European Edition: Rethinking Canadian Culture Right Hook = \ J.J. McCullough, OP Columnist —_/ Ee ne What is culture? That’s a question I have been pondering a lot lately. You see, I am writing this article from the Netherlands, where I am currently on holiday. This is my third trip to the coun- try in five years. There are many things about Holland that keep me coming back. The Dutch have no shortage of quaint museums, lively cities, and fun people, and by far one of the biggest motivations behind my repeated visits has been the simple joy of immersing myself in a for- eign culture for a few weeks. Holland is a western European coun- try, about as culturally similar to Canada as any non-British part of Europe gets. The Dutch drink Coke, go to McDonalds, watch War of the Worlds, listen to rap music, and so on. Yet despite a few super- ficial similarities, it does not take long to realize that the unique flavour of Dutch culture colours even these quintessentially North American experiences. For example, while rap music is popu- lar here, the most popular artists continue to be Dutch rappers, who bust mad rhymes in the native Dutch tongue. Right now, one of the most popular songs on the Dutch charts is “Watskeburt,’ an insane-sounding rap song by the group De Jeugd van Tegenwoordi, or, roughly translated, The Kids of Today. The music video features the main singer dancing around the streets of Amsterdam in a jumpsuit emblazoned with the colours of the Dutch flag. The whole phenomenon can be a bit surreal at times. Weirdness aside, the point is, every- where you go in Holland things are different, though often in subtle ways. Along with many of their own festivals and events, the Dutch celebrate birthdays, funerals, weddings, and even Christmas differently than us, with their own unique- ly Dutch customs sprinkled throughout. In social situations the Dutch have often jarringly different concepts of what con- stitutes “rude” behaviour. For example, while it is considered the height of rude- ness to ask what someone’s job is, casually making an observation about someone’s Editorial Cartoon and along with being Canada's first non-white Governor, Adrienne Clarkson's 1999 appointment also signaled the beginning of what is now commonly dubbed the “CBC Era.” physical appearance, such as “I see you are gaining weight,” or, “You seem to be loos- ing your hair,’ is considered perfectly A-Okay. To me, it is all these things and more that collectively form a nation’s culture. All these little differences add up to make a country that is as vibrant and interesting as it is unique and independent. The more I experience it all, the more I start think- ing how our own culture back home adds up in comparison. In Canada, our government spends a great deal of tax money every year in its never-ending quest to promote “Canadian culture.” But what exactly constitutes our nation’s culture? Unlike the Dutch, Canadian culture is not a subtle or quaint thing, It is instead a state-sanctioned, bloated, multi-billion dollar industry driv- en mostly by the agenda of the country’s political bigwigs. Canada Day, a holiday that should rep- resent the height of Canadian culture, has instead become a national joke as the fes- tivities become increasingly hijacked by government interests and their respective promotion of the “official” view of Canadian patriotism. In the big cities across the country, Canada Day celebra- tions now often consist of little more than politicians giving speeches. In the background, booths from the Ministry of Heritage hand out flags and posters stamped with the Government of Canada logo. Instead of celebrating items of traditional culture such as food, music, and history, we are increasingly told that Canada Day is a time to celebrate so-called “Canadian values” of mul- ticulturalism, socialized healthcare, and _bilingual- ism. It is now, as some pundits have already dubbed it, more akin to “Liberal Party Awareness Day” than a truly sponta- neous national celebration. By comparison, a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to cross the border and attend Belgium’s Independence Day festivi- ties. Now (¢hat was a celebration of national cul- ture. Downtown Brussels was packed with street ven- dors selling traditional Belgian cuisine, people in August 10/2005 2005, STAFF PICKS Kat Code, OP Photographer Best local eatery: The Keg. Best local watering hole: River’s Reach. Best place to go instead of going to class: The duck pond in Friendship Park. Best word(s) to describe Douglas College: Pedagogical. Best reason to read the Other Press: It’s way more entertaining than some stuffy textbook. traditional Belgium costumes, traditional Belgian musical performances, proud dis- plays of Belgian flags, colours, and symbols, and much mote. The thing that struck me most of all was how natural all this was to the Belgians. Unlike the Canadians on Canada Day, Belgium’s holiday was not being cel- ebrated out of a sense of routine obligation, nor were the festivities organ- ized by a heavy-handed government eager to steer the proceedings for its own polit- ical interest. Instead, Belgian Independence Day was truly, well, Be/gian. Everyone in Belgium knows what their culture is, and thus how to celebrate it. The same cannot be said of Canada. The tragedy in all of this is that Canada does in fact have a culture. Ask any European traveller to our country and they'll likely say they find our customs, media, food, and philosophies as interest- ing and unique as I find the cultural practices of Holland and Belgium. As my trip progresses, I still experience a form of mild culture-shock whenever I struggle to explain a certain beloved tradition from my society, like root beer floats or the Tooth Fairy, to citizens of a foreign cul- ture that have never heard of what I consider such apparently common things. Obviously, a cultural divide exists, or I could not experience such feelings in the Continued on page 10 www.theotherpress.ca | 9