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Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship
Never has the world experienced greater movement of peoples from one country to another, from one continent to another. These seismic shifts in population have brought about huge challenges for all societies. In this year’s Massey Lectures, Canada’s twenty-sixth Governor General and bestselling author Adrienne Clarkson argues that a sense of belonging is a necessary mediation between an individual and a society. She masterfully chronicles the evolution of citizenship throughout the ages: from the genesis of the idea of the citizen in ancient Greece, to the medieval structures of guilds and class; from the revolutionary period which gave birth to the modern nation-state, to present-day citizenship based on shared values, consensus, and pluralism. Clarkson places particular emphasis on the Canadian model, which promotes immigration, parliamentary democracy, and the rule of law, and the First Nations circle, which embodies notions of expansion and equality. She concludes by looking forward, using the Bhutanese example of Gross National Happiness to determine how we measure up today and how far we have to go to bring into being the citizen, and the society, of tomorrow.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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April 20, 2018
Occasionally copies of the Massey Lectures show up in my hands (I think it’s usually my dad’s fault). Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship is the collection of Adrienne Clarkson’s 2014 lectures. As the title implies, she examines what it means to “belong” to a nation, with specific reference to her experience as an immigrant Canadian. Clarkson is definitely a fascinating author for this topic. Given her background, her career as a journalist, and then her time as Canada’s Governor General, she has a diverse wealth of experience. She can certainly pursue this topic from a variety of angles, and this comes through in her lectures. On the other hand, I was never completely sold on what I saw here.
In the first lecture, “The Circle Widens”, Clarkson examines how we build trust networks. She relates a few historical anecdotes: a village in France whose inhabitants today can trace most of their lineages back to the 1400s; a man who was impersonated for decades yet his closest family either didn’t realize or went along with it. This is an effective beginning to the question of Belonging, I guess, and the anecdotes were all right. However—and this is a critique that’s going to recur—I lost the central thread of her argument until she sums up at the end of the chapter.
In the second lecture, “The Glory That Was Greece”, Clarkson looks at ancient Greece as a birthplace of democracy and the concept of citizenship as a specific political class. My main takeaway from this chapter is the emphasis on participation as a necessary condition to belonging; i.e., the real evolutionary idea within democracy is that these “citizens” are otherwise ordinary people who participate in the co-creation of their society’s norms in a very direct, egalitarian, overt way. Towards the end of the chapter, Clarkson critiques elements specific to Athenian democracy, then segues briefly into how this relates to Canada as a beacon of a country that has experimented with democracy in a more inclusive way. More thoughts on this soon.
In the third lecture, “The Cosmopolitan Ethic”, Clarkson examines how growing up in a more diverse, inclusionary, or multicultural society might influence one’s sense of belonging. She takes us all across the globe and history, looking at the Icelandic althing, as well as her own experience growing up in southern Ontario, and the general experience of what an immigrant to Canada might discover as they learn about this country. Although Clarkson by and large tries to acknowledge and include Indigenous perspectives on these issues in her lectures, this chapter uses the phrase, “The primitive tom-toms linking blood to nationality are somewhat slow to lose their resonance…” and I’m not sure how that got past the editors. Much side-eyeing should be directed here.
In the fourth lecture, “Ubuntu”, Clarkson uses the titular concept to discuss what connections between people lead to feelings of belonging. (N.B.: I am typing this using the operating system Ubuntu.) This chapter features more detailed discussions of Indigenous perspectives and how they contrast with European values that colonized Turtle Island. Clarkson’s experience as Governor General, and therefore as a representative of the Crown in many a ceremony, negotiation, or meeting with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit representatives, exposed her to a lot of unique and interesting moments that no doubt shaped her thoughts on these subjects. But with so many topics and ideas to discuss here, nothing really gets the time or focus it deserves.
Finally, “Gross National Happiness” proposes alternative ways to measure and maintain a nation’s satisfaction. To make people feel like they belong, Clarkson argues, you need to cultivate that sense of belonging. You need to have conversations as a whole society that very deliberately discuss and debate and then determine the values by which we decide who and how we belong to this body. This is a compelling point of view, I suppose, although also kind of self-evident?
I guess what I’m trying to get across is that there isn’t really a lot in these lectures that jumps out at me as particularly objectionable or outright wrong. Yet there also isn’t anything that made me sit up and go, “oh, whoa, you’re right”. Clarkson tries to cover so much, jumps around from topic to topic and theme to theme, that no unified thesis emerges over the five lectures. Despite ostensibly discussing “belonging”, Clarkson meanders over far too much territory to leave me with a strong enough impression of what she actually wants to say.
I’m also really ambivalent about the rah-rah Canadian exceptionalism that seems latent to her tone. Yes, she offers some critiques of how settler Canadians and the European settlers before them treated Indigenous peoples. She points out racism, such as the Chinese Head Tax that affected her own family’s immigration. Yet underneath this all, Clarkson suggests that Canada is better than some other places, positions us as this beacon to which many people travel and seek belonging. Given her history, I’m not at all surprised by this position … yet I can’t really agree with it.
Belonging lacks the structure or the bite to really make it as thought-provoking as it could be. It’s a richly-layered, well-told set of Massey Lectures that nonetheless leaves little in the way of a memorable impression.
In the first lecture, “The Circle Widens”, Clarkson examines how we build trust networks. She relates a few historical anecdotes: a village in France whose inhabitants today can trace most of their lineages back to the 1400s; a man who was impersonated for decades yet his closest family either didn’t realize or went along with it. This is an effective beginning to the question of Belonging, I guess, and the anecdotes were all right. However—and this is a critique that’s going to recur—I lost the central thread of her argument until she sums up at the end of the chapter.
In the second lecture, “The Glory That Was Greece”, Clarkson looks at ancient Greece as a birthplace of democracy and the concept of citizenship as a specific political class. My main takeaway from this chapter is the emphasis on participation as a necessary condition to belonging; i.e., the real evolutionary idea within democracy is that these “citizens” are otherwise ordinary people who participate in the co-creation of their society’s norms in a very direct, egalitarian, overt way. Towards the end of the chapter, Clarkson critiques elements specific to Athenian democracy, then segues briefly into how this relates to Canada as a beacon of a country that has experimented with democracy in a more inclusive way. More thoughts on this soon.
In the third lecture, “The Cosmopolitan Ethic”, Clarkson examines how growing up in a more diverse, inclusionary, or multicultural society might influence one’s sense of belonging. She takes us all across the globe and history, looking at the Icelandic althing, as well as her own experience growing up in southern Ontario, and the general experience of what an immigrant to Canada might discover as they learn about this country. Although Clarkson by and large tries to acknowledge and include Indigenous perspectives on these issues in her lectures, this chapter uses the phrase, “The primitive tom-toms linking blood to nationality are somewhat slow to lose their resonance…” and I’m not sure how that got past the editors. Much side-eyeing should be directed here.
In the fourth lecture, “Ubuntu”, Clarkson uses the titular concept to discuss what connections between people lead to feelings of belonging. (N.B.: I am typing this using the operating system Ubuntu.) This chapter features more detailed discussions of Indigenous perspectives and how they contrast with European values that colonized Turtle Island. Clarkson’s experience as Governor General, and therefore as a representative of the Crown in many a ceremony, negotiation, or meeting with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit representatives, exposed her to a lot of unique and interesting moments that no doubt shaped her thoughts on these subjects. But with so many topics and ideas to discuss here, nothing really gets the time or focus it deserves.
Finally, “Gross National Happiness” proposes alternative ways to measure and maintain a nation’s satisfaction. To make people feel like they belong, Clarkson argues, you need to cultivate that sense of belonging. You need to have conversations as a whole society that very deliberately discuss and debate and then determine the values by which we decide who and how we belong to this body. This is a compelling point of view, I suppose, although also kind of self-evident?
I guess what I’m trying to get across is that there isn’t really a lot in these lectures that jumps out at me as particularly objectionable or outright wrong. Yet there also isn’t anything that made me sit up and go, “oh, whoa, you’re right”. Clarkson tries to cover so much, jumps around from topic to topic and theme to theme, that no unified thesis emerges over the five lectures. Despite ostensibly discussing “belonging”, Clarkson meanders over far too much territory to leave me with a strong enough impression of what she actually wants to say.
I’m also really ambivalent about the rah-rah Canadian exceptionalism that seems latent to her tone. Yes, she offers some critiques of how settler Canadians and the European settlers before them treated Indigenous peoples. She points out racism, such as the Chinese Head Tax that affected her own family’s immigration. Yet underneath this all, Clarkson suggests that Canada is better than some other places, positions us as this beacon to which many people travel and seek belonging. Given her history, I’m not at all surprised by this position … yet I can’t really agree with it.
Belonging lacks the structure or the bite to really make it as thought-provoking as it could be. It’s a richly-layered, well-told set of Massey Lectures that nonetheless leaves little in the way of a memorable impression.
February 25, 2023
I heard Adrienne Clarkson give part of this lecture on CBC Radio a few years ago and was really interested in what she had to say. She goes into Greek history and also a small town in Provence - Eygalieres - showing what it takes for a successful community and then what it takes to destroy it.
Much of the lecture is about the history of Canadian people and she is very positive about our future. However, this was written in 2014 and some positive behaviours are notably diminished in the Canada I see of 2023. I am left with some hope that we can become a society that accepts all people.
I highlighted a quote: "To commit genocide it is not necessary to build camps and ovens. All that is required is to remove the basis for a way of life." For me, this puts into perspective the claim of Indigenous peoples that they were the victims of genocide.
Much of the lecture is about the history of Canadian people and she is very positive about our future. However, this was written in 2014 and some positive behaviours are notably diminished in the Canada I see of 2023. I am left with some hope that we can become a society that accepts all people.
I highlighted a quote: "To commit genocide it is not necessary to build camps and ovens. All that is required is to remove the basis for a way of life." For me, this puts into perspective the claim of Indigenous peoples that they were the victims of genocide.
November 16, 2014
Adrienne Clarkson’s Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship is an interesting paradox, in itself, of the theoretical and practical in her arguments in favour of open and inclusive Canadian citizenship.
For Clarkson, the act of imagination, of behaving “as if” people are all good citizens, helps makes this come into being (full disclosure: I am mentioned in the acknowledgements for providing advice and friendship).
Her examples range from the mountain people of the Ik in Uganda whose society fell apart when their territory disappeared; to Eygalières in Provence, France, which won and maintained its independence; the French film Le Retour de Martin Guerre on how identity can be assumed; ancient Greece and the golden age of Athenian democracy; the community strength of the Althing Icelandic gathering of chiefs; the African concept of Ubuntu of connectedness and interdependence; the Asian nation of Bhutan’s gross national happiness; and Canadian Aboriginal circles of the “same rings of being.”
Her basic premise is that humans are hard- and soft-wired towards co-operation as much as competition. She believes that there is such a thing as the common good of society, and that individuals need common rules for living together and contributing to the overall health of their society.
Complementing what some may criticize as being overly theoretical and abstruse, Clarkson cites more concrete Canadian examples. “Pay it forward” at Tim Hortons coffee line-ups, governor-general bravery awards, civic behaviour at a Rosedale four-way stop sign in Toronto, and even “hook-up” sites reinforce her optimistic view.
Her language reinforces her relentlessly upbeat message, almost overwhelmingly so. She concludes, borrowing from Bhutan’s gross national happiness, with the importance of generosity, ethics, tolerance, patience and perseverance as key to success.
Contrast this positive language to the federal government’s scolding tone in its focus on value, abuse and integrity, reflected in many of the recent changes to the Citizenship Act (and elsewhere).
She clearly has little patience for many right-wing nostrums. She takes Margaret Thatcher’s comment “there is no such thing as society” out of context (Thatcher meant that society does not pay for government services, citizens do) to dismiss the conservative focus on individualism as a “simple view suited to simple minds.”
She lambastes “blinkered self-interest” in relation to climate change, finding consensus is drowned out by the “polarizing din of right-versus-left politics.” Cabinet ministers no longer accept responsibility for wrongdoing or incompetence under their watch. Exclusion of health care for refugee claimants means “violating our own values, undermining our own decency, and ultimately working against our own well-being.”
As some critics have observed, Clarkson largely skirts the hard issues that face Canadian citizenship and multiculturalism, whether this is ongoing barriers for some new Canadians, ongoing debates over reasonable accommodation, or the small but disturbing number of Canadians being radicalized, as recent events have borne out.
But she makes the important point in that accepting Canadian citizenship we accept both the good and the bad of our history, that we cannot simply choose as in a “buffet.” She cites a number of the less-than-glorious aspects of our past, from treatment of Aboriginal peoples to immigration restrictions.
In this sense, she is more balanced than many critics of citizenship and multiculturalism (e.g. Neil Bissoondath, Salim Mansour, Gilles Paquet) who often portray the Canadian approach as hopelessly politically correct and divisive.
But it does seem particularly Canadian that many writers on citizenship either see the glass half-full or half-empty, rather than acknowledging that, while overall we have one of the world’s most successful multicultural societies by any measure, there remain, as is natural, serious challenges to address.
Clarkson is strongest in her distinction between friendship and citizenship. We do not need to like or love our fellow citizens. But we have to respect them and engage with them.
Her praise for what the Aga Khan calls a “cosmopolitan ethic,” where we need to continuously engage in conversations with those of different backgrounds, loyalties, religions and ethnicities, further reinforces this need for ongoing dialogue and understanding in a complex multicultural society such as Canada.
Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship provides a welcome antidote to so much of the excessive fretting that occurs around Canadian citizenship and multiculturalism.
But Clarkson’s reliance on behaving “as if” things are working well, wishing it were so, can be as risky as the alternate “as if,” that Canadian citizenship and multiculturalism are not working.
Certainly, compared to most countries, we have been remarkably successful. Political differences are at the margins, we have no political parties opposed to immigration and all political parties actively pursue ethnic community votes.
But we do have serious challenges from the perspective of equity, discrimination and representation.
By provoking discussion implicitly on what kind of “as if” we should employ to help shape the ongoing evolution of Canadian society, Clarkson has posed the fundamental question on what kind of Canada we want and how we should behave to help it come into being.
For Clarkson, the act of imagination, of behaving “as if” people are all good citizens, helps makes this come into being (full disclosure: I am mentioned in the acknowledgements for providing advice and friendship).
Her examples range from the mountain people of the Ik in Uganda whose society fell apart when their territory disappeared; to Eygalières in Provence, France, which won and maintained its independence; the French film Le Retour de Martin Guerre on how identity can be assumed; ancient Greece and the golden age of Athenian democracy; the community strength of the Althing Icelandic gathering of chiefs; the African concept of Ubuntu of connectedness and interdependence; the Asian nation of Bhutan’s gross national happiness; and Canadian Aboriginal circles of the “same rings of being.”
Her basic premise is that humans are hard- and soft-wired towards co-operation as much as competition. She believes that there is such a thing as the common good of society, and that individuals need common rules for living together and contributing to the overall health of their society.
Complementing what some may criticize as being overly theoretical and abstruse, Clarkson cites more concrete Canadian examples. “Pay it forward” at Tim Hortons coffee line-ups, governor-general bravery awards, civic behaviour at a Rosedale four-way stop sign in Toronto, and even “hook-up” sites reinforce her optimistic view.
Her language reinforces her relentlessly upbeat message, almost overwhelmingly so. She concludes, borrowing from Bhutan’s gross national happiness, with the importance of generosity, ethics, tolerance, patience and perseverance as key to success.
Contrast this positive language to the federal government’s scolding tone in its focus on value, abuse and integrity, reflected in many of the recent changes to the Citizenship Act (and elsewhere).
She clearly has little patience for many right-wing nostrums. She takes Margaret Thatcher’s comment “there is no such thing as society” out of context (Thatcher meant that society does not pay for government services, citizens do) to dismiss the conservative focus on individualism as a “simple view suited to simple minds.”
She lambastes “blinkered self-interest” in relation to climate change, finding consensus is drowned out by the “polarizing din of right-versus-left politics.” Cabinet ministers no longer accept responsibility for wrongdoing or incompetence under their watch. Exclusion of health care for refugee claimants means “violating our own values, undermining our own decency, and ultimately working against our own well-being.”
As some critics have observed, Clarkson largely skirts the hard issues that face Canadian citizenship and multiculturalism, whether this is ongoing barriers for some new Canadians, ongoing debates over reasonable accommodation, or the small but disturbing number of Canadians being radicalized, as recent events have borne out.
But she makes the important point in that accepting Canadian citizenship we accept both the good and the bad of our history, that we cannot simply choose as in a “buffet.” She cites a number of the less-than-glorious aspects of our past, from treatment of Aboriginal peoples to immigration restrictions.
In this sense, she is more balanced than many critics of citizenship and multiculturalism (e.g. Neil Bissoondath, Salim Mansour, Gilles Paquet) who often portray the Canadian approach as hopelessly politically correct and divisive.
But it does seem particularly Canadian that many writers on citizenship either see the glass half-full or half-empty, rather than acknowledging that, while overall we have one of the world’s most successful multicultural societies by any measure, there remain, as is natural, serious challenges to address.
Clarkson is strongest in her distinction between friendship and citizenship. We do not need to like or love our fellow citizens. But we have to respect them and engage with them.
Her praise for what the Aga Khan calls a “cosmopolitan ethic,” where we need to continuously engage in conversations with those of different backgrounds, loyalties, religions and ethnicities, further reinforces this need for ongoing dialogue and understanding in a complex multicultural society such as Canada.
Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship provides a welcome antidote to so much of the excessive fretting that occurs around Canadian citizenship and multiculturalism.
But Clarkson’s reliance on behaving “as if” things are working well, wishing it were so, can be as risky as the alternate “as if,” that Canadian citizenship and multiculturalism are not working.
Certainly, compared to most countries, we have been remarkably successful. Political differences are at the margins, we have no political parties opposed to immigration and all political parties actively pursue ethnic community votes.
But we do have serious challenges from the perspective of equity, discrimination and representation.
By provoking discussion implicitly on what kind of “as if” we should employ to help shape the ongoing evolution of Canadian society, Clarkson has posed the fundamental question on what kind of Canada we want and how we should behave to help it come into being.
December 29, 2025
Super relevant reading going into 2026. Canada is a complex history that as individuals we engage with. This read helped me to think a lot about the every day role we play in our lives to our world. An inspirational read that I hope others will take up and find value in.
December 27, 2014
Not the best Massey lecture but still a decent read. Clarkson explores the idea of citizenship both now and in the past. Although she reviews different ideas about citizenship she spends most of the time describing what it means in the context of Canadian citizenship. She rightly views it as an idea or concept unlike other nationalities which emphasize ethnicity and land. However, her Canadian ideal is not the same as Stephen Harper and her ilk rather its the inclusive vision promoted by the Canadian intelligentsia such as her husband John Ralston Saul in his book The Siamese Twin. I happen to agree but her book assumes this ideal with a lot less evidence than Saul's book which anchors the Canadian ideal in historical context. If you read Belonging and are skeptical of her view of Canadian citizenship, look to the Siamese Twin for the evidence.
January 2, 2017
Adrienne Clarkson was a Governor General of Canada (1999 – 2005), i.e., the head of state. One of the responsibilities of the Governor General is to “Bring Canadians Together”, meaning “promoting national identity by supporting and promoting Canadian values, diversity, inclusion, culture and heritage.” As an immigrant from Hong Kong at a young age, the concept of integrating into society, that of belonging, is very personal to the author.
This book captures the five lectures of the CBC Massey Lecture Series (from August 3 to August 31, 2015, from five different locations in Canada, http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/masseys...). The lectures (chapters) explore the concept of belonging for an individual, that she defines as the interdependence of cooperation, sharing, and balancing relationships with others. Put another way, the lectures explore the relationship between the individual and the society within that individual lives, and in the relationship the balance between the one and the Others in society.
In crafting the lectures, the author weaves in stories from many places in the world, and thoughts such as “Ubuntu”, a concept that “emphasizes our connectedness with each other in the past, present, and the future.” And she also emphasizes the unique Canadian experience, drawing upon the First National peoples and their thinking, along with the immigration that has happened in Canada from Europe and elsewhere. She cites information that shows that what Canada has been doing has brought together a consensus about key ideas of: becoming Canadian citizens, equality of women and men, following laws, acceptance of diversity, voting, and protection of the environment (p131, lecture 4: Ubuntu). Later she states that “a public education is the single most valuable institution that our society provides to help people belong … Without public education, we cannot have a cohesive society, a society with share values.”
She concludes her lectures by addressing the subtitle of the book. “What is the paradox of citizenship? It is that we are most fully human, most truly ourselves, must authentically individual, when we commit to the community. It is in the mirror of our community – the street, the neighbourhood, the town, the country – that we find our best selves.”
I originally purchased this book at the end of the GLEON 16 Meeting*, in Orford Canada, waiting for the plane at the Montreal airport. What made me purchase the book? Perhaps it was that I was in Canada and it would be good to read something I would likely only find in Canada (I do like to purchase books in other countries when I travel). Why this one? It does focus on the Canadian model for immigration, and the larger trend of increasing movements of people in today’s world. Also, it is likely that having come from a GLEON meeting, that had people from many different parts of the world, that I was receptive to the book’s concept of creating unity of purpose among diversity.
But why wait so long to read it? I just finished Friedman’s new book, Thank You for Being Late. Issues that he raises about the community he grew up in, the need to be open to new ideas prompted me to return to this relatively short book. As Friedman talks about the need for leadership, Canada seems to have a model that is prepared to address the challenges Friedman talks about, especially in how it welcomes and sees immigrants as new citizens. This sense of belonging leads to trust in institutions and society, a critical element that has been leaching away from the US societal ethic.
I suspect there will be many who disagree with the “soft” approach discussed by the author. However, there is a basic humanity to her writing, and focusing on the balance for a society to have between the individual and the group is going to be a defining one for this coming generation. The topic is so timely, and the approach every engaging.
* For more information about GLEON see http://gleon.org.
If you have not traveled to Canada, you might consider doing so. There is a different approach to live and interacting with others. When I flew into the country, I was asked by immigration where I was going. When I said that it was to Orford, I got asked where? I said to Lake Stukley in Mont-Orford National Park. Why? (I felt I was being interrogated – he had not yet given me back my passport). I stated I was going to a workshop on lakes. What is your specialty? … After some back on forth, he guess be believed me, but part of his motivation was to indicate that his uncle was a limnologist who had studied on that lake … which I thought was very interesting.
Another interesting concept, in Chapter Five, is Gross National Happiness, which she proposes depends on four attributes: generosity; ethics; patience or tolerance; and perseverance.
This book captures the five lectures of the CBC Massey Lecture Series (from August 3 to August 31, 2015, from five different locations in Canada, http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/masseys...). The lectures (chapters) explore the concept of belonging for an individual, that she defines as the interdependence of cooperation, sharing, and balancing relationships with others. Put another way, the lectures explore the relationship between the individual and the society within that individual lives, and in the relationship the balance between the one and the Others in society.
In crafting the lectures, the author weaves in stories from many places in the world, and thoughts such as “Ubuntu”, a concept that “emphasizes our connectedness with each other in the past, present, and the future.” And she also emphasizes the unique Canadian experience, drawing upon the First National peoples and their thinking, along with the immigration that has happened in Canada from Europe and elsewhere. She cites information that shows that what Canada has been doing has brought together a consensus about key ideas of: becoming Canadian citizens, equality of women and men, following laws, acceptance of diversity, voting, and protection of the environment (p131, lecture 4: Ubuntu). Later she states that “a public education is the single most valuable institution that our society provides to help people belong … Without public education, we cannot have a cohesive society, a society with share values.”
She concludes her lectures by addressing the subtitle of the book. “What is the paradox of citizenship? It is that we are most fully human, most truly ourselves, must authentically individual, when we commit to the community. It is in the mirror of our community – the street, the neighbourhood, the town, the country – that we find our best selves.”
I originally purchased this book at the end of the GLEON 16 Meeting*, in Orford Canada, waiting for the plane at the Montreal airport. What made me purchase the book? Perhaps it was that I was in Canada and it would be good to read something I would likely only find in Canada (I do like to purchase books in other countries when I travel). Why this one? It does focus on the Canadian model for immigration, and the larger trend of increasing movements of people in today’s world. Also, it is likely that having come from a GLEON meeting, that had people from many different parts of the world, that I was receptive to the book’s concept of creating unity of purpose among diversity.
But why wait so long to read it? I just finished Friedman’s new book, Thank You for Being Late. Issues that he raises about the community he grew up in, the need to be open to new ideas prompted me to return to this relatively short book. As Friedman talks about the need for leadership, Canada seems to have a model that is prepared to address the challenges Friedman talks about, especially in how it welcomes and sees immigrants as new citizens. This sense of belonging leads to trust in institutions and society, a critical element that has been leaching away from the US societal ethic.
I suspect there will be many who disagree with the “soft” approach discussed by the author. However, there is a basic humanity to her writing, and focusing on the balance for a society to have between the individual and the group is going to be a defining one for this coming generation. The topic is so timely, and the approach every engaging.
* For more information about GLEON see http://gleon.org.
If you have not traveled to Canada, you might consider doing so. There is a different approach to live and interacting with others. When I flew into the country, I was asked by immigration where I was going. When I said that it was to Orford, I got asked where? I said to Lake Stukley in Mont-Orford National Park. Why? (I felt I was being interrogated – he had not yet given me back my passport). I stated I was going to a workshop on lakes. What is your specialty? … After some back on forth, he guess be believed me, but part of his motivation was to indicate that his uncle was a limnologist who had studied on that lake … which I thought was very interesting.
Another interesting concept, in Chapter Five, is Gross National Happiness, which she proposes depends on four attributes: generosity; ethics; patience or tolerance; and perseverance.
September 11, 2017
Unlike authors who lament the perils and threats of immigration, Adrienne Clarkson, Canada's 26 Governor General, believes "migration is part and parcel of the order of things." She writes, "Never has the world experienced a greater movement of peoples from one country to another, from one continent to another. These seismic shifts in population have brought about huge challenges for all societies." Clarkson writes about the need for greater acceptance. She talks about indigenous groups worldwide and asks, "Who belongs" and "How can one prove belonging?" She concludes that a sense of belonging is forged through connection, not factors surrounding one's homeland and birth place.
I'd like to see Canada's Ms. Clarkson and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau read "The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam," a book by Douglas Murray, © 2017. Europe is how Canada could look in 10 years: dipping birth rates, mass immigration, massive crime, no cultural identity, and citizens who fear of the regular attacks of terrorism. Maybe Trump is right: keep the nationalities who are high on the corruption index at home. What do you think?
I'd like to see Canada's Ms. Clarkson and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau read "The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam," a book by Douglas Murray, © 2017. Europe is how Canada could look in 10 years: dipping birth rates, mass immigration, massive crime, no cultural identity, and citizens who fear of the regular attacks of terrorism. Maybe Trump is right: keep the nationalities who are high on the corruption index at home. What do you think?
April 14, 2019
Belonging to a community, a group, a state, a nation, this book discusses this from the comfort and
experiences of Canada. A country can welcome immigrants or build barriers or walls. Canada likes to think they are welcoming and hospitable.
A small village in France in the middle ages is the first exemplar of setting up a village for those who belong there, telling of their circumstances and struggles to start a new belonging village.
Pericles in Greek times (Pelopponesian War) is spotlighted with his speech on struggles with outsiders, barbarians, and what it took to be a part of the group -- to belong
She also discusses the Ubuntu principle from South Africa and the Mandela principle of forgiveness and the Bhutan image with its Gross Domestic Happiness and striving to have a society where all are happy.
experiences of Canada. A country can welcome immigrants or build barriers or walls. Canada likes to think they are welcoming and hospitable.
A small village in France in the middle ages is the first exemplar of setting up a village for those who belong there, telling of their circumstances and struggles to start a new belonging village.
Pericles in Greek times (Pelopponesian War) is spotlighted with his speech on struggles with outsiders, barbarians, and what it took to be a part of the group -- to belong
She also discusses the Ubuntu principle from South Africa and the Mandela principle of forgiveness and the Bhutan image with its Gross Domestic Happiness and striving to have a society where all are happy.
October 18, 2018
Adrienne Clarkson is a fantastic writer and I think this is a read we all need right now. I wonder if all of CBC Massey Lecture series are available through podcast, I think it would have been better digested in audio.
November 5, 2019
Packed full of interesting information, facts and references. Refreshingly altruistic.
August 1, 2021
Some interesting ideas on what it is to be a citizen. Well written and presented (as always)
March 15, 2015
This book comprises a series of lectures presented in 2014 as part of the CBC Radio Ideas’ annual Massey Lectures, CBC being Canada’s National media radio / TV, was a first person account of belonging to Canada as a former immigrant. In this Adrienne Clarkson from her viewpoint as a success provided an overview of what citizenship means from a wide array of perspectives including Canada’s. Her primary focus though was on immigrants and Aboriginals. The approach appealed to me because living and working in Toronto I feel like a direct recipient of immigration – on the ground level, on the front lines – and overall I like what I see and all that to which these massive waves of immigration has exposed me. I got the impression though that Ms. Clarkson approached the subject from the perspective of both privilege and entitlement.
From the microcosm from where I live (or work) where my neighbour comprises people from nearly every country from the planet it’s a wonderful smorgasbord of nationalities, diversity, religions and cultures. As I am an extreme (and relatively friendly) dog walker the experience of this wild diversity scintillates, and makes going out among my neighbours a real pleasure. Most people I meet work hard, are family oriented, display pride in who they are and what they have and are generally nice: they might rate fairly high on Clarkson’s Gross National Happiness, exemplifying the four principles of generosity, ethical behaviour, tolerance and perseverance.
Adrienne Clarkson also seems to dislike whites, seems to blame us for a lot. Until our company came out with a Diversity program I hardly thought of the differences in people’s nationalities or cultures. I seemed perhaps naively colour blind and dealt with people as people. I’ll explain where Clarkson gets it hilariously wrong through a personal anecdote. I rented a home in Montreal one time from a guy who and his family were from Guyana. He’d come over from time to time as expected to check out the house and one time noted with considerable disparagement that our next door neighbour was black. At the time it shocked me to the core because I thought only whites were guilty of this kind of racial prejudice. Or, so we are told, so people like Adrienne Clarkson might have us believe. So here we had this fellow recently immigrated from Guyana harbouring deep misgivings about his neighbours based on the slightly darker colour of the skin of his neighbour.
Overall I thought though her treatment of the subject uneven and presented it more as a scan of ideas than a coherent presentation culminating in a reflection on what Belonging meant for Canadians or actually anyone living in a Western style democracy in which participatory citizen was a key component. for example one thing absent in her analysis is the problem of critical mass and its potentially debilitating and undermining effect it has on democracy and citizenship. What does it take to belong in a Nation such as Canada? We tend to think in terms of great things, like Canadian-citizen-Islamists going off to join ISIS for a little while and for some pleasurable guilt-free killing of innocents as a clear example of individuals who probably don’t qualify for citizenship. But what about those for whom stop signs and stale yellow lights are simply suggestions, and running reds is acceptable because that’s what we did in our hometown, or taxes as being something to avoid at all costs because our god is money, or the idea of joining the armed forces as an absolutely unthinkable activity.
I believe a country like Canada has some intrinsic non-negotiable value. The US’ might be individualistic freedom, the French might be secular liberty and equality – sometimes I think for Canada its simply being strong and nice, stepping out and standing up for anyone in need, or as one French General said being generous of heart, noble and magnanimous of spirit. People like Jean Vanier, St Margaret Bourgeois are the patron saints, the models, for all we aspire for.
Edwin
April 2, 2017
What defines a citizen? How do we define belonging? How can one be an individual as well a part of a community? Adrienne Clarkson presents her views on these questions in the CBC Massey Lectures, part of which I heard on the radio last year. In light of the immigration tide in the media, and with Canada taking on ots first Syrian refugees, this is still a very topical subject.
Clarkson, herself an immigrant, who rose to become a national journalist and then Canada's twenty-sixth Governor General (1999-2005), tells of her early days growing up in Ottawa. Inspired by her teacher, she began her love for literature which helped define role models. She outlines her views, from ancient Greece, indigenous first nations, European and Eastern, historical and modern, Christian, Muslim and even the Bhutanese Gross National Happiness to weave out her answers of what it means to belong. The conext of "being Canadian" is central to her theme and how Canada has been open, for the most part, to newcomers.
I remember her as a fiesty journalist but also the elegance and grace she gave to the office of Governor General. I can easily hear her voice as I read and she makes many, valuable points in her discussion. However, I did feel that sometimes I wanted to hear more, or sometimes she reiterated the sad plight of Canada's first nations just too many times. I suppose that when this book was first aired on the radio, we were under the old Harper government's narrow and maligned view of how Canada should act in the world and with its first nations peoples. Hopefully, under Trudeau, Canada can once more step up to the plate and return to being a peacemaker and treat its peoples fairly.
This book is a great starting point on what it takes to belonging: we must be open, fair, trustworthy and generous.
Perhaps a 3.5 for a rating.
Clarkson, herself an immigrant, who rose to become a national journalist and then Canada's twenty-sixth Governor General (1999-2005), tells of her early days growing up in Ottawa. Inspired by her teacher, she began her love for literature which helped define role models. She outlines her views, from ancient Greece, indigenous first nations, European and Eastern, historical and modern, Christian, Muslim and even the Bhutanese Gross National Happiness to weave out her answers of what it means to belong. The conext of "being Canadian" is central to her theme and how Canada has been open, for the most part, to newcomers.
I remember her as a fiesty journalist but also the elegance and grace she gave to the office of Governor General. I can easily hear her voice as I read and she makes many, valuable points in her discussion. However, I did feel that sometimes I wanted to hear more, or sometimes she reiterated the sad plight of Canada's first nations just too many times. I suppose that when this book was first aired on the radio, we were under the old Harper government's narrow and maligned view of how Canada should act in the world and with its first nations peoples. Hopefully, under Trudeau, Canada can once more step up to the plate and return to being a peacemaker and treat its peoples fairly.
This book is a great starting point on what it takes to belonging: we must be open, fair, trustworthy and generous.
Perhaps a 3.5 for a rating.
January 24, 2015
Overall, I really enjoyed Clarkson's take on Canadian citizenship and belonging. I found the book started out slow--and was disappointed that the first examples and stories she used came from ancient Greece and medieval France rather than something Canadian--but the last three sections of the book really resonated with me. I love the ideals that Clarkson describes, particularly the cosmopolitan ethic and ubuntu. I tend to think she is describing what is possible, what could be, in Canada rather than what actually is today, but as she writes near the end of the book, quoting Aristotle, "With respect to what is eternal, there is no difference between being possible and being." I also was nodding along as I read her statements that "public education is the single most valuable institution that our society provides to help people belong" (p. 179) and that "Newcomers are not invited to this country to spend a few years working, only to depart like migrants...citizenship is central to our immigration policy" (p. 181--and exactly my thoughts on the issue with the temporary foreign worker program). In sum: a great read about community and society, and I can think of many people I'd recommend this book to.
August 17, 2015
An interesting read in a difficult time. With elections coming up in Canada this October, I believe this is a good time to read this book on citizenship and what the term means as well as implies for each individual and community. Although some have critiqued this book as being too general and too optimistic, I believe it gives plenty of food for thought. It really makes you think about what kind of place you want your country to be and what it means to be part of its society. What is our role in the picture that is Canada and what can we do to make it better, to make the country live up to its potential. As Clarkson makes clear, it is our actions as citizens that shape a country and the image it projects on the world stage. It is also our actions that can help others feel that they are included in the project and have power to add their own strokes to the picture of a nation.
Therefore, when reading this book, you should ask yourself, what do you think of Canada? Do you think it is a country you can be a proud citizen of or do you feel there is work to be done. If the answer is the latter, roll up those sleeves, step out your front door to make your own bit of difference within the bigger picture that is Canada. I know I will be doing just that.
Therefore, when reading this book, you should ask yourself, what do you think of Canada? Do you think it is a country you can be a proud citizen of or do you feel there is work to be done. If the answer is the latter, roll up those sleeves, step out your front door to make your own bit of difference within the bigger picture that is Canada. I know I will be doing just that.
December 23, 2014
interesting and well researched book. generally enjoyed the book. very optimistic tone, which was refreshing as I tend to be a lot more cynical about Canada's multiculturalism. i think that Clarkson was comparing a lot to other countries where i tend to compare canada to higher standards. there was some mention of the bad ditection that canada is heading inder the current government - which I found necessary to take the book seriosuly. as a successful immigrant/refugee to canada who has been so involved in Canada's political sphere, clarkson provides an interesting perspective on Canadian citizenship and what it means to be Canadian. i tend to think that unsuccessful immigrants/refugee claimants would have a very different view of the country. Clarkson does acknowledge the atrocities Canada has committed against our Aboriginal people and I agree with her that a more.honest history must be portrayed in our schools. In the book she talks a lot about equality and I think that we should be more focused on equity - or maybe she was interchanging the words? wish I could've seen the lectures because I've heard she's an impressive speaker.
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July 27, 2015http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2015/0...
Review by Amira Elghawhaby
I suspect many of us share Adrienne Clarkson's vision of what Canada is and should be: a place where everyone can belong.
Her latest book Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship, based on the 2014 Massey Lectures she delivered on CBC Radio, offers plenty of philosophical and evidentiary reasons for promoting the admirable concept of shared citizenship.
Yet, somehow, I also suspect that many of us couldn't help wonder whether this grand vision she describes so convincingly is fading away into a past we are already beginning to lament.
For a moment, though, let's imagine this nation Clarkson describes. After all, if anyone knows this country, it's the former governor-general, journalist, author, and yes, immigrant. So let's imagine the country Clarkson argues still exists because, as she puts it, it's only through imagination that we can all will this place into being.
Read more here: http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2015/0...
Review by Amira Elghawhaby
I suspect many of us share Adrienne Clarkson's vision of what Canada is and should be: a place where everyone can belong.
Her latest book Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship, based on the 2014 Massey Lectures she delivered on CBC Radio, offers plenty of philosophical and evidentiary reasons for promoting the admirable concept of shared citizenship.
Yet, somehow, I also suspect that many of us couldn't help wonder whether this grand vision she describes so convincingly is fading away into a past we are already beginning to lament.
For a moment, though, let's imagine this nation Clarkson describes. After all, if anyone knows this country, it's the former governor-general, journalist, author, and yes, immigrant. So let's imagine the country Clarkson argues still exists because, as she puts it, it's only through imagination that we can all will this place into being.
Read more here: http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2015/0...
August 3, 2015
The conclusion of this audio book is that now I want to move to Canada. Just kidding, sort of. The lectures as I later came to learn are held by a former Canadian governor which is in fact a refugee from Hong Kong. She tells stories on the theme of citizenship, with a focus on the democratic system, combined with her own personal experience. Most of the focus is however on Canadian citizenship and what a great country for foreigners Canada is. I take the information with a pinch of salt however as I have acquaintances that have a hard time obtaining the citizenship, but be it. Although the lectures are not presented from an anthropologist point of view, they are quite refreshing. I would like to dig deeper into the subject, maybe read something written by a specialist in the domain.
May 6, 2015
It's a very easy to read book and but a little lengthy at times. That is the only negative comment I have about the book. However, I like how she teases out important insights from the simplest things. I also though some chapters were more interesting than others. One other comment (perhaps outside of the scope of the book), I think she made number of simple assumptions throughout. Couple times I wished she explained herself or presented counter argument to solidify her stand further. But her book comes to an end with her main point of the book which I thought was really great for the readers.
August 14, 2016
"The political theorist Hannah Arendt characterized this kind of courage as being “present in the willingness to act and speak at all, to insert one’s self into the world and begin a story of one’s own.” This is not only an act of self-creation and individualism, it is a way of participating in the flourishing of society as a whole. … acting, as Arendt points out, is never possible in isolation; to be isolated is to be deprived of the capacity to act" (p.60).
November 4, 2014
This book had some interesting concepts and wasn't a hard read at all. It had a narrative thread that was easy to follow. That said, her point seemed to shift from belonging to the way people should behave to what we can do to better grow as a country.
If someone wanted to read it already, I'd say yeah, give it a go. But I wouldn't enthusiastically recommend.
If someone wanted to read it already, I'd say yeah, give it a go. But I wouldn't enthusiastically recommend.
November 25, 2014
Basically, be a better citizen by caring more about community and the people in it whether you agree with them or not. Some interesting anecdotes, but it was too short and general, even for something that had to be delivered as five lectures that are less than an hour each. Not the best Massey Lecture in recent years (my favorite was Margaret Atwood's book on debt)
Still worth reading, though.
Still worth reading, though.
November 6, 2015
My Mom and I discussed this book for my Family Reads series. We talk about citizenship, Athenian democracy and belonging and being Canadian. This is a discussion and not a review, so please check it out on my blog!
April 30, 2016
My reading of this has been timely. Lately I have been feeling very isolated and othered. These feelings have led me to anger and pushed me to separate myself from people. Clarkson has reminded me of values I hold dear but that can be challenging to live. I go to bed tonight feeling better than I did a few hours ago about myself, my community and my place in the world.
October 9, 2014
Not one of my favorite Massey lectures by any means. A few insightful and thought-provoking messages but overall seemed disjointed and I didn't think she addressed her theme all that well. Kind of disappointing really.
January 9, 2015
I enjoy reading Massey Lectures and enjoyed part of this. It is an interesting look at what makes Canada "Canada" through the lens of citizenship and diversity. I'm recommending it to high school humanities classes as great discussion starters.
March 8, 2015
A meditation on citizenship and democracy by a former Governor-General of Canada. Intelligent and highly readable, Clarkson charts the obligations we have to each other in an open society, focusing on Canada and contrasting it with other societies around the world.
October 10, 2014
Oh my! So glorious! So gentle and filled with wisdom and caution for us all!
November 4, 2014
Was looking forward to this book, and the topic Clarkson chose. It had promise, and I kept waiting for it to deliver on that promise.... Definitely underwhelmed.
November 29, 2014
A feel good read for those who love living in Canada. Just like a pat on the back. Keep up the good work.
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