Desperately seeking good news

Richard Mahoney—My View
Desperately seeking good news

You know you are getting desperate to find some good news when you are encouraged after reading that Apple will no longer use artificial intelligence to churn out summaries of news articles.

The decision came after news organizations, such as The Washington Post and the BBC, complained that erroneous reports were attributed to them. Believe it or not, Apple has come to the sudden realization that AI is fallible. Wow! A small victory for sanity!

Apart from that, though, it is difficult to think of many other positive developments in the world, unless you count the fact that civilization is teetering, but has not yet actually tipped into the Great Abyss.

Meta has finally confirmed it has no interest in the truth. In 2023, Meta blocked Canadian news content from Facebook, Instagram, and Threads after the federal government enacted the Online News Act, which would require tech giants to pay news outlets for linking to their online content. And now Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has eliminated fact-checking and made it even easier for lies and vitriol to be spewed on “social” media.

US President Donald Trump had reason to gloat after he bullied Zuckerberg, who also just happened to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, into removing from his platforms any third-party fact checkers, and facilitating the spread of misinformation, under the guise of promoting free speech.

Cue another round of, “That’s it! I am getting off Facebook for good – this time I really mean it!” Sadly, for many, like the countless number of TikTok disciples, kicking social media is almost impossible. The allure is strong and addictive.

Dependence leads to vulnerability. Panic broke out when TikTok was briefly offline in the States.

Any technological glitch, however limited or brief, can be hugely disruptive.

For example, Upper Canada District School Board schools were temporarily forced to go “old school” after the board was hit by a January 5 cyber attack. The hackers shut down services for all of the board’s schools for several days, forcing them to operate in a non-digital environment which proved to be, as the board put it, “a learning opportunity for everyone.” Personal information was also stolen.

While it is a daunting task, avoiding “social” media would indeed be a benefit for our collective mental health, considering what will transpire over the coming months and years.

A federal Liberal leadership race will be followed by an early Ontario election and a federal election campaign. Gulp. You think tribalism is rampant now? Just wait for the tone to get even uglier as Pierre Poilievre (a.k.a. Dippy Skippy) and his Conservatives prepare to oust the Liberals (a.k.a. The Worst Ever) and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh (a.k.a. The Maserati Marxist). Singh got that tag when right wingers had conniptions after seeing him get into a $200,000 SUV, which he does not own. What? Socialists can’t enjoy nice things?

And we have not even begun to feel the impact of Trump tariffs.

Nostalgia alert: Some can remember the days when the world was not loud and angry, when a person could hitchhike anywhere. Adventurers could set out on foot and backpack across North America or Europe, without fear, or cell phones, or GPS, and travel and explore the world with complete strangers, who automatically trusted you, simply because you were Canadian.

They also fondly recall the era, not so long ago, when people and their politicians respected each other, and would participate in face-to-face discussions of ideas and principles, without resorting to intimidation, insults or nasty nicknames. Ah, the good old days, when leaders showed class and epitomized “statesmanship.”

And still, out of all the current maelstrom of strife, finger-pointing and trepidation, some voices of resolve and reason have emerged. Most provincial Premiers have been presenting a united front, although the strategy seems to be changing every day. There is a growing consensus that we can help ourselves by eliminating barriers that impede the movement of goods between provinces. But should we be using a carrot, a stick or both? Our leaders insist they are defending our interests while striving to work with our American “partners.”

As hats with the “Canada Is Not For Sale”  message become hot items, the menace from south of the border has given rise to a new sense of nationalism.

While nobody wins in a trade war, the masses believe that our politicians must retaliate against American tariffs that are expected to go into effect as early as February 1. Meanwhile, on a local level, our representatives are trying to talk to their counterparts in New York State, reminding them of our traditional, friendly “partnership” and that tariffs will hurt everyone.

We don’t want to become Americans. We don’t want to be intimidated, but if push comes to shove, well, we are going to feel some pain. Sorry, but that is a harsh economic fact. The best that we can hope for is that we only get bruised, not flattened.

A concerted collective effort, involving governments, businesses and citizens, may help limit the damage caused by the bully in the White House.

As consumers, we have some power. We can step up the “Shop Locally” campaigns, we can support “Made In Canada” promotions, we can avoid American-made products.

Are you ready to stop drinking Florida orange juice? Could you live without a shot of bourbon from Tennessee?

Let us know what you think at rmahoney@seawaynews.media

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