Many people would agree that in the last 50 years the world has become smaller in many ways, and yet within the last 20 years or so it has become more insular. Tonight we will be discussing the concepts of country and citizenship and belonging to a group.
1. There is a magical quality — that of being Canadian — that people in most people in BC share with most people in Quebec but not with most people in Washington state, who are otherwise geographically and culturally closer to us. Does that feel somehow anomalous to you?
2. Do you have multiple citizenships? If not, would you like to? If yes, do you *feel* differently about them?
3. In the late middle ages/early modern period, changing countries was easier, legally if not logistically, but it came with fewer rights; it was not until the 1648 treaty of Westphalia that the idea was born that citizenship was about being a member of a community, the ‘nation’, rather than a subject to a monarch. Do you think that, on the whole, this has been a good development?
4. Among the only perks of being a Canadian citizen rather than a mere permanent resident are the right to vote and to serve on a jury. Discuss.
5. Immigration is a hot-button political issue all over the world today. If possible, step back from the heat and discuss to what extent countries should have the right to regulate who comes within their borders.
6. Your access to healthcare, your political options, and your taxes are among the many things that change radically depending on which side of the 49th parallel you’re from. Should an accident of geography matter that much?
7. In a world of easy travel and large countries, it is unremarkable to have several identities at the same time, as any English-speaking, Nicaraguan-born Buddhist Canadian citizen in Victoria will tell you. What are your experiences of having multiple identities? What happens when they conflict?
8. To what extent do you feel like a ‘citizen of the world’? Is it possible or desirable to exist without a strong attachment to a national community?
9. In his eponymous 1981 book, Benedict Anderson described a nation as an ‘…imagined political community — and imagined as inherently limited and sovereign.’ He credited its emergence in part to the rise of mass literacy and mass media in early modern times. Do you think that social media, both global in their reach and very particular in their self-selecting audiences, will in time change what we see as our primary community? Has it already?
10. Modern nation states are of the wrong size — too large to be collecting trash, too small to tackle global issues like climate change. Can you imagine what might take their place?
11. Is being Canadian the same as being having a Canadian passport? Should it be?
12. What amount of cultural integration can a nation reasonably expect of its immigrants?
13. What is involved in being a good citizen?
14. If a large influx of immigrants occurred in your locality what problems
do you think that they might encounter in becoming "good citizens" of
your area?
15. If the number of immigrants is huge and must be limited, what criteria
should be used? Need? Education? Wealth? Ethnicity? Skillset? Age?
Language? Health?etc. What would be the advantages/disadvantages of
your choice?
16. Would you consider relocating to another country? What would your criteria be for choosing your new home?
17. We each identify ourselves differently: perhaps by gender, by career or by ethnicity (among others). Is "being Canadian" one of your primary identifiers? Why or why not?
18. If you were to emigrate to a country with a different culture, would you feel obligated to assimilate? Why or why not?
19. If someone chooses to immigrate to Canada, should he or she be obligated to assimilate? Why or why not?
20. What, if anything, would compel you to renounce your Canadian citizenship?
Thanks to Mak for suggesting this topic and many of the questions! And thanks to Jose for suggesting some, too!
We hope that you will join us for this civil discussion!
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Given the success of this format we are going to be continuing to gather via Zoom.
We will be allowing up to 30 participants for this meeting and, after a brief introduction, we will be splitting off into virtual "tables" of six.
As long as you have RSVP'd before 5:30PM on the day of the event you should receive an email from Robert or Josh prior to 6:30PM giving you the Zoom meetup credentials.
*** PLEASE NOTE ***
If you are a member of Table Conversations and you didn't receive an email announcing THIS Table Conversations meetup then you likely won't receive the email with the Zoom information on the evening of the event. Please confirm that your Meetup.com profile is configured correctly by carefully following the step-by-step instructions in this link: https://www.meetup.com/tableconversations/events/270360456/
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* Room opens at 6:45PM (often earlier) for socialization
* Discussion starts at 7:15 and finishes at 8:45ish
* Keep talking until dawn!
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