ManifestoManifestoDear PolandComradeship, rejuvenation, and pride, these are the reigning emotions amongst our newly united assemblage in Warsaw, the hub of the former duchy Warsaw. The vibe of an invigorate spirit stirs amongst us on this day in 1830 as we gather here after trekking from the far reaches of our Fatherland. Thousands of oppressed people from the south, east, and west have finally come here today to unite for a common cause!
For half a century we have been subordinated to the oppressive domination of foreign nations. It has been 60 years since the people of this fragmented land have embraced a national flag that we could collectively call our own. We were once a proud people, unified for 450 years by a parliamentary system that enabled us to enjoy our freedoms (Poland). Now we are literally wiped off the face of the map and enjoy no rights of citizenship. After wars fought against Sweden and Russia and the enactment of the inefficient Liberum Veto, which allowed parliament to veto any law passed, our country descended into a downward spiral towards total anarchy (Poland-The). Foreign countries monopolized on our deteriorating commonwealth and partitioned our country into three lands divided between Russia, Austria, and Prussia.
The great Napoleon Bonaparte of France brought us hope in restoring our commonwealth, but our hope was short lasted. Our alliance with France granted us the duchy of Warsaw, which was taken from Prussian territory in 1807. Additionally, in 1809 we reclaimed the land taken by Austria. Unfortunately, after Napoleons defeat, the Congress of Vienna unjustly swept our lands away from us and redistributed them to Austria and Prussia (Perry).
We no longer have a nation under which to unite our common traditions and ideals. The various languages and religions we have adopted while taking residence in these three countries are alienating our peoples from one another. How could we allow such an atrocity to occur? By the will of God, resist converting to the religions of those who rule over you. Since 966 Catholic Christianity has been the one true religion that has united us all, never forget (Poland)! We must resist assimilation whole-heartedly; for if we concede to the ways of the countries that are forcing arbitrary rule upon us, we risk forever losing the ties of unity that once defined Poland in the days of her glory. If we lose our ties of unity we should forever give up aspirations
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I’ve written about Canada’s multiculturalism before. I’ve also written in the past about how its leaders were quick to acknowledge that immigrants are a drain on Canadian culture, and how their actions were so “unreasonable”. It’s true that I love these people. But to call them “the people” or “the people” doesn’t really mean much.
But just as many immigrants were to “take back our way”, many more didn’t. In those early days, many Canadians felt they needed a refuge, that they needed a new world, and that they needed only to see it because that place was Canadian. I’ve written about how that feeling took shape a long time ago, before the rise of multiculturalism.
A big part of the appeal of the Canadian view of a welcoming but diverse democracy is the idea that all cultures should be part of a common language. But those cultures, such as Canadian, are not inherently democratic, or even all English speakers. There are a lot of things at stake with that view. For example, it could mean that the Conservative Party’s policies and leaders’ attitudes toward Canada’s Muslim community have been changing since 2001. This is an important question given many Canadians have lived for many generations. What is right when it comes to Muslim culture?
As Stephen Harper, the prime minister, has said many times before, “we can’t let the Muslims dictate our own laws”; we cannot allow the world’s Islamic community to override Canadian tradition to dictate our own law. But that is exactly the same argument that would have put the world’s Muslim community at risk before the 2001 bombing that killed so many of its own citizens.
One has to wonder where the focus of Conservative economic policy ends and the focus of immigration policy begins. As an economist and immigration specialist, I’ve known the Conservative policy platform and how many policies that I have been advocating have been brought into line with Conservative policy. Even with the “good government” mantra, there are a number of policy proposals that have failed. Not only are Conservative policies inconsistent (though still admirable) with the values of Conservative immigration policy, but they also leave many of the policy priorities in place. To put the blame on an approach to immigration that is more “wrong” than Conservative policy on immigration is not to say that multiculturalism is wrong. It’s to say that people’s values on immigration (as opposed to immigration itself) are a failure when it comes to Canada’s multiculturalism.
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With the Conservative government’s embrace of “Canadian values”, the multiculturalism of Canada’s multiculturalism has long been there. Conservatives have always known about that. But those who support multiculturalism are often ignorant of the value set by tradition, customs and politics at large. The idea that we are all inherently better that our past are irrelevant or that Canadians have no common sense should be regarded as the root of