Our divide is so incredibly wide at this point in history and it almost seems like there is nothing we can do to save ourselves.
In Canada, we watch the US and pretend we’re better even though we know deep down; so goes America, so goes Canada eventually (for the most part).
While Canada is more peaceful than the US (again, for the most part), we have a lot of citizens being radicalized, and while our problems might seem smaller, so too is our population. For Canada to have 10% of the issues with 10% of the population … that’s still a statistical problem.
So, what can be done? How do we get past this point of political ideology ruining everything? How can the MSM gain our trust back? How can experts be seen as such again with their science and medical advances being accepted?
I surely don’t have all the answers, but I do have a few ideas. Here are 30 sure fire wins that the government, MSM and experts can enact to gain the trust of the people back.
Goverment
- Politicians should have a straightforward salary with immediate dismissal if they take any other money, gifts, or other possibly influential items that could sway their opinions. That salary should be based on the median wage of their electoral district and calculated at the average hours spent on the job. I guess the only other item they might need to expense is their travel for work.
- Write a bill and pass the expulsion of lobbyists and special interest groups.
- Hire experts in their field to key positions, and not daddy’s golfing buddy.
- Remove all finance from political campaigning. I’ve outlined how to do this many times on my podcast. We could authorize $1000 locally, $5000 on a State or Provincial level, and $20000 Federally as we transition to a policy based online campaign structure, phasing these dollars out eventually. But don’t get it twisted, even those who lose make money off of running for office. Full disclosure: I would have. In the first 48-hours I had thousands offered to me.
- Bailouts & Stimuli are a hot button topic. It’s time we address the elephant in the room; trickle down economics don’t work in the vast majority of cases. You give a CEO $800m in bail out money and I guarantee that not enough of that is trickling down to the janitor. I say, no more bailouts. If your company can’t survive by evolving then your bail out is bankruptcy. That’s what it was designed for. However, there should be one caveat. Like with COVID-19, when the government locked down cities, there should be a bail out. I don’t believe it should come in the form of money though, but rather a freeze on all incoming and outgoing transactions until the situation is under control. The economy is a manmade invention, after all. What about personal finances? If you haven’t saved enough for essentials like food (when your other bills are frozen) then you need to examine your spending habits. This is a typical story about CEOs, while this is a typical story for lower and middle class citizens.
- Separate yourselves from science. Politicians should not be able to influence scientific innovation.
- Do As You Say bill. How many politicians have gotten in shit over publicly telling people to stay home because of COVID-19 only to get caught going on vacation? It’s gross behaviour. If you don’t follow the message your government is delivering it shouldn’t even be a discussion. Get out.
- Answer the MFing Question bill. Quite simply put, it should be an absolute offence to not directly answer questions from other members of government or the media like what happened here.
- No more “handover mentality”. If the government is going to do something they must present the long-term plans, strategy, and who will be in charge of what. They must also show how it works into the budget. Politicians must be held accountable for not seeing projects through.
- The government’s role is to take care of big issues because we the people are too busy running on the economic hamster wheel to do so. When the pandemic started we saw a total failure of government. They ignored experts who were sounding the warning sirens for a decade because they’re not good at long-term thinking, only election cycle thinking. How about we just say when that happens, an election is immediately called unless it is an unforeseen threat that no credible expert was worried about?
MSM (Mainstream Media)
- Kill 24 hours news cycles. No Wolf, Trump walking to a helicopter isn’t BREAKING NEWS! Much of the breaking news isn’t breaking news. I kinda like that CNN has started to feature more Vice style docs. I think that’s a good way of going if we need a 24 hour station.
- No more opinions unless the show is literally called, “My Opinion: with Anderson Cooper or Tucker Carlson”. Otherwise, they deliver the facts as they are known at the time, and that is it. Interjection of personal opinion is grounds for suspension or termination.
- Do away with the click-bait headlines. I know the members of MSM are only doing this because other fake news sites are, but seriously, hold yourselves up to the same standard that Walter Cronkite did.
- Let us know when you’re presenting an investigative piece or whether you’re simply presenting the information given. Again, no hyperbole.
- Allocate at least an hour a day for good news. I don’t care if Donald Trump’s Trumpettes are burning down the Capitol Building, find time to report on good news.
- CNN, your bias is obvious. FOX, your bias is obvious. Start mixing up your political and social pundits so that we can see both sides of the debate.
- You find clever little ways of reporting on unproven or unsubstantiated gossip. You’re basically The Dirty, and a lot of time people can’t tell the difference between you and The Onion. Sure, I can come out and say that Joe Biden may be a pedophile, but I better have some sort of proof or I should be denied any coverage. And no, an anonymous source isn’t proof. All of those types of stories should be filed under “Gossip” until proof is presented and then it can become a story.
- Vet the people you interview prior to letting them speak to the world. Holy crap, the next time I see someone treated as an authority on vaccines just because they have a doctorate I’m going to break my TV. You want to talk about vaccines then talk to an immunologist or epidemiologist; not a holistic general paediatrician. On the flip side, if you want to talk about nutrition then perhaps flip that scenario and add in an expert in nutrition.
- This is more about social media, but the algorithms need to identify counter-points and always put them side-by-side for people to get a better view of topics. Post a video about how the Pennsylvania voter fraud happened, don’t ban it … shame it. Put the counter-point next to it showing that Trump’s lawyers were too scared to even claim fraud in court.
- And speaking of the algorithm … just like traditional media, social media is building an echo chamber. Sure, at first, this was a new problem that took time to fix but it should be fixed by now. Just because I watched a video about the virtues of mRNA vaccines doesn’t mean I don’t want to or shouldn’t see a video talking about the risks. I get it, MORE CLICKS! But, you’re ruining the mfing world with this. Aren’t you rich enough, Zucks? Are you struggling that hard, Dorsey?
Experts
- You need better PR people. Here you are with complex solutions to complex problems and you talk circles around people. Cut the shit and deliver the message in a way that appeals to all minds; problem, solution, benefit to you, benefit to the whole, risks, here’s why the risks are worth it, and here’s where we hope to go in the future. Boom, done, next!
- I know you don’t want to, but you kinda have to. It’s time to live stream clinical processes.
- No more privately funded research. I know this will hinder progress but what good is progress when the idiots have all the guns? The people don’t trust big pharma, so take big pharma out of it. If a guy like Bill Gates wants to donate $200m to research then he can add it into a government issued pool.
- Stay in your lane. If you’re an oncologist don’t present yourself as an expert on vaccines. Yes, you know more than most, but not more than most immunologists. If you’re a chiropractor, stick with adjustments and manipulations when presenting yourself as an expert. It takes a lot to be an expert and we can all only know so much.
- The scientific world needs to identify a clear and concise process for acceptable theory that leads to peer review, that leads to action. Not only must science understand it, but so must the general public. This should be taught in grade school and it should be common knowledge.
- Create a single community where people can go to find out how a scientific matter is handled officially. Break that information down for those who don’t understand the jargon. Basically, we need a central location for valuable information.
- Get the journals under control. While the vast majority of studies are valid, shit like this shouldn’t be happening. You’re always trying to let political correctness dictate what happens in your communication. Damn the correctness. Science is cold, bland, mean, and unforgiving. Fat bodybuilding? There is only one reason that would get published and it has no place in science.
- Experts like to believe everyone understands the basics. With COVID-19 we saw that wasn’t at all true. COD and death certificates needed to be re-explained, theory needed to be re-explained; damn, even how viruses work needed to be re-explained. Make clear whether what you are putting out into the world is theory or the best information we have at the time, which has passed through trials, peer review and been tested. Label it, say it. This way when you flip flop on masks when the next pandemic hits, people will understand why.
- Appear on podcasts, make an Instagram account to answer questions, and let the knowledge flow through the channels that people actually care about. Many are doing this now, but not enough. There are still too many that hoard their knowledge and experience for a big book release or look down on the common person who doesn’t get it. With great knowledge comes the responsibility to share it.
- This one is simple … don’t take money from any organization that has a bias or conflict of interest. This is huge in the holistic community but happens in allopathic medicine as well. Some doctor starts touting vitamin C as a cure for everything only to be paid by the leading manufacturer of something to do with vitamin C. I know that will stifle some progress, but once again, what good is progress if we live in an Idiocracy? Oh, and of course I’m not talking about perceived conflicts. I mean actual financial bias or conflicts.
Conclusion
The worst part about most of these items is they’re basic bitch ideas. In short, they should have happened a long time ago. There is no reason why many of these are still issues, except to say greed and ego have corrupted many.
I believe if they addressed most of this list we’d have far fewer problems. Of course, there are plenty of other great ideas out there, but I wanted to start with these basic bitch items because they’re fairly easy wins that would have maximum impact.
So, Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden … your move, hot shots! The media and experts need you to take the lead. You are “leaders” after all, right?
