| Good Reads Mailing List | 2005 week 10 number 2 (Michael Ignatieff) |
——————————————————————— Speech to the Liberal Convention | Michael Ignatieff http://www.goodreads.ca/lectures/ignatieff/ “I put national unity at the centre of our project as a party and as a people. But it matters not just to us. It matters to the world. This is something I see from afar. From afar, we’re a very special and precious experiment. We’re an experiment as to whether a multicultural, multilingual society can survive and prosper. If we can’t do it, ladies and gentlemen, no one else can. And the future of all multiethnic multicultural societies will be grim indeed. That’s why there’s a global stake in us getting this story right. We are a ray of light in a gloomy world, a ray of hope in a world which is in fact ravaged by intolerance and by hatred. Let’s get it right. The world does look to us, the world does ask us, ‘get it right, show us how’. Communities of difference, communities of different languages can live together, can forge a unity together. You’re doing it in this hall tonight but never forget that we truly are a light unto the nations, and we must never forget that in the daily life of our politics. Now, there are countries to the south of us that believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And these countries that shall remain nameless want to export freedom and democracy to the world. And because we’re Canadians, we’re skeptics. We don’t like rhetoric that’s that high flung. We got some doubts about the project. We have doubts about the American dream. Ok. But let’s remember that we have a dream. Because we are the people of peace, order, and good government.” transcript of the audio Smart Guy, Eh? | John Geddes |
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emailed by Timothy on Tuesday 08 March 2005 @ 12:22 AM