HEAD OFFICE, MONTREAL, JANUARY 1948

THE MEANING OF CITIZENSHIP

CANADIANS have been described as the most"self-critical people in the world" and againas "a nation that has not grown up". Dr. James

Roby Kidd, assistant director of the CanadianAssociation for Adult Education, says in an unpub-lished doctoral thesis that the Canadian attitude isone which might be called "group inferiority com-plex". If we were less self-critical and less sellconscious, we should likely go ahead and do thingswe are now unable to encompass because we do nottrust our abilities.

The establishment a year ago of "Canadian Citizen-ship" is counted upon by well-wishers to raise ourmorale. It should bring us closer together under oneroof, as it were; it should broaden our horizons, andit should enable us to look out upon the world with afeeling of confidence based upon knowledge offamily solidarity and national co-operativeness.

Everyone will admit that there are differences be-tween people of diverse origins. Persons brought upin France, Scotland, Ireland, England, Scandinavia,Italy and other countries have had distinctive environ-ments and consequently their views of happeningsand situations are varied. It is our right to be different,but strength lies in being united on the important andbasic things in national and economic life.

This lesson should have been well and truly taughtby our history. A glance through the rich lode hintedat in the indexes of the Canadian Historical Revieu’shows how often important issues which should havebeen settled on business grounds or according to lawsof equity became the football of sectional interestsand prides.

Canada is a small United Nations in itself. There are43 nationalities represented in the racial origin of ourpopulation. Under the impulse of common citizen-ship the best attainments, beliefs, customs and tradi-tions of all these can be welded into a grand culture.

Citizenship Requires Work

Citizenship is like every other great movement orstate in life in that it requires humble work as well aseffervescent expression. Great religions teach the

virtues of lowly- things; great scientific discoveriesarise from painstaking and unassuming research;even the most elevated education rests upon a base of themodest ABC’s. So, too, citizenship involves work. Thephysical welfare of the nation depends upon the prod-uct of individual hands, just as its spiritual welfarerests upon the contributions of individual minds.

Not so many years ago the producing world wasmade up of lone inventors in attics and lone artisansin whatever space could be had in overcrowdedhouses. Today, with a world population which hasincreased from 1,009 million to 2,151 million in 100years, that scale of production would not meet ourneeds. Scientific work has become co-operative effortin great laboratories, and production has been madeefficient by centralization in workshops and factories.This change has brought new social problems whichit is one of the aims of citizenship to solve. It has not,however, altered the basic principle which requiresevery worker to contribute his best in the field hechooses.

Citizens are Broadminded

Citizenship requires, besides patriotism and in-dustry, something people refer to as open-minded-ness. Dr. Kidd, a graduate of McGill and ColumbiaUniversities, who made an intensive study of Canadianways in preparation for his treatise on Canadiancitizenship, declares, "... the Canadian people asindividuals are comparatively free from prejudice andbigotry". That is a good starting point for the buildingof a sane and healthy citizenry.

This matter of tolerance versus intolerance requiresconstant vigilance, because it is very easy to driftfrom one to the other. Only persons who are alert tothese three maxims are safe from this danger: what webelieve is not necessarily true; what we like is notnecessarily good; all questions are open to considera-tion.

Good citizens will listen, before making up theirminds on an issue, to all points of view reasonablyexpressed. John Stuart Mill, grand fighter for liberty

of expression as a means to good government, laiddown as a rule: "’If all mankind, minus one, were ofone opinion, and only one person were of the con-trary opinion, mankind would be no more justified insilencing that one person than he, if he had the power,would be justified in silencing mankind."

Democracy Expresses Citizenship

Citizenship arises in democracy and doesn’t existotherwise. Democratic government is nothing morethan the top-layer expression of something that mustbe deeply imbedded in people’s minds: voluntaryassociation for the good of all.

From this thought to the conviction that the stateexists for the benefit of its citizens is but a step -- a stepnot taken in dictatorial countries where individualfreedom was wrested from the people; where peopleare only chattels to be used for the exaltation of thestate. In a citizen-state the government exists to bethe servant of citizens and to protect them in their freeindividual development. The chief end of governmentis the virtue and happiness of citizens.

These happy ideals are expressed in the basic prin-ciples of government in Canada. We believe in govern-ment according to law, the recognition and assuranceof certain rights of individuals, and when change isneeded it must be brought about by due process of law.This form of government establishes the frameworkfor harmonious development of personality.

Within this framework, citizenship involves certainliberties, qualities and duties.

What is Civil Liberty?

Liberty has many meanings. In ordinary usage,liberty means the ability to think and act as one chooseswithout interference, but in living with other peoplethe limitation has to be added "so long as one’s actionsdo not interfere with the equal liberty of others".

Civil liberties include freedom with respect topersonal action, the possession and use of property,religious beliefs and worship, and the expression ofopinion. The mere fact of living in a democracy doesnot make certain the maintenance of any group ofliberties for the individual. A democratic governmentmust be constantly on the alert to avoid a dangerinherent in majority rule -- the danger of imposingbondage upon minorities.

There is an important protecting factor: one libertypreserved under the democratic form of governmentis the right to complain about violation of one’sliberty. So long as citizens have the right to make com-

plaints, and the complaints are freely heard andy considered, and so long as indicated reforms

are speedily made, then citizens have the utmost ofcivil liberty that wise men look for.

Qualities ot Citizenship

As to the qualities of citizenship, there are so manythat merely to list them would use up all our space.They include all the good and beautiful things in

human nature, all the virtues. Here are a few, drawnfrom the essay by President Eliot of Harvard in whichhe discusses the good life from the viewpoint of theindividual: moderation, knowledge of history and ofthe world today, weighing of evidence, consecu-tive thinking, progressiveness, passion for truth,drawing of accurate conclusions, self-reliance, open-mindedness, independence, and the wise use of liberty.

These qualities, it will be noted, deal with practical-ities. In olden days the attention of thinking peoplewas directed to abstract philosophy, or pure science,or the art of government. The emphasis today is uponthings social. This is as it should be for the well-ordered direction of society and the promotion ofwelfare.

The citizen needs a cultural background whichenables him to explain the factors giving rise to socialunrest, radicalism and agitation. He needs straightthinking so that he may recognize the true ideals andgoals of human progress amid all the shoddy counter-feits. And he needs moderation to tone down high-flying ideals to the point where they can be achievedthrough the normal processes of work and growth.

Citizenship Repudiates Collectivism

A discussion of the meaning of citizenship wouldbe incomplete if it did not include the point of viewof sceptics who disbelieve in the principles for whichCanadian citizenship stands. Some of these personsdesire a kind of collectivist society, devoted to a sortof benevolence. They promise much. It is more than1800 years since Plutarch wrote a maxim which hasnever been disproved by any government: "the firstdestroyer of the liberties of a people is he who firstgave them bounties and largesses".

There are, and we suppose there always will be,utopians of a sort: people who quarrel with the moralcode of the rest of the community or the social orderof their country or the economic state of the world.

Citizens find their greatest satisfaction in attendingto situations-which are under their control. Theywould be robbed of this satisfaction by utopians,because Utopia, by whomever thought up, alwaysmeans dictatorship.

Collectivism ignores the individual; Canadian citi-zenship admits that he is the mainspring of society.Collectivism destroys freedom; Canadian citizenshipguarantees it. Not, as we have seen, that citizenship ina country like Canada provides an open field forrugged exploitation by individuals and license to doall things, but it is the best method yet attained ofrelating individuals to society in a middle way whichavoids both the anarchy of savagery and the slaveryof dictatorship.

The Schools and Citizenship

It is not right to suppose that people are born withan inherited understanding of citizenship. If patternsof behaviour were inherited, says A. Scheinfeld in his

useful book, You and Heredity, we might expect thata fireman’s child, hearing a gong for the first time,would jump out of his crib, pull on his clothes, andslide down the nearest pole or stair rail. Citizenshipis no more inherited than that; it has to be learned.All that a child inherits is the better environmentbuilt by his parents, including improved opportuni-ties to learn about citizenship.

Parents have the first responsibility, to show in theirhomes the working out of democracy on its lowliestlevel, but the finest and strongest cement for Canadiancitizenship is the training provided in school. Allprovincial departments of education have giventhought to this duty. They have courses in civicswhich take the students from appraisal of goodbehaviour in the school yard to discussion of worldcitizenship. Racial, religious and cultural toleranceand sympathy are stressed. Practice is given in theelements of parliamentary procedure. Student councilsand student governments put into use the principlesbrought to light in the civics and social studies courses.

Education ]or Grownups

Education of adults for citizenship should not bedirected only at the immigrant, but should be ex-tended to all Canadians. The primary purposes ofadult education should include understanding of oursocial environment, improvement of the relationshipsin which each person finds himself, or which it isdesirable for him to establish, and knowledge ofwhat he may do as a citizen for the advancement ofthe nation.

Special efforts must be made, of course, in the caseof newcomers. At a meeting of educational authoritiesto discuss the standards of education to be set fornaturalization, a general plan was agreed upon. Thisincludes instructional facilities to be set up by depart-ments of education, with correspondence courses toserve remote areas, and distribution of a manual,How to Become a Canadian Citizen, at the time an immi-grant files his Declaration of Intention to become aCanadian Citizen. Both this booklet and The CanadianCitizenship Act, Regulations and Forms are availablefrom the Department of the Secretary of State, Ottawa.

One of the most effective organizations in the field ofcitizenship training is the Canadian CitizenshipCouncil, formed in 1940 "to stimulate in the minds ofall Canadians a greater appreciation of the meaningand implications of democracy as a way of life".It is a federation of the nine provincial departmentsof education and twelve national organizations, work-ing to provide basic factual material, study plans, andsuitable literature to all who are interested in educa-tion for citizenship.

Under leadership of the Canadian Association forAdult Education, many organizations with citizenshiptraining as part of their programmes meet to co-ordin-ate their work, pool resources, and fill in the blankplaces. Out of these meetings has grown the JointPlanning Commission, on which are represented some50 organizations which publish literature and makefilms dealing with citizenship topics.

Religion is Basic

One of the Citizenship Council’s publications isentitled Freedom o] Conscience. It tells how the greattradition of political freedom which is Canada’sheritage has been shaped in the brave struggles ofmen inspired by religion and conscience. Thechurches furnish in the conduct of their own organi-zations experience and schooling in democraticgovernment. These church-democracies, all acrossCanada, accustom offce-bearers and members todemocratic procedure, and train young people’sgroups in democratic action.

In addition, one of the functions of religion is tobring to political and social thinking the background,depth and range that come from the attempt to graspthe ultimate ends of human existence. Says the un-named author of Freedom of Conscience: "Enlightenedreligious faith constitutes effective insurance againstthe ravages of the demagogue who exploits democracyin order to destroy it. Good Christians are bad subjectsfor dictators."

Many Organizations Active

Besides the churches and the educational institu-tions, there are many other organizations workingtoward good citizenship. Only a few can be men-tioned as typical of the social, fraternal, cultural,service and sports associations which spread know-ledge, encourage neighbourliness, and provide meet-ing places for people and ideas.

The Canadian Institute of International Affairs hasas its objectives to promote and encourage researchin international affairs, and to advance understandingby its members and the public of international ques-tions bearing upon Canada. Through discussion,lectures, broadcasts, and information services, itdraws attention to Canada’s position both as a mem-ber of the international community of nations and asa member of the British Commonwealth.

The importance of "cultural factors" in promotionof good citizenship is the chief concern of The CanadaFoundation, a national organization with offices inOttawa. It endeavours to promote wider understand-ing and appreciation of Canadian literature, music andart, by serving as a national clearing house for cul-tural activities, and by promoting exhibitions, scholar-ships and competitions. The Canada Foundation be-lieves that good citizenship must be based on love ofcountry, and that pride in the nation’s cultural achieve-ments is indispensable to that end.

The Community Planning Association, whose firstobjective is to foster understanding of, and participa-tion in, community planning, works also towardcitizenship education. Common values and responsi-bilities in citizenship can be demonstrated clearly, itbelieves, by greater attention to the community’sstake in the creation of its physical environment.

A particularly worthwhile effort is being made bythe Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire,through official ceremonies of welcome to newly-

naturalized citizens originated many years ago. Thisgesture brings a new meaning to naturalization byadding friendly interest to what was formerly a coldlegal proceeding.

The Young Women’s Christian Association coversa wide field. Its objectives include the provision ofmeans for health, fun, development of initiative, self-expression, friendliness, and the ability to participatein group activities. Interest in the welfare of peopleis fostered on three community levels: one’s ownneighbourhood, the country, and the world. Membersare encouraged to develop their initiative in workingout their own plans through group thinking andaction.

The Young Men’s Christian Association has de-veloped a So-Ed (Social Education) programme whichhas spread across Canada in the past two years andnow has 10,000 youths over 18 in its study groups.An exceedingly practical way was taken by the YMCAto acquaint leaders at first hand with the activitiesof the Federal Government. A three-day "institute"was held at Ottawa, when staff members from all overCanada observed Parliament in session, met membersof the cabinet, visited government departments, andlearned about the resources of information uponwhich they could draw to help in building citizenship.

At a younger level, the Boy Scouts and the GirlGuides Associations are doing splendid work. Thereare, according to the announcement of Boy Scout -Girl Guide Week, 165,000 Scouts and Guides trainingto serve Canada, learning to help others, and learningto give and take. These organizations stress learningby doing; the boys and girls are encouraged to takepart in the planning and carrying out of various formsof community and national public service.

Special duties and opportunities for making new-comers feel at home devolve upon the FederatedWomen’s Institutes of Canada, which are active inrural districts. The Radio Farm Forum and the CitizensForum provide opportunities for study groups to con-sider important citizenship problems. In the largecities, University Settlements and Community Centresprovide valuable contacts for new Canadians whowould otherwise be apt to get lost in the great popu-lations.

These are only a few of the associations of peopleworking toward better citizenship. To all such or-ganizations we owe a debt of gratitude, and we alsoowe our moral and practical support.

Citizenship Means Participation

After education and preparation comes participa-tion. It is one thing to talk about citizenship in yourliving room, or hear it talked about from the publicplatform, and quite another thing to get out andwrestle with problems in your community. In thefirst case you are dealing in words which have nicesounds: democracy, brotherhood, citizenship. In the

second you are dealing with actualities which aresometimes sordid, usually worrisome, and alwaysentail work. The participation of people in doingsomething about things, added to knowledge of whatmight or should be done, holds society together.

It is the common, everyday people who make thecountry good or bad. Individually, they may thinkthey count for litde, but they become effective asmembers of groups. In European countries the ten-dency is to let officialdom take the initiative ratherthan to have it assumed by groups of private citizens,but this is a vicious trend characterized by the latePresident Roosevelt as one which withdraws govern-ment from practical contact with citizens as humanindividuals and makes men and women mere units instatistics.

Fortunately, we in Canada can benefit by the objectlessons in other countries. Prizing Canadian clt, zen-ship, we can make it the backbone of government. Wecan avoid the procrastination which ends in spas-modic activity, flaring up for a while and then dyingout; we can refrain from detached criticism, whichcomplains from afar about what officials do, but re-fuses to get together for co-operation to make thingsbetter; we can shun dependence upon busybodies whogo to meetings, listen to talks, but never work longenough to see one constructive thing through.

Good citizens will participate in local government,at least to the extent of selecting to the best of theirability the men who are to govern the community,administer its schools, organize recreation, operatehealth services, and beautify the district.

World Citizenship

From local government to world citizenship mayseem a long jump. It was Cicero who said that en-dowment of human beings with the ability to reasonmakes every man a member of the great human com-munity. Starting with care for his family, expandingthrough service in his community, province andnation, every Canadian citizen finds himself embracedin the wider fellowship of world citizenship. Whetherwe think it a good thing or not, the future of Canadais wrapped up with the future of all countries. We canmake great, and perhaps decisive, contributions to thepreservation of human freedom and evolution.

Our citizenship contribution might well start, in-deed it must start, on the home front, in communitieswhere good citizenship can make itself felt quickly anddecisively. Dickens set down for us in a dramatic waythe picture of failure arising from our natural inclina-tion to take in too much territory. In his novel BleakHouse Mrs. Jellyby was a very earnest woman whobegan with the natives of Borrioboola-Gha instead ofbeginning with her own children. Nobody deniesthat we have duties to the natives of Borrioboola-Gha.But to begin with them is, for the most of us, to beginat the wrong end, and to make a sad mess of ourcitizenship in consequence.

PRINTED IN CANADAby The Royal Bank of Canada