WE THINK OF OUR IDENTITY
IN DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS,
WE THINK OF OUR
IDENTITY IN TERMS
OF THE THINGS WE
POWERFULLY BELIEVE
IN UNIVERSALLY AND IN TERMS
ALSO OF OUR TRADITIONS
THAT WE MAY BELONG TO.
AND SOME PEOPLE, SOME
VERY EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE,
MAY-- WE THINK OF GREAT
REVOLUTIONARY FIGURES
LIKE TROTSKY MAY HAVE, WERE
ENTIRELY IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES
BY THIS GENERAL POWERFUL
BELIEF IN SOCIALISM AND SO ON.
OTHER PEOPLE MAY BE MUCH
MORE DEEPLY EMBEDDED
AND THINK OF THEMSELVES
PRIMARILY IN TERMS
OF SOME SOCIAL,
HISTORICAL, CULTURAL GROUP.
BUT I THINK WE ALL HAVE
SOME MIXTURE OF THE TWO.
AND INSOFAR AS WE
DO, AND FAR AS WE
HAVE THIS PARTICULAR HISTORICAL
DIMENSION TO OUR CULTURE,
TO OUR IDENTITY, THEN WE
CAN THINK OF OUR IDENTITY
AS PARTLY BOUND UP WITH A
CERTAIN HISTORIC CULTURE.
I SEE THIS WHERE I COME FROM.
THERE'S A VERY STRONG
SENSE IN QUEBEC
OF FRENCH QUEBECERS HAVING
A TRADITIONAL WAY OF BEING,
A LANGUAGE, SET OF
REFERENCES, AND SO ON.
AND MOST OF THEM STRONGLY
IDENTIFY WITH IT.
IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART.
NOT THE WHOLE, BUT AN IMPORTANT
PART OF THEIR IDENTITY.
AND THEN THERE IS ANOTHER
LEVEL IN WHICH YOU CAN TALK,
IN WHICH YOU HAVE TO BE
ABLE TO TALK ABOUT IDENTITY
IF THAT'S SO.
THE LEVEL OF THE GROUP,.
THE QUEBEC CASE.
BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY OF
US THAT SO STRONGLY IDENTIFY
WITH THIS FRENCH SPEAKING
SOCIETY AND ITS EXPERIENCE
AND TRADITIONS AND SO ON,
BECAUSE WE SHARE THAT,
WE'RE ALWAYS GETTING
INTO ARGUMENTS
ABOUT WHAT IT REALLY MEANS.
BECAUSE WE SAY, I MEAN, THIS IS
AN IMPORTANT POINT OF REFERENCE
FOR ALL OF US, BUT
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
SOME PEOPLE SAY IT MEANS
WE'VE GOT TO BE INDEPENDENT.
THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO
LIVE THIS IDENTITY OUT
PROPERLY IS TO HAVE AN
INDEPENDENT COUNTRY.
AND OTHERS LIKE MYSELF, VERY
STRONGLY AGAINST THAT, SAY, NO.
I MEAN, THERE'S A WAY OF LIVING
THIS, WHICH IS MUCH BETTER,
WHICH IS IN SOME
KIND OF COEXISTENCE,
A COMMON HOME WITH OTHERS.
SO, WE HAVE THIS TREMENDOUS
FIGHT ABOUT THAT.
AND WE HAVE THIS THING WE'RE
TRYING TO DEFINE BETWEEN US,
RIGHT, WHICH IS, IF YOU LIKE,
THE COLLECTIVE OR CULTURAL
IDENTITY.
IT BECOMES THE FOCAL POINT.
ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING
THAT IS BECAUSE IT'S
SO IMPORTANT TO SO
MANY OF US THAT WE
HAVE TO COME TO A COMMON
DEFINITION ABOUT IT.
WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE
IT SOMETHING OUT THERE
THAT ANYBODY CAN THINK
WHAT THEY WANT ABOUT IT.
WE HAVE TO ACT
COLLECTIVELY ON IT,
AND WE FIGHT ABOUT WHAT
COLLECTIVE ACTS REALLY
ARE TRUE TO THIS IDENTITY.
