How’s That ‘Post-National State’ Thing Working Out?

OpinionSpencerFernando

The failure to promote Western values combined with the idea that all civilizations are the same has done serious damage to Canada, and it’s only going to get worse unless strong steps are taken.

Across much of Western Europe, even many centre-left leaning leaders are beginning to talk about things like deporting people who march in support of the evil actions of Hamas terrorists.

The extent to which a significant number of people living in Western democratic countries turn out to hold views that are a combination of primitive tribalism and the genocidal anti-Semitism of Germany in the 1930’s/1940’s has turned out to be a shock to many.

Watching people march in support of a genocidal terrorist organization has served as a wake up call to many in the West who had mistakenly presumed that the West could demonize the foundations of our own societies, make zero effort to promote Western values, make zero effort to integrate people into the West, and then have everything magically work out fine.

Here in Canada, we are seeing much the same thing.

But in some ways, the situation is worse, because our Prime Minister and federal government are still pushing ahead with the idea of Canada as a ‘post-national state,’ an idea that has been an unmitigated failure.

The vacuum

Turning Canada into a ‘post-national state’ – as Justin Trudeau has repeatedly put it – was based on two main ideas.

First, that there is nothing unique or special about the Western civilization upon which Canada was built.

Second, that in the vacuum created by the absence of any kind of unifying national identity everyone will just get along fine and the vacuum will remain safely unfilled.

Both of those ideas have been proven wrong – and decisively so.

Western civilization is indeed both unique and special. The emphasis on individual rights and freedoms, our right to speak our minds, our right to worship freely, our willingness to stand up for those who are being oppressed by fascist/communist regimes, are all things that many in the West take for granted. Yet, much of the world does not operate this way. And some who came to this country from other nations seem determined to attack the foundations of the West.

And obviously, the vacuum created by the absence of a unifying national identity does not go unfilled. Rather, it is being filled by some of the worst tribalistic impulses and most hateful beliefs from abroad. Virulent anti-Semitism. Opposition to rights for women and sexual minorities. The use of threats and primitive intimidation – rather than debate and democracy – to settle disputes. All of which has no place in a civilized Western society.

So, what is to be done about this?

To start with, we will need to have a long-overdue conversation about immigration, including where people come from and the steps we take to promote Canadian values to newcomers.

Make no mistake, most immigrants very much want Canada to remain a free nation. Many newcomers have significant respect for Western values and want to defend those values, precisely because they left nations where the absence of those values proved so disastrous.

However, watching people march in Canadian cities in support of vile genocidal terrorists, and watching a significant minority of people feel it is somehow appropriate to try and intimidate the Jewish community has shown that too many people who are hostile to Canadian values and Western civilization were let into Canada, and too little was done to explain exactly what Canada is supposed to stand for.

And polling shows a majority of Canadians expect that people should only be allowed in if they are willing to adopt Canadian values:

“Immigrants should only be allowed in Canada if they adopt Canadian values”

Agree: 65% (-)
Disagree: 27% (+1)

Research Co. / October 13, 2023 / n=1000 / Online”

Now, it should not be a surprise that if we are bringing in many people from countries where anti-Semitism runs rampant that those attitudes then also start to run rampant in Canada.

And, it should not be a surprise that the majority of Canadians support Israel, and are disgusted by the loud minority who are trying to spread anti-Semitism. Israel and Canada are both similar in many ways, with free expression, free elections, a robust culture of debate – certainly compared to much of the rest of the world. Israel is by far the most ‘Western’ nation in the Middle East, and it’s both morally and strategically right for Canada to stand by Israel’s side.

Pushing back

If we are to successfully push back against the idea of Canada as a post-national state, we must stop the demonization of the West, stop demonizing Canadian history, and wake up to the fact that if the West falls to tribalism, hate, and primitivism, there is nowhere left in the world that will remain free.

When Justin Trudeau calls Canada a ‘genocidal state,’ when he acts apologetic for Canada all the time, he makes it easier for terrorists and authoritarian states like China and Russia to spread propaganda that undermines our national cohesion and makes it more difficult to oppose them.

Being Canadian should mean more than just using this country as a hotel or social experiment to try and turn it into a replica of dysfunctional nations abroad.

Rather, it should mean embracing Western values, defending those values, and making clear what we will and will not accept. We must declare that we will not allow our nation to become a breeding ground for anti-Semitism, we will not allow our nation to become a bastion of primitivism, and we will not allow the future of our nation to be dictated by tribalistic mobs roaming the streets chanting slogans in favour of genocide and terrorism.

Ironically, this means embracing a certain level of intolerance.

We cannot tolerate those who are deeply intolerant. We cannot tolerate supporters of genocidal terrorist regimes. We cannot tolerate anti-Semites who want to repeat the Holocaust. We cannot tolerate those who think mass rape, mass torture, and mass murder are ‘acceptable forms of resistance.’

We must reassert a strong Canadian national identity grounded in Western values, defined both by our belief in freedom and our opposition to those within our midst who want to plunge the world back into another brutal dark age.

The post-national experiment must end. In order to protect true freedom and true tolerance, we must usher in an era of a strong Canadian national identity that leaves no room for those who want to destroy our values and tear our country apart.

Spencer Fernando

Photo – YouTube

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