mantra of “Diversity is our strength” tops the bunch - and that is quite a feat given the laundry list I can produce. This grating platitude is regularly intoned in speeches, features prominently in government documentation, has driven the warped DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) movement and permeates the national lexicon. It has provided him cover for political divisiveness that has pulled on threads of race, gender and class to an extent never seen in this country. And it is paving the way for the post-national state he glibly mused about at the start of his tenure.
It is all the opposite of nation-building.
The reality of humanity is that we needn’t look far to find attributes that make us innately different – ethnicity, religion, family background, province, region, education, rural/urban, language, traditions, political affiliations, gender, social views, fiscal tolerance – along with countless other character traits, perspectives and worldviews. Added to that, we are living through a time where identity differences are highlighted and often hijacked - leveraged by political segmentation and amplified by the digital realm.
It is often difficult to see what makes us similar, where we agree and where we might coalesce.
And it is in this environment our government chooses to further exacerbate division by legislating, promoting and constantly talking first about our differences - with diversity is our strength as the battle cry.
Unity First
We should be promoting unity as first principle, while diversity is a by-product with both benefits and challenges, but not an end in itself.
Human nature will always see us gather in subgroups – family, friends, religion, neighbourhoods, clubs, ethnicities, cultures, sports and whatever else provides familiarity, comfort and comradery. Meanwhile we Canadians, by and large, also appreciate the differences that provide texture and richness to the country.
But what else can unite a country beyond these tribal groupings if not common identity of nationhood?
What is a trait we all share? What ultimately can bind us together - other than being proud Canadians?
National identity has always been evasive for Canadians who have struggled with its definition, often lazily using the US as a foil – “Well, we’re not Americans”. But life needn’t distill everything to a motto - and for many, just being Canadian has always sufficed. Even so, we have an unsteady relationship with patriotism in this country.
With diversity now placed at the forefront of the national conversation, it just further highlights divisions and makes our search for national unity more fraught. Trudeau’s reference to diversity is sometimes followed by a version of “and that’s what makes us stronger and united” but it reeks of inauthenticity and relegates unity as a possible outcome rather than a guiding force. Add to this his penchant for backhandedly qualifying our history at every turn – ah yes, Canada is diverse and wonderful, if not for being post-national, polluting, genocidal and racist - and we have a wounded country with national identity in shambles.
Once we see the back end of this poisonous character, we can reinvigorate foundational national unity with a change in policy and tone.
The divisive DEI policies that now permeate our government and academia must be cauterized and peeled back. They have been almost wholly harmful - serving to highlight differences, create synthetic social constructs, kill meritocracy and cause social friction rather than encourage unity and harmony.
Our immigration policy must be tamed to respect not only economic, sovereign and workforce realities, but recognize the planning and attention needed around thoughtful cultural integration.
We require a major reduction and recalibration of our fattened federal ministries many which cater to identity and regional subgroups - increasing division, imbalance and resentment.
And we need to pull back from the nationalization of our lives through runaway universal programs and subsidies, in favour of encouraging independent strong citizens less beholden to government.
We generally need less policy and not more, giving our country space to rediscover its natural patterns and cohesiveness without government legislating how we should feel and behave. Yes there will be differences, sometimes acute, just as there are in any family or relationship. But until government started laying their hands on the scales through overt social re-engineering we were doing just fine - surely much better than today.
As for tone - I would never have predicted one person could cause such national distress in nine years and it points to the power of the bully pulpit as much as policy in this instance.
A strong Canadian Prime Minister and patriotic Governor General will again set a simple and resonant tone that begins and ends with respect and pride for our country – played on repeat and without caveats. This will emphasize unity rather than diversity, meritocracy rather than forced equity and respect for a Canada the large majority of us have always loved.
Unity, Meritocracy and Respect (UMR) - not DEI.
National unity cannot be conjured any more than love can, but a good leader can again set the conditions for strong national identity and unity to thrive. The rest will be up to us.
Stay tuned and stay pragmatic.
Well thought through and well written. Thank you.
Now is time to turn the page on Justin Trudeau's... 'Diversity is our Strength'... as nothing more than a breathy oxymoronic platitude turned into a political slogan.