Canada, eh?
“I honestly do not know if love vanquishes death as our traditional faiths teach, but I do know that our vulnerabilities trump our ideologies and that love leavens the purity and logic of our beliefs propelling us to connect as the fiercely gracious human beings we are.”
― Irwin Kula
In our modern and globalized world, humans are more connected to each other than has ever been possible in the past. News from endless amounts of sources are available around the world with stories amplified by social media, giving people the power to have their individual voices and opinions heard from thousands of miles away. This opens the door for different ideologies to be exchanged, expressed, and affected. A popular reference by philosopher Slavoj Zizek, is that the definition of what ideology can be compared to wearing a pair of glasses. Ideology is something that can be avoided (by taking the glasses off, or opening your mind to other perspectives), but distorts or effects the way someone views the world around him or her. A person’s ideology is influenced by numerous factors including their ideals, principles, and beliefs. Different societies as a whole may have contrasting ideologies on current affairs depending on what they have learned to perceive through their own experiences in their community. One of the most pressing issues highlighted across the sphere currently is the debate on where Syrian refugees are supposed to go to begin their new lives.
Each country comes with its own ideologies and perspectives when considering how to help take care of this situation at hand. For one country in particular, that means taking in more refugees than ever thought possible within an unbelievably short time span. Canada has recently announced its plans to airlift 13,000 refugees to safety over the course of just a mere six weeks. Systems are in motion to find housing, schooling, and support for the soon-to-be-arriving citizens. Of course, this is not Canada’s first time taking in refugees (for example, during the Vietnam war they accepted 137,000), but if all goes to plan, the Syrian refugees will arrive to their new permanent homes in record-breaking time.
“There’s a large amount of support. I’m not naive, it’s not 100% but its a large proportion of Canadians who are onside, enthusiastic and contributing to this.”
— John McCallum, immigration, refugees, and citizenship minister of Canada
Canada’s parliament and private citizens have taken action that will make an unforgettable impact on those benefited from this decision. While too many other countries back down in fear, Canada is determined to remove, relocate, and revitalize as many refugees as they can in the shortest time span possible, keeping in mind that these people are simply victims in need of assistance. The fact that Canada is acting without the popular and new found “islamophobia” reaping the world shows that its citizens have learned to live a life that puts the safety of those in need before any racism or stereotyping. Canada sets an example for others concerning not only Syrian refugees, but also the pressing need to be humanistic to all of those who need immediate assistance in the present and future; they have seen the light that had been dimmed by the glasses of ideology.
