Canadians Need to Wake Up and Take Action Lest Canada Become A Society Like the U.S.

What has happened to Canada? on "Q" with Jian Ghomeshi.

The above link to an interview was sent to me by a friend and it says a lot about what I and many in my social circle have been feeling for a number of years.  It's only 3:30 long and I encourage you to listen to it.

It's not just about politics, politicians and political parties and the way they have numbed the minds of the Canadian electorate, it's about the fact that most Canadians seem to have given up and given in as the culture of our society has more and more come to resemble what we see in the US where profit, unfettered capitalism, and increasing power for the already powerful has become the state religion.  It's an attitude which says that society can go to hell in a handbasket as long as there are a few elites in society who achieve personal wealth, power and influence beyond all reason.

This is not what Canada is or ever has been about.  Growing up I saw Canada as a nation where anyone had the opportunity to achieve personal success (which we concouraged) but in doing so we did not forget that there were many in our society who couldn't (for whatever reason) and so we had to watch out for them by having an adequate social safety net.  Unfortunately, that social safety net is a shadow of what it once was as certain politicians and business interests have been successfully transforming Canadian society into something resembling the United States.  And as that safety net has come undone it has created other social, economic and environmental problems which have diminished the quality of life of Canadians and have sowed despair in a growing underclass of disadvantaged, dispossessed and disempowered citizens.

So please listen to the interview.  You may not agree with everything that is being said, but it will certainly make you think, and hopefully you will want to share it with others.

Canada is not yet what American society has become and that is why there is still hope for us to pull back from the brink.

© F. Khan.  All Rights Reserved.

Post-dystopian Politics in a Pre-Dystopian World

Professor Henry Giroux holds the Global TV Network Chair at McMaster University in the English and Cultural Studies Department.  For quite a number of years he has written about the changing nature of the society we live in and how corporations along with financial and political elites are controlling the actions of government in order to enrich and empower the richest and most powerful members of society while the vast majority are left to struggle.

His most recent article (link below), which is incisive and thought provoking, focuses on "violent", authoritative and militaristic government policies and how they negatively impact peoples' ability to live a hopeful and  meaningful life.

The focus of Giroux's article is the US but his comments can equally apply to Canada, as it has been transformed by Conservatives policies under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

To paraphrase from one of the paragraphs in the essay:

Any viable movement [towards a reinvigorated] democracy needs not only to fight manufactured ignorance, economic inequality, racial [and social] injustice but also produce a community that manifests the values of equality, mutual respect [and hope for the future] . . . [things which are] missing in a world that [functions in a paradigm of robber baron capitalism where the pursuit of profit is justified by any means -- even if those means include a hollowed out democracy, environmental degradation, social injustice, human suffering and despair.

I encourage you to read it and pass it on to others.  Only by raising awareness can we hope to mobilize enough people to speak out and take action against politicians who are more than willing to impliment policies which are destroying the limited infrastructure of the compassionate and caring society that was built since the 1960s.  To not act is to condemn Canada to become the sort of society we see in many parts of the U.S. where social Darwinism is a reality. 

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/19025-beyond-savage-politics-and-dystopian-nightmares 

© F. Khan.  All Rights Reserved.

Alternative / Independent Media: The Answer to Democratic Decay Or Just Some More Voices In The Crowd?

Last updated August 30, 2013 5:38 PM
 

February 12, 2013 -- I don't know why I've hesitated about blogging in the past since I find myself often commenting on various issues on Facebook which, in some cases, are accessible to the public.  But, for the most part, those comments are only visible to the people on my friends list, and I would like some of the thoughts I have put down to be heard beyond that limited circle.

I published my first blog last week as a result of a course I'm taking on alternative media and politics.  The blog was part of the assignment for that course.

So I will repost that blog here and l look forward to any thoughts or comments that I might receive.

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Alternative / Independent Media: The Answer To Democratic Decay Or Just Some More Voices In The Crowd?

In a world filled with media alternatives the choice of alternative / independent media (AIM) is so wide-ranging as to be overwhelming.  From magazines to newsletters to websites to TV and radio, one could spend weeks glued to a computer screen reading, watching and listening to all the alternative voices speaking about all the issues and viewpoints which are not covered adequately by the mainstream corporate media, or not at all.  To demonstrate how pervasive AIM has become plug the phrase "alternative media" or “independent media” into Google search and it returns over 9.2 million results combined.

Among the multitude of AIM voices on the internet is the website Truthout.

Truthout is a non-profit journalism organization dedicated to providing independent news and commentary on a daily basis. It is affiliated with the Freedom of the Press Foundation, an American organization whose goal is to “help promote and fund aggressive, public-interest journalism focused on exposing mismanagement, corruption, and law-breaking in government.”

According to their website, Truthout’s investigative reporting “has focused on issues such as government secrecy surrounding the Guantanamo Bay prison, the militarization of law enforcement on the U.S. border, and the growth of the U.S. national security budget in the past decade.”  They work to spark action by "revealing systemic injustice" and "providing a platform for transformative ideas", through in-depth investigative reporting and critical analysis.

However, unlike many other AIM media sites Truthout claims not to advocate a political agenda.  They state that their aim is to “remain free of bias and adhere to high editorial standards.”  Notwithstanding this claim, if you examine the articles listed on their main page they cover many issues that would be at home on other progressive leaning alternative media sites, and they cover the issues in a manner that is consistent with a counter-hegemonic, anti-corporate narrative.

With the exception of their claim to being free of bias, Truthout has adopted an operational / administrative model similar to many other alternative media outlets.  They accept no advertising or corporate backing but instead depend entirely on readers to support their work.

So why the need for AIM sites like Truthout?  Although the issue has been discussed at length in academia, the short answer would be that mainstream corporate media is no longer the independent voice it once was, it no longer adequately plays the role of guarding democracy, and thus no longer truly represents the interests of the majority.  Whether it is in Canada, the United States or elsewhere in the democratic world, the historical role of a free and independent media has been a key factor in the establishment and growth of democratic societies and institutions.  In fact it is the only profession that is specifically mentioned in constitutions of various democratic nations, including Canada, the United States, the European Union and its member states.

However, for at least the past two decades barriers have been placed in the path of the democratic evolution of nations due to the increasing concentration of media ownership among small numbers of corporately owned and controlled media empires.  For example, in both Canada and the U.S. the mainstream media is controlled by an oligopoly of corporate media empires who cater to the power and corporate elites and help to maintain the status quo in support of their interests (Atton).  Europe also faces a similar situation despite the fact that their media markets are fragmented by the various languages spoken on that continent.

The goal of these corporate media conglomerates is to create passive and uninformed consumers / voters who will make irrational choices that are counter to their personal / democratic interests.  And to accomplish this goal these corporations are willing to spend huge amounts of money and resources.

While the concentration of mainstream media has been the catalyst for the birth (rebirth?) of independent media in the modern era, the multiplicity of voices, despite their best efforts, continue to be eclipsed by the reach of mainstream media.  Or, to put it another way, despite the efforts and successes of AIM sites and organizations like Truthout, which intend to offer an alternative or oppositional perspective, they are still unable to challenge the macro impact of mainstream media sources.  Which begs the question, is the shift to a democratic and participatory process of production the best option in response to preventing the further decay of democracy if distribution of the information is limited, and if you become just another faint voice in a crowd?

© The View From Here.  All Rights Reserved.