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Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

Ranting about the media; and the politicians; and the pool pump!!!!!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Do you know that I’ll never figure out “the media”. I have worked in “the media” for over 30 years, mostly as an editor, and during that time I have marvelled at the whole thing. A lot of people think that the media is there to inform and educate. Some people think it helps keep government honest. Others, who are optimists, think of it as the voice of democracy and stuff like that. In reality, the media has only one real purpose – and that’s to sell junk – and the more junk, the better. My esteemed colleague Philip Shaw is an economist and he often talks about what “lubricates” the economy. He talks about things like oil and capital as being lubricants for our modern capitalist economy. I’d like to throw the media into the mix – because I think it’s really what makes the whole sordid, evil mess keep going. And I don’t mean to be overly negative by calling the planet an “evil, sordid mess”, but have you watched the media lately. According to the modern Western media, the planet is in a mess of gigantic proportions from which there seems little hope of escape. The media sees its role in our society as the harbinger of doom – virtually everything that is reported on the so-called news – and I use the term news lightly – is of a negative nature, reporting on war, pestilence and famine, with the odd scandal thrown in, almost to the complete exclusion of the enormous amount of good stuff that’s going on in the world every day. And I think it affects the mindset of the entire planet – like the consciousness of the whole earthly community – makes us all walk around like a bunch of frightened children, scared of our shadows – and makes us more vulnerable to the main message the media has – buy stuff and you’ll feel better – buy enough stuff and you’ll somehow achieve nirvana and be lifted out of the muck of life. No, no, no, no noooo…..Life is beautiful. Life is wondrous. Life is an enormous miracle without compare. There are so many people working to do so much good in the world. If only the media would give as much prominence to the good stuff as the bad….if only the media would be honest about what it’s doing. But, really, the media does what it does. And maybe we need to teach our young people to be more aware. Education is the key. As society becomes more complex and the media becomes more sophisticated at selling its junk, we need to become smarter and more savvy about how we regard the media. Man, life is complicated….and you likely didn’t read that here first….

Philip Shaw, who I mentioned earlier, and I talk frequently and we’ve been working together for over two decades, creating what I think is “good” media – media with a conscience. So, when I got talking to Phil last week, we got to talking shop – he’d read my column in that week’s cktimes and wondered where Brian Mulroney was. Phil had devoted his column in the paper, At Issue, to the recent report issued on former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, certainly painting the man with a less than favourable brush. Phil, who knows I’ve never been a Mulroney fan, was surprised I didn’t use the occasion to take another swat at him, a sort of journalistic “told-you-so”. I told Phil I was pretty well done with the boy from Baie Comeau – that nothing they could find out about him would surprise me. I always had a feeling things weren’t on the up and up when Mulroney and his cronies were running the country. I just had a bad feeling every time I saw an image of him. Of course, the main reason he should be vilified are his misguided policies which have damaged the country. He gave us the beginnings of free trade, brought in the GST and did a number of other questionable things, particularly with the economy, which eventually led to the gutting of our manufacturing sector. I don’t know – I can’t remember all the details right now, but I don’t think he helped us along – and I think he started a succession of Canadian leaders who couldn’t carry the briefcases of folks like Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Lester B. Pearson and even John Diefenbaker. All we get these days are lightweight pipsqueaks who are more interested in getting selected to various Boards of Directors after they leave office, than making sure the interests of average Canadians are looked after……

Quite a rant this week…..but you know that’s what happens when I can’t get the pool running right for two hours and I’m frustrated and soaked head to toe first thing in the morning. Then I’ve got to sit here and write this piece and try to sound calm and composed and somewhat literate…..Anyway, hope you’re doing well. Pool is back to normal……remember…take care and, “Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may.”



John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.