‘Our identity is 2017 Canadian’

Re: Oktoberfest and an uneasy alliance — Oct. 16

There is no doubt that the initially strong regional Germanic footprint in Waterloo Region has faded with history, save for the rural Mennonite community. However, Oktoberfest was always intended to be a lighthearted nod to this region’s early development. A reflection of values, as with the Mennonite Relief Sale, it is not. It has become commercialized, successfully so, by happy coincidence of it being linked to Thanksgiving.

That our community has evolved to the successful state it has sends a message to all Canadians that is worth noting and embracing — that as history and generations progress, cultural footprints fade and integrate themselves into a larger, fuzzy mosaic that is in fact a new culture, and ours has chosen by unique effort to retain distinct Indigenous and Quebec subset societies. This is not a bad thing. It is good. It is sharing and learning and welcoming evolutionary change. Those of us who have an element of Germanic heritage in us, and in this community that is a lot, do not bemoan a lost culture and try to live it every day and evermore. We have moved on. Our identity is 2017 Canadian, confidently a work in process. In Oktoberfest, as with many other “cultural” events, we join others from every heritage group and as “tourists” have a moment of commercialized fun, idealizing an aspect of a past culture. Everyone is invited to participate respectfully, immerse themselves in, if not appropriate a seed culture and afterwards get on with life in the real and living world. What we call culture is most often historical. We can and should celebrate the past that is honourable, but we need to focus on our immediate, surrounding, impactful culture and live the values that amalgamated culture embraces. The idea of a multicultural Canada has in many ways been conflated into something that was not intended. Tom Hiller Kitchener