I spend a fair amount of time on twitter, and read ten or twenty articles per day, stories usually suggested to me by Canadian reporters or newsmakers that I choose to follow on the service.
So far this year, there have been countless scandalous stories coming out of Ottawa about misleading jet-plane-procurement contracts, the reopening of the abortion file, slackening environment-protection rules, internet snooping, sneaky crime omnibus bills, sneakier budget omnibus bills and of course voter-suppression.
I grew up during the Watergate years, and here in Canada, it seemed to me that our governments of the era went on high alert, quick to react to scandal, either by shuffling Cabinets, firing key people, or calling elections. Nobody wanted to be the next Tricky Dickie.
Forty years later, despite our vastly increased knowledge of the incompetence or cynical manipulations by our leaders, nobody seems to be held to account, and nothing really ever changes, no matter how deep the revelations of wrongdoing are. And, judging by the lack or meaningful protests, we seem to be OK with that.
The Globe and Mail even went as far as to laud our Prime Minister and his obedient team for a job well done in its first year of this term. This commendation comes despite the risk that Elections Canada may one day conclude that the governing party stole its 2011 mandate through one of the most elaborate crimes in election history.
Meanwhile, half of Canada is on Facebook today. And many of us use the service to share our anger about the issues of the day there, or on twitter, or on comment threads at media websites and blogs, and tuck in for the night. Venting and sharing is great, it can make one feel part of a caring community.
But then what happens to our rage, to all of that energy? The news cycle of discovery/detailed-revelations/outrage/fade to oblivion/repeat/ keeps spinning, and we feed it by getting caught up in the outrage part. Who benefits from this rage if nothing ever changes?
One winning group is news organizations, their writers, and advertisers. I like to think that reporters and journalists are on the side of the masses who need to be protected from power. It seems that way at first glance, especially when good work - such as the job Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher have been doing (virtually alone) on the election fraud story - can potentially help bring down a corrupt government.
But the reality is that most credible journalists and reporters work for large media entities that demand sales revenues (including CBC), and sales are driven not by noble reporting, rather by sensational stories that spawn the rage cycle.
Observing this collective of reporters on twitter is fascinating. They operate like a pack of ravenous dogs, attacking the same big story, trying to gain a unique angle, frantically digging for advantage over their competitors, ramping up the rage factor, even skewering participants in all directions with snarky humour. But once the story’s carcass has been fully picked, usually over three days, they run to the next meal, leaving whatever unanswered questions from past stories to rot.
Yes, reporters and journalists’ work is indispensable, someone’s gotta dig up the dirt for the rest of us to see, but the value of their work - for the most part - seems hollow, they just seem to be providing material to feed the rage cycle.
It also seems we are only too pleased to help news corporations - and their masters, advertisers - by ramping up the ratings with our toothless social media rants, links and comment threads. The illusion is that we are somehow participating in the story.
However in my opinion, the media really couldn’t give two shits about the content of my comment or your tweet, they simply want as many eyeballs, page-views, and remote-control clicks as the story can possibly generate. They take our rage - our free marketing work - and turn it into profits.
Another party that benefits from our behaviour is our elected leaders - all of ‘em. One would think that our social media rage power and apparent accessibility to them would force politicians to be extra vigilant about keeping the masses off their asses. But it seems the opposite has occurred, that our power to vent is beautifully contained in the social media vacuum, a virtual cesspool to which our outrage is sent to die.
Our Prime Minister has had reason to fire half-a-dozen Cabinet ministers by now, but hasn’t lifted a finger. His mandate keeps steaming ahead as planned. Opposition MPs, perceived allies for those of us who don’t support Harper, are tits-on-bulls when it comes forcing change. They say enough to position themselves as opponents to a policy, and as alternatives in the next election, and frankly, that’s about it. I’ve been expecting someone, somewhere, to keep pressuring the government on the election-fraud issue, but that person is nowhere to be found.
One exception to our apathy is taking place in Québec. Leaders are having to take a second look at tuition increases because of the Montréal student protests / riots. The net result will likely be a compromise for both the government and students, but at least rage will have served a productive purpose. Keeping us buried behind our keyboards, virtually venting our spleens, is what leaders prefer we do; if it don’t bleed, it don’t lead.
Unfortunately, English Canada is not much of a protesting people, and we can’t be smashing windows every time Bev Oda orders a $16 glass of OJ. Maybe ignorance is to blame, maybe we just don’t know how to protest; we can barely get people to vote, let alone call MPs and organize. There needs to be a new way where this great engaged mass can influence beyond on-line rage.
Sometimes I wish the eggheads who write those anger-inducing columns would present us with effective options as to how to make a related, effective change: write this person, call that group, organize this kind of petition, make this video, march here. But I guess that’s not their job, and besides, they have to pretend to be neutral.
I don’t profess to have any answers either at this time, but unless we become more effective at expressing our unhappiness over the current state of affairs, our rulers will just keep steamrolling over us. We - including me - are putting the pathetic in apathetic.
Some are born into wealth and opportunity, others are raised into poverty and despair. I, like many others, was born into perspective.
