My very first thought is: liberty. To me liberty is not just an abstract and intangible concept, but is absolutely associated with many details of my
daily life. First of all, being Canadian means that I am free to choose where to live; what to wear, or to eat, or to speak; whom to socialize with;
to be or not to be religious; and which religion to devote myself to and so on. This might sound needless to say for many who take this kind of
liberty for granted, but I know it’s just not the case in many countries out there. That’s why being Canadian means liberty to me in the first place.
On the other hand, while I enjoy and appreciate my own liberty to live, I fully understand that being Canadian also means to respect other people’s
liberty. In Canada the mojority of the population find their ancestry somewhere else. Though different ethnic groups have different cultures,
histories and traditions, it doesn’t hamper them from living together in peace and harmony. Undoubtedly, this can only be made possible by
respecting others, exactly speaking, respecting their liberty of living their lives in their way. To me this really is something Canadian.
Happy Canada Day!
