Country Of Choice

[Darren Dilley]

Will we still be the Country of choice and still be Canada........ if we continue to make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries that came to live in Canada because it is the Country of Choice???

                                Think about it!

     All we have to say is, when will they do something about MY RIGHTS?                                 I celebrate Christmas...........but because it isn't celebrated by everyone..............we can no longer say Merry Christmas. Now it has to be Season's Greetings.

                   It's not Christmas vacation, it's WinterBreak. Isn't it amazing how this winter break ALWAYS occurs over the Christmas holiday? We've gone so far the other way, bent over backwards to not offend anyone, that I am now being offended. But it seems that no one has a problem with that.

                                 This says it all!
  This is an editorial written in a Toronto newspaper.  He did quite a job;  didn't he? Read on, please!
                                IMMIGRANTS, NOT Canadians MUST ADAPT.

    I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge                                in patriotism by the majority of Canadians. However...... the dust from the attacks had
barely settled when the \"politically correct! \" crowd began complaining about                                the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

       I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to Canada  Our population is almost entirely made up
of descendants of immigrants.  However, there are a few things that those                                 who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to unnderstand.    
      This idea of Canada being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity.  As Canadians....... we have our own culture, our
own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles,trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

         We speak ENGLISH/FRENCH, not Spanish,Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part                                of our society, learn the language!

             \"We Stand On Guard For Thee\" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan..We adopted this motto because Christian men and women.......on Christian principles............. founded this nation..... and this is
clearly documented.  It is certainly appropriate to display it  on the walls of our schools.

            If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as                                 your new home.........because God is part of our culture.

                We are happy with our culture and have  no desire to change, and we really
 don't care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY,                            our land, and our lifestyle. But once you are done complaining.......whining...... and griping....... about our flag....... our pledge...... our national motto........or our                                 way of life....I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other Great Canadian
Freedom.......

                                 THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.


    It is Time for Canada to Speak up!                     AMEN

                                 I figure if we all keep passing this on to our friends
                                 (and enemies) it will also, sooner or later
                                 get back to the complainers, lets all try,  please


 

[Chris]

I have posted this on my website.

[Bug Maniac]

Personally I dont think it's any different in any modern country, here in Bournemoth we have a massive influx of eastern europeans, Russians, Polish, Ukraines, also living here are Chinese, Pakastanie, Indian, Spanish, Arabs. Now that sort of influx of different nationalities is going to affect any countries, culture, or background and the way we talk and our own original launguage.
I treat people on a one on one basis, I dont put people into colour, creed, race etc brackets, I take them as I find them, but I have long been pissed off with the way they treat my country and it's gone on too long now and I want to get out, the UK is a very small country and we live on top of each other as it is.  What every country needs is people who bring something that will benefit thier country of choice, not to sponge of the countries assets. We have really really tough laws on immigrants yet so many more seem to get through but they dont bring any skill to our society, they tend to lower our minimum wage by accepting jobs that pay cash in hand and beat the system.
I am guessing it is a similar situation to what you are saying, myself and my family will be immigrants sometime in the future, but my family and I will make the effort to understand your culture, history and launguague and go out of our way to fit in and be part of a community.
 

[blarneyman]

We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish,Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!

If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home.........because God is part of our culture.

We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really
don't care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle. But once you are done complaining.......whining...... and griping....... about our flag....... our pledge...... our national motto........or our way of life....I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other Great Canadian
Freedom.......

THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

Same holds true for the US.

[egspot]

I am an immigrant. I was born in New York, grew up in Puerto Rico, met my wife (a Canadian from BC) in Hawaii while serving in the military, and got married in Kamloops BC in 1981. I speak spanish, and my children learned it at their public school and college.


I believe if you move in to another person's house, you live by the way they live. You do not come into their house and tell them they are living their lives  wrong and should live the way you think, or should let live yours however you want. You can not move in to my home and come and go as you please with regards to my home life style, rules, etc.

I know that different cultures haved enrich other cultures. but it should be respectfully done.


I can not agree more with the article. It almost sounds  like my own words.

Emilio

[OUTKAST]

Bubba put it nicely
RESPECT  not ignorance  :mellow:  

[slammedbus]

I agree. If you are going to buy into the program then you need to buy in wholeheartedly. I am sure many Eastern countries would not be so open to me moving there and having my wife walk around in shorts and open sleeve shirts because \" that is my culture and you need to respect that\". We would be shot in the streets.

It seems as though everything in the world that is positive in spirit is just knocked down due to some kind of offensive issue to someone.  

[silas]

hmmm...interesting topic. i value everyones opinion and encourage everyone to be vocal. if stuff like this needs to be said then there is no reason why we cant have a civilized discussion about it.

we can no longer say Merry Christmas. Now it has to be Season's Greetings.

darren, you can say whatever you want. it's called freedom of speech. if saying merry christmas somehow offends someone, that is their problem, not yours, and they can take their ball and go home. well educated people know that different people have different beliefs/religions and celebrate special days in different ways.

It's not Christmas vacation, it's WinterBreak. Isn't it amazing how this winter break ALWAYS occurs over the Christmas holiday?

again, call it what you will. it's your choice. is there some new by-law that just passed saying that it's illegal to say \"christmas vacation\"? it's like someone telling you to put a porsche motor in your vw. you know that they think their way is the best way but you dont care because you will end up doing what you think is right.

now about this article...

I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture.

ok. so feel free to offend and disrespect some individuals and their culture. that sounds like you'll just be lowering yourself to their pathetic level.

This idea of Canada being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity.

really? i have or have had bosses/co-workers/friends who are brits, aussies, chinese, japanese, sikhs, and africans who have immigrated here and are now canadian citizens and hold true to the way of the canadian culture and the flag that bears the maple leaf. also, i'm pretty sure that there are brits, aussies, chinese, japanese, sikhs, and africans that serve and protect this country and it's inhabitants and all that it stands for. the pd, the fd, taking care of our ill and our children and our seniors and serving for canada in the armed forces, all wearing the patch of the canadian flag on their arm and placing their hand on their heart and singing the national anthem.

We speak ENGLISH/FRENCH, not Spanish,Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!

tell that to some of the quebecois. apparently they dont think it's that important to learn english and are just as happy not to know or speak the language. likewise for alot of people that speak english. they dont feel the need to learn french. so which is it? english or french or both? if speaking the language is one of the worries then the problem starts here within the country. however, i understand what the author is trying to say. learn the native language of the place that you live in and learn to speak it fluently. but this doesnt mean that you have to completely abandon your native tongue.

\"We Stand On Guard For Thee\" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan..We adopted this motto because Christian men and women.......on Christian principles............. founded this nation..... and this is
clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools.

If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home.........because God is part of our culture.

that is a little to \"bible thumpy\" for me. should i move? god doesnt offend me, and he is a part of our culture...but just a part of it. not all of it.

We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really
don't care how you did things where you came from.

give me a f@#king break.

if you have no desire to change and if you dont care about how things are in other places of the world then you will continue to live a sheltered and meaningless life in your secluded bubble of boredom.

and emilio said...

I believe if you move in to another person's house, you live by the way they live.

home, yes. country...only to a certain extent. you cant force your neighbour to eat meat if they're a vegetarian.

I know that different cultures haved enrich other cultures. but it should be respectfully done.

i absolutely agree. there is alot to learn about alot of different people, places, religions, ways of life, etc...and by constantly learning and absorbing information one will form their own beliefs and opinions and it will help shape them as a distinct and unique human being.

bubba and outkast said it's about respect. i agree. it's also about education. and tolerance. and unity.




 

[Chris]

Silas, what about tolerance and acceptance of the way things once were, obviously change will occur but do you go to another country and bypass all there beliefs and ways of life to suit your needs? I dont, I respect there way of life. You seem to be taking the defensive stance on this, obviously reading most of the original post out of context, many retailers have been told that they can no longer use Merry Christmas in seasonal advertising, why is that? What is this holiday season for? In almost every religion we are still celebrating the birth of the same figure. We used to say the Lords Prayer every day in school and sing the national anthem, why did we stop? The prayer I can understand as we have the freedom of religion, but its still Canada, its still the national anthem, and its still the country that provides all these freedoms that people have come to this country to enjoy, so if thats the case and we as Canadians accept immigrants of almost every nationality why is it that some of them have the hardest time accepting our way of life? Your the one in the bubble, why do we have to change to fit everyone else in? What are you thinking? When in Rome do as romans do. Im tired of this lets not offend anyone crap, if you dont like the way things are you can leave, you didnt have to show up in the first place.

[Bruce]

, many retailers have been told that they can no longer use Merry Christmas in seasonal advertising, why is that?
 

By Whom?

There's no law saying you can't use Merry Christmas, just like there's no law preventing a store from having a \"Celebration of Adolf's Birthday\" sale.

If a store decides to put up banners saying \"Happy Holidays\" instead of \"Merry Christmas\", that is wholy their choice.  It is called freedom of choice.

[Chris]

Sorry for not finishing that thought, they have been told by Mall Management, Head Office Marketing Reps, etc, obviously not by-laws as that does not drive the economy.

Bruce your missing the point by saying that its there choice, the problem being is that there told to do it.

Heres a couple news articles discussing the issue

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...5120601900.html

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/ar...on?id=124257598

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/holidays...s_holidays.html

Just another perspective on it, Bruce its not a swap meet world, its a stock market driven economy that has basically wiped out individual and national identity and culture to improve the profit margin.

 

[silas]

, many retailers have been told that they can no longer use Merry Christmas in seasonal advertising, why is that?
 

By Whom?

that's exactly what i was going to ask.

who is making who say what? is someone putting a gun to someones head and saying that \"they better or else\"?

chris, in my opinion, the guy who wrote that article is no better than the people he is complaining about. he is preaching hate and discrimination. that's the way i read it. i may be the only one that sees it that way, and so be it.

also, there is alot of talk about people \"bypassing beliefs and ways of life\" and people \"making people say happy holidays and all that shit\". who are these people? if it's a law, you abide by it. otherwise you have the freedom to say, do, think and shit as you please.

why do we have to change to fit everyone else in?

again, who's making you change?

if you dont like the way things are you can leave, you didnt have to show up in the first place.

i was born here and i have spent 31 years here and i dont plan on leaving anytime soon.

[Bubba]

It is an interesting part of my family history that Canada was not our country of choice.  My parents were Hungarian immigrants that left in 1956 during the time of the uprising when the Russians came in.

My dad chose to get tanked with a bunch of buddies in Italy the night before the boat was sailing to Australia...our new home.

Well, we missed the boat, and as fate would have it, the next boat sailed to Canada.

My parents couldn't speak a drip of english.  They had 4 boys, aged 3 mos (moi) to 14 years old.  They took all the jobs that the indigenous workers wouldn't do - picking berries, driving cab, washing dishes in restaurants, and cleaning office buildings.  My dad worked 3 different jobs at one time and my mother two.

Sure, they bore the brunt of the jokes at that time.

I remember my dad talking to one of the family friends during a get together.  His friend was lamenting leaving the old country and the better times...they were working too hard for thier money, he complained.

My dad replied...at least there were opportunities in this country.  In Hungary (at the time) there were none.  I was around 5 years old when I heard that conversation.  I remember it to this day.

I have been to many places in this world...some that were great places to visit, some not so great.  But I cannot imagine having to live anywhere else.

God, keep our land, glorious and free.

[silas]

you know what else really bites my nutsack about this guys article? this...

Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Canadians.

so a few terrorists crash and burn a couple of planes in the usa and all of a sudden everyone is hopping onto the \"oh canada\" bandwagon?

where was their patriotism before that? if it takes death and destruction to get people to feel all warm inside about the country they live in, then you know something must be wrong.

in all my years my dedication to this country hasnt wavered one bit. i am just as proud to be a canadian now as when i was old enough to learn the anthem. i still take off my hat and place it over my heart and sing the anthem just like i did when i was 4. ever since i can remember, i have always had a moment of silence on remembrance day to remember those that fought for this great country and our freedom. i still look up at that great flag and smile and stand a little taller, just knowing how lucky i am.

patriotism shouldnt surge, it should be constant.

 

[Chris]

First, read my response to Bruce, second try taking you out of the picture, your thinking to small, your not looking at the big picture, its like not reading the newspaper, or watching the news, now you dont have any idea what is happening outside of your bathroom. I guess I am making the mistake here by assuming that people may be smart enough to look at larger picture. You have created some confusion with your responses though....

give me a f@#king break.

if you have no desire to change and if you dont care about how things are in other places of the world then you will continue to live a sheltered and meaningless life in your secluded bubble of boredom.

So Silas what are you trying to say? Here you preach change than....

again, who's making you change?

you post that?!

Again, the question I asked remains unanswered, what about tolerance of the things I believe in? The things that I feel are my freedoms as a Canadian? What about my national and cultural identity?

And so it goes. In a society that is increasingly non-Christian, the movement is on to adopt non-religious names and symbols for a holiday period that is unquestionably religious in origin. Department stores advertise their holiday specials. Many companies and organizations (the CBC included) stage what they call a \"holiday\" party for staff.

Supporters say it

[Chris]

you know what else really bites my nutsack about this guys article? this...



so a few terrorists crash and burn a couple of planes in the usa and all of a sudden everyone is hopping onto the \"oh canada\" bandwagon?

where was their patriotism before that? if it takes death and destruction to get people to feel all warm inside about the country they live in, then you know something must be wrong.

in all my years my dedication to this country hasnt wavered one bit. i am just as proud to be a canadian now as when i was old enough to learn the anthem. i still take off my hat and place it over my heart and sing the anthem just like i did when i was 4. ever since i can remember, i have always had a moment of silence on remembrance day to remember those that fought for this great country and our freedom. i still look up at that great flag and smile and stand a little taller, just knowing how lucky i am.

patriotism shouldnt surge, it should be constant.

yes people took this great country of ours for granted, now maybe they are trying to make up for lost time, whats wrong with that? Open your eyes a little, maybe just maybe we had it to easy before.

[silas]

chris, about those 3 articles you posted...

1 - bush is a moron and i'm pretty sure we can all agree that he can f@#k s#!t up with the best of them.

2 - how can you take anything that guy says seriously when he spends all his time joking and making up funny songs?

3 - the cbc article has some merit, but it seems like most of the holiday ideas got vetoed and the christians won.

You have created some confusion with your responses though....

 
give me a f@#king break.

if you have no desire to change and if you dont care about how things are in other places of the world then you will continue to live a sheltered and meaningless life in your secluded bubble of boredom.


So Silas what are you trying to say? Here you preach change than....
 
again, who's making you change?

you post that?!

i'm pretty sure you know what i mean chris. i know you're a bright young lad so i'll skip spelling it out for you.

I just want to be proud to be a Canadian, celebrate christmas as I have since a child and know that it is ok to salute my flag, sing the anthem and that I wont be told im infringing on the rights of someone else because if it.

i want that for you aswell.

as for the next bit, you type \"my rights as a canadian\" into the google search engine, click on one of the first three links and come up with that. but i'm curious as to why you cut this part out...

What is a

[Chris]

You seem to be confusing being \"christian\" and \"being of christian heritage\". Thats 2 completely different things.

I am not christian. Does that change anything? NO.

mainly free to promote or share our multicultural heritage.

Ok so like the whole point of the initial post, we run into a problem with that, were being told that its not right anymore, or that it offends others....

See my point? Why can we not defend and protect OUR CANADIAN HERITAGE? Were being told to change, you even said it.

give me a f@#king break.

if you have no desire to change and if you dont care about how things are in other places of the world then you will continue to live a sheltered and meaningless life in your secluded bubble of boredom.

When was the last time you came out of your bubble?


Approx 7% of the population of Canada is part of an asian religion, thats awesome, it creates diversity and we have the right to choose our religion, this is where the biggest difficulties are, the division of church and state.  What were talking about is the preservation of our heritage, Canadians have a heritage to protect, and were doing a lousy job of it. But I am not going to stop anyone from celebrating anything, thats there right, and I feel strongly about protecting the rights of Canadians. For the record, a Canadian to me is someone either born here, or he migrates here and fulfills all the requirements of citizenship as defined by law, or are making every effort possible to do it. But if they are going to prevent me from celebrating the things I believe in do you not think it is my right to stand up and say that is wrong?


 

[Chris]

And yes Bush is an ass, no question, I was just posting a few different POV's

[silas]

You seem to be confusing being \"christian\" and \"being of christian heritage\". Thats 2 completely different things.

I am not christian. Does that change anything? NO.

so you're not christian. do you have a christian heritage? were your parents or grandparents christians? if so, are they pissed at you for not being christian? i'm just curious.

here is where it seems like the vicious cycle is starting...

Ok so like the whole point of the initial post, we run into a problem with that, were being told that its not right anymore, or that it offends others....

See my point? Why can we not defend and protect OUR CANADIAN HERITAGE? Were being told to change, you even said it.

But if they are going to prevent me from celebrating the things I believe in do you not think it is my right to stand up and say that is wrong?

which actually seems to mean...

the native canadian of christian heritage (that's for you & me chris   ) is pissed beacause the jewish canadian is making a big stink about \"christmas\" and wants to call it \"holiday hanukahh\", but that pisses off his neighbour the african canadian who wants to see signs that say \"have a kwazzy kwanza\", but at his work the hindu canadian wants to say \"merry diwali\" and when his daughter goes to school and tells the christian canadians son about that, the son goes home and tells his dad and the whole cycle starts all over again.

What were talking about is the preservation of our heritage, Canadians have a heritage to protect, and were doing a lousy job of it. But I am not going to stop anyone from celebrating anything, thats there right, and I feel strongly about protecting the rights of Canadians. For the record, a Canadian to me is someone either born here, or he migrates here and fulfills all the requirements of citizenship as defined by law, or are making every effort possible to do it.

absolutely agree 100%.

ftr, re-using the old bubble analogy over and over again is weak. i dont live under a rock, i do know my neighbours and i am completely aware of what is happening in \"the big picture\".

 

[Chris]

Cool, my religious choice is my own.

This really boils down to the question of who says its wrong to say Merry Christmas and who the hell do they think they are?

Part of our national heritage is diversity, but hopefully we can remember some of the oldest heritage of this country in our attempts to make everyone smile.



Happy Holidays!
 

[ehos]

Will we still be the Country of choice and still be Canada........ if we continue to make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries that came to live in Canada because it is the Country of Choice???
 

Wasn't this 'post' written by an American?  Why the deep concern with Canada?

I'm still surprised that good faith Canadians still circulate this trash.

[ehos]

This really boils down to the question of who says its wrong to say Merry Christmas and who the hell do they think they are?
 

Who told you it's wrong to say Merry Christmas?  Has a new law been passed that I missed out on?

[Chris]

This really boils down to the question of who says its wrong to say Merry Christmas and who the hell do they think they are?
 

Who told you it's wrong to say Merry Christmas?  Has a new law been passed that I missed out on?

You obviously have missed 98% of this thread, everything must be black and white for you.

 

[Chris]

Will we still be the Country of choice and still be Canada........ if we continue to make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries that came to live in Canada because it is the Country of Choice???
 

Wasn't this 'post' written by an American?  Why the deep concern with Canada?

I'm still surprised that good faith Canadians still circulate this trash.

NO.

[Chris]

How do you define a \"good faith canadian\"

[ehos]

This really boils down to the question of who says its wrong to say Merry Christmas and who the hell do they think they are?
 

Who told you it's wrong to say Merry Christmas?  Has a new law been passed that I missed out on?

You obviously have missed 98% of this thread, everything must be black and white for you.

It's a simple question, who FORCED you?  Name names.  I can say Merry Christmas where I live, and no one is going to FORCE me not too.

Where do you live again?  And who are 'they'?  The 'Merry Christmas Gestapo'? LOL.  

[Chris]

Again, did you actually read the entire thread? I am going to say no, so have a nice day.

[ehos]

:ph34r:

Nevermind, too easy.

[Chris]

Too read, yes its right there in front of you, you could print it out if you want as well.