two australians, a jamaican, a canadian, a mexican and a tibetan monk went skating one night...
... the start of a bad joke, or a night in the life of an igniter?? :)
As a long-time Torontonian, I sometimes take for granted the glorious diversity in my city. I forget that it's not like this everywhere; in fact, there are probably few other places in the world where so many diverse peoples coexist in relative peace. When I was in university we spent much time in my Canadian studies classes debating the pros and cons of Canada's policy of official multiculturalism. Is the Canadian ideal of the "cultural mosiac" (as opposed to America's "melting pot") realistic, does it actually exist, does it engender social cohesion or only perpetuate old tribal/ national antagonisms that immigrants bring with them? Does multiculturalism encourage meaningful cross-cultural engagement, or simply foster a consumeristic appreciation of "food and dance" aspects of culture without addressing the "heavy stuff"--politics, religion, etc.?
So yea, school got me cynical about multiculturalism policy. That's not to say I'm not, like many Torontonians, a cultural consumer. I love that I can eat cuisine from all over the world in this city: wicked papusas and empanadas in Kensington market, spicy tofu stew in Koreatown, pho and dim sum in Chinatown, great Indian food and sushi everywhere, and even Somali, Persian and Ethiopian. I don't think it's necessarily bad to be cultural consumers--it can lead to deeper levels of engagement and understanding, and opportunities to make new friends who don't look or think like me. But building a genuine, active peace across colours and cultures requires hard work and effort, something that "food and dance" notions of culture neglect. I don't know whether an official policy of multiculturalism is an aid or a hindrance to this peace, but I do know that the image of Canada as a multicultural utopia is more myth than reality. As far as racial reconciliation goes, the Church in this city have our work cut out for us.
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:26-28) To borrow Cpt. Geoff Ryan's terminology... I see this passage as prescriptive for the Church, for the simply fact that it is as yet definitely not descriptive.
Well that was a bit of a digression.
But I hope you enjoyed.
It's kettle season in Army land and life is good.
later!
grace
*for the record, our Tibetan friend couldn't make it to skating last night, but we did make two more Mexican friends :)
As a long-time Torontonian, I sometimes take for granted the glorious diversity in my city. I forget that it's not like this everywhere; in fact, there are probably few other places in the world where so many diverse peoples coexist in relative peace. When I was in university we spent much time in my Canadian studies classes debating the pros and cons of Canada's policy of official multiculturalism. Is the Canadian ideal of the "cultural mosiac" (as opposed to America's "melting pot") realistic, does it actually exist, does it engender social cohesion or only perpetuate old tribal/ national antagonisms that immigrants bring with them? Does multiculturalism encourage meaningful cross-cultural engagement, or simply foster a consumeristic appreciation of "food and dance" aspects of culture without addressing the "heavy stuff"--politics, religion, etc.?
So yea, school got me cynical about multiculturalism policy. That's not to say I'm not, like many Torontonians, a cultural consumer. I love that I can eat cuisine from all over the world in this city: wicked papusas and empanadas in Kensington market, spicy tofu stew in Koreatown, pho and dim sum in Chinatown, great Indian food and sushi everywhere, and even Somali, Persian and Ethiopian. I don't think it's necessarily bad to be cultural consumers--it can lead to deeper levels of engagement and understanding, and opportunities to make new friends who don't look or think like me. But building a genuine, active peace across colours and cultures requires hard work and effort, something that "food and dance" notions of culture neglect. I don't know whether an official policy of multiculturalism is an aid or a hindrance to this peace, but I do know that the image of Canada as a multicultural utopia is more myth than reality. As far as racial reconciliation goes, the Church in this city have our work cut out for us.
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:26-28) To borrow Cpt. Geoff Ryan's terminology... I see this passage as prescriptive for the Church, for the simply fact that it is as yet definitely not descriptive.
Well that was a bit of a digression.
But I hope you enjoyed.
It's kettle season in Army land and life is good.
later!
grace
*for the record, our Tibetan friend couldn't make it to skating last night, but we did make two more Mexican friends :)
posted by Ignite at 12:34 PM
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