The Canadian preference for a “loaded silence”

At the very least, one thinks, we should now have acquired a little self-knowledge.  But self-knowledge does not come from study alone.  It comes from a knowledge of history, from self-examination and from open and vigorous debate, a candid exchange of opposing points of view.  Too often in this country we gravitate towards the superficial, and so polls that claim to take our measure can still surprise and dismay us.  We are suspicious of debate, anxious about the truths they might reveal.  We prefer regulation, the imposition of legal barriers, in our pursuit of peace, order and good government.  We prefer, then, a loaded silence.[1]

Neil Bissoondath, Selling Illusions (1994)

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[1] Neil Bissoondath, Selling Illusions: The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada (Toronto: Penguin, 1994), p. 3.