Liberalism - The "Canadian" Temperament

While dictionaries define the word liberal as “free,” they don’t do a very effective job at defining how a liberally minded person thinks or acts.  History provides some help though.  Where liberal thought and action have triumphed in modern societies like Canada, certain traits emerge that not so much define as recognize the liberal disposition.The liberal temperament seeks to include rather than alienate, to accept rather than censor, to respect rather that stigmatize, to welcome rather than banish, to be generous rather than selfish in spirit.  The liberal temperament leans toward optimism because the general improvement of the human condition over the past centuries leads it to believe such progress might continue.  Because the overall momentum has been towards individual and collective empowerment, it believes that evil will eventually be trumped by people searching for better lives.  For this reason, liberal temperaments grow impatient with people and systems that use arguments rooted in fear and absolutist ideologies.While some liberals hold to rigid positions, the best small “l” liberally-minded people believe that more important than the policy one holds is the spirit in which it is held.  A philosophy that is open to a sense of discovery, feels positive about the future because of our ability to shape it, and approaches the world with a generous spirit is not such a bad thing.Now for those reading this post believing it to be just sentimental pulp, consider the reality that this has been how much of the world has envisioned Canada since the end of the Second World War.  The liberal legacy has formulated much of what we have accomplished together, but it is more how we did it that sticks in the mind of people on other continents.  Most of us have experienced this when traveling.  Those we encounter most often describe Canada as fair and compassionate, wealthy and generous.  Maudlin or not, these characteristics are what form international perception of us and we wear it with honour.But it’s true to say that, at present, our international friends sense something is amiss among us.  True, our federal policies have changed, as we incrementally pull back from extending the principles of self-organization and freedom.  We are a more splintered country, as region is pitted against region.  Our ability to come together to effectively halt the deterioration commensurate with climate change is now fully in doubt internationally.  Our pulling back on foreign aid and decision to no longer play the balanced role of a soft power in the Middle East has caused observers to look at us with a growing sense of alarmBut it’s how we are undertaking these changes that might actually say the most about us right now.  Our politics is mean-spirited and outright damaging to the public place.  Our diplomacy of “us” versus “them” has left former partners to wonder if we no longer care.  The proclivity to emphasize conflict over peacekeeping, or the hankering for costly fighting implements over peace and development has left a subtly troubled perception both within and outside of Canada.  This troubled slide toward a kind of myopic anger is now part and parcel of our public life, one that caused a national journalist to wonder this past weekend if we are just a nation of angry old white men.This is why the liberal temperament is required now more perhaps than in any recent time.  It tells us not so much about what to think as to how to be.  It’s not some kind of menu of options that we choose as needed, nor is it a list of abstract principles.  Rather, liberalism is characterized by a kind of individual and collective disposition towards ourselves and the world that defines what kind of creatures we are.  We set goals, yes.  But they are designed to lift all boats and not just feather our own nest.  To be sure, we have guidelines.  But they are best characterized by the fairest ways we reach them.Ironically, it is the very loss of such qualities that calls out for liberals to take more committed action.  So long as some use arbitrary means to impose their will on others, break the law when they are in charge of enforcing it, treat opposition as if it were the enemy, the liberal spirit of fair play and respect must be forced into play to keep us from sliding into something we don’t like.  To avoid such a fate, liberal temperaments must strive to achieve sufficient neutrality between contending parties to win their confidence, and that can only be achieved when there’s something in it for all points of view, all parties.When Canadian Northrop Frye penned his seminal Divisions on a Ground, he used that very term to describe this very country he appreciated.  While acknowledging the various diverse components struggling to make their way in Canada, he also affirmed that they were in one place – “On A Ground” – and that accommodations were being made.  For that reason, his work was hopeful.The liberal temperament looks at it the same way.  To live together, temperament matters just as much as policy.  To be decent, tolerant, smart, accommodating, principled and generous has mattered just as much in this country as wealth.  It is who we are and it’s best we get back to it.