LETTER TO THE EDITOR: CBC boosts Canadian culture and identity

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/02/2023 (875 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Re: Think Again, by Michael Zwaagstra, We don’t need a government broadcaster (Feb. 16).

In general, I am not a big fan of large corporations where workers are exploited, and the largest amount of profit goes to the CEO and shareholders. The workers who produce the great amount of wealth should be automatically shareholders in the profit. That would not fit into a narrative where capitalism is pushed as the only way to survive and thrive. This is probably not the concern Mr. Zwaagstra has for getting rid of the CBC.

It is all about a culture war where the ultra right must be in control or else all hell breaks loose. Maybe that sounds a little drastic, but we get the idea . In the political scene CBC seems be more in a neutral position. It definitely does not fit in to an extreme conservative frame of mind.

The CBC was created for a very good reason. We wanted to stay as an independent nation with our own culture and identity. We did not want to be swallowed up by the USA. That purpose has never changed, and we can be proud of it. The CBC is an excellent source of Canadian culture and content. There is a push from the right-wing white power in the USA to penetrate the Canadian culture and politics. A prime example was the Truckers convoy who were determined to push themselves to the forefront. The American right-wing media like Fox News, Newsmax and Onan gave it a lot of attention and promoted the truckers convoy as something that heroes do. Unfortunately, some of our politicians swallowed that rhetoric with hook line and sinker. Not good music for my ears. Looking back a year ago those ideas were challenged in our local paper (The Carillon) and I was happy for it. My mind has not changed since then on these issues.

I have been a happy listener to CBC since the early seventies and have no regrets whatsoever. I have been educated on so many things that I had no clue about before. CBC has been a huge source of information for me. Keeping us as Canadians informed on events, history and culture is extremely important. CBC has a wealth of fantastic programs and is across Canada. There is no private news media that could come close to the CBC. I would not have the knowledge I fortunately possess today without CBC and reading a lot of good books. I love educating myself on various subjects. Learning is fun and a lifelong project. CBC is one of my sources for learning. I would say well applied tax dollars.

It seems to me that Mr. Zwaagstra and me, we are about a thousand miles apart in our thinking about the CBC.

As for Pierre Poilievre making a commitment to privatize the CBC, to me means the same as wanting to gut it and get rid of it completely. People don’t need to be informed is the thinking. Conservatives have been wanting to put the CBC on the chopping block for a long time already. That in itself might not be a death blow to winning in the next election but it could be a contributor to a losing position because people will ask the question, what could be next on the chopping block? Old age security? All social security programs? Are they not wasted tax dollars?

The next question I would ask Mr. Zwaagstra is who does he think should take over the CBC? Should it be Mr. Murdock the owner of Fox News and other right-wing media? Should we not have a right-wing propaganda machine in Canada? How else could we kill woke in Canada? Florida Governor Ron DeSantis needs help in his campaign to kill woke and bury it forever. Those are his own statements.

It is noticed that you dislike wokeness as well. Would you like to be his helper? The thought of you not wanting to hear about social justice any more gives us a good hint on where things are at. Woke is hard to kill. That could be a hard campaign to win but you can try.

Why would it be hard? You have to start by eliminating all Christian principals because they are as woke as they can be. Take Jesus Christ out of the equation because he represents the very essence of woke. No, he was not the white saviour for only whites but was all inclusive to my understanding. If we cannot grasp that very idea, we should qualify to be white Cristian Nationalists. I don’t want to be one of them. I believe in all inclusive and in a meek attitude. All we need to do is to google this: “What does it mean to be woke?”.

It is not hard for me to understand the meaning of woke. If you want start killing woke you might find resistance from your very own pastor assuming you have one. Other churches might start pushing back provided they believe in the teachings of Christ.

Karma has a way finding us when we pursue injustice. Our belief system must be rooted in justice and decency.

As far as CBC is concerned, I have never found them to be biased in my opinion. Yes, they are reporting corruption in all the parties which is great. It is for the benefit of us all. I will only sing way out of tune when it comes to the conservative songs of the south of grievance and sorrow. I don’t like those songs. If the ultra right want to claim victimhood let them do so ,we don’t have to join in. I will tune in with those who sing O Canada we stand on Guard for thee.