At about 11am I and my wife took the oath of allegiance and became Canadian citizens. It suddenly dawned on me that now when someone asks where I am from, I will say Ontario, Canada and not Punjab, India.
The ceremony itself was quite nice . The judge said something that I really liked. He said that the Canadian society in general is not a violent society and then proceeded to explain why he thought it was so. He said that all around the world it is very easy to identify yourself as “them” and “us” which in turn leads to conflicts. It’s only natural. But here in Canada, especially in province of Ontario with it’s diversity of people, conflicts tend not to happen because everyone from all the corners of the world are now “us”. So all animosities generated in other parts of the world are left at the door.
Don’t know if I put it as well the judge but I really like that explaination. What about you?
Desi In Toronto 