When I hear people insist that the term “multiculturalism” should be replaced by “interculturalism” I get a little upset. Maybe the latter is a more politically correct term because it implies social interaction and discussion among cultures, as opposed to sharp divides and separation? “Interculturalism” also means exploring other cultures more than superficially (food, dance, art), by making comparisons to one’s own culture, and finding common ground. I resent the politics of the terms. There was nothing wrong with the word “multiculturalism” until someone thought it promoted each individual culture too much. Kind of like laws. Everyone has the right to do whatever they want up until the point that it infringes on some other person’s right. So no culture can exist within a country and act as if it’s the best and only culture around. My point is, whatever the term means now, multiculturalism was meant to be a positive idea, something good for society, and someone took it and twisted it and said “Uh uh uhh, that’s not very Canadian of you.” Here in Canada we are accepting and integrated and, oh well, give it up.
We’re not perfect. The best we can do is take what we thought to be multicultural exploration and try to go a little further with it. My personal contribution is to explore as many cultures as exist in Canada, to discover to what extent they are accurate reflections of that culture’s traditions, and to see how it all fits into the grand idea of “Canada.” Instead of being a culture consumer, eating what I am fed, I try to live up to my Canadian intercultural ideals and research food history, each tradition associated with a cuisine or a recipe, and understand why this tradition exists, is maintained, and how it fits into our Canada. Can we let it exist in its original form, or must it adapt to the other cultures around it, for the maximum advantage of all parties?
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