Being a Traditionalist in Canada

Durante questi (primi) cinque anni dell’opera di testimonianza di RigenerAzione Evola, la prima regola della nostra azione è stata (e così sarà negli anni a venire) l’impersonalità. Con questo spirito, diverse individualità e comunità hanno contribuito, mettendo a disposizione sedi per la presentazione delle nostre pubblicazioni, diffondendo il nostro sito ed il nostro materiale, o semplicemente con una donazione libera.

Tra le conoscenze fatte, lungo il comune cammino di chi “non vuole il ‘questo’ e cerca ‘l’altro'”,  non ci sono solo camerati italiani. Oggi pubblichiamo, infatti, l’esperienza di un giovanissimo, a firma Valentinus, che ci racconta come è essere “tradizionalista” nel lontano Canada. Le sue parole accrescono in noi la consapevolezza che la Tradizione è universale, perché ciò che è vero e giusto non conosce confine né limite temporale, potendo semmai mutare le forme esteriori in ragione delle circostanze. Lo stimolo è pertanto quello di continuare senza sosta a ridestare “forme nuove di sensibilità e interesse”, oltre ogni confine, oggi, che la modernità ha abbattuto ogni barriera di questo “villaggio globale”, più che mai!

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A Traditionalist in Canada (*)

“A white race in closer touch with nature, like the Canadians, will bring stronger nerves to the business…” -Ernst Jünger, Copse 125

The titanic vastness of the almost Hyperborean Canadian north is a landscape that lends itself well to the contemplation of the Traditionalist. Here one sees large expanses of tundra, reminiscent of the Prime Matter of metaphysicians, and the potentia of power and possibility is impressed on the soul. To be a Traditionalist in Canada, and I only use this term for ease, can be likened to travelling in such a space: solitary and in the dark. Before I seek to describe my individual experience, I must say that I can only speak from the perspective of one living outside of the big cities, such as Toronto or Vancouver. Perhaps there are groups or associations of Traditionalists there but if there are, I do not know of them. This highlights the difficulty in even writing about a Traditionalist orientation in Canada, as there are almost exclusively individual experiences.

As I understand it, in Italy there are communities, such as Raido, which actively promote, research, and seek to live the Traditional principles expounded primarily by Guénon and Evola. These communities and their activities form an excellent basis for the concrete practice of Traditional ideals, providing a brotherhood to assist in remaining upright in these times.  They also form a launching point for action in the social and cultural orders, with resources being preserved and created. In Canada however, there are no such communities, or if there are they are still in very early stages and comprise only a very few members. As such, for many Traditionalists in Canada, the internet is the main source of Traditional knowledge, ironic as it may be. It is only through the internet that most are introduced to the ideas of Guénon or Evola and it is primarily through the internet that communication is created between Traditionalists, most of whom are geographically distanced across national borders. This contributes to the very individually oriented aspect of Canadian, and to an extent North American, Traditionalist practice.

As there are no major groups, most education on Traditional studies comes from literature. In fact, because of this, Traditionalism can take on a form of literary or academic exercise confined to books, something which both Evola and Guénon warned against continually. This danger is accentuated by the solitary or online basis of Traditionalists in Canada. It cannot be asserted however that Evola or Guénon are unknown here. I myself have introduced them to people and received positive feedback. That being said, the enthusiasm for study and practice of such authors and the principles they expound is few and far between here, unlike in Italy.

I have mentioned briefly that the practice of Traditional ideals in Canada is a very individual undertaking. While explicitly Traditional thought is rare, there are nonetheless many milieus which do promote ideas in accordance with Tradition. It requires a good eye in seeking out established groups or streams of practice, such as a religious organization, and taking what is useful while keeping what is not from negatively affecting oneself. These allow one to form positive, healthy, and beneficial relationships which can make up to some degree for the lack of any explicitly Tradition-centred organization. Of course, it must be said that before Evola and Guénon there was hardly any idea of ‘Tradition’ so explicitly stated, and so the explicit mention of Tradition is not needed for an organization or practice to be Traditional. Though, without the signposts erected by those author’s works, it is very difficult to remain on the right path. Even with them it is hard.

To paint a full picture of Traditionalists in Canada would require more space than is afforded here. Any reflections and experiences described here are only my own and I would think that with time and further networking, they may be altered. I am optimistic that as the dissemination of Traditional ideas becomes easier, more qualified individuals will take up their study. I am also optimistic in the forming of communities, not unlike those written about in A Handbook of Traditional Living. Either way, the communication of Traditionalists around the world is of great importance, so in writing this article I hope to further that process and bring greater understanding of our respective national milieus.

Valentinus

(*) Ricordiamo che nel Canada francese, per la precisione a Montréal, esisteva, negli anni Settanta, una sezione del Centro Studi Evoliani di Renato Del Ponte. In quegli anni una casa editrice locale, Les Editions de l’homme, probabilmente legata proprio a quella sezione, ha editato e tradotto dei libri di Julius Evola, fra cui Rivolta contro il mondo moderno, nel 1972, come si può vedere qui: http://www.editions-homme.com/revolte-contre-monde-mod/julius-evola/livre/9780775903362 . (N.d.R.)