Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watcgl!pptanner
From: pptanner@watcgl.UUCP
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: Free trade, Canadian culture, $$
Message-ID: <636@watcgl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 23-Feb-87 10:34:22 EST
Article-I.D.: watcgl.636
Posted: Mon Feb 23 10:34:22 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 24-Feb-87 01:19:32 EST
References: <191@fornax.uucp> <3047@watdcsu.UUCP>
Reply-To: pptanner@watcgl.UUCP (Peter P. Tanner)
Distribution: can
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 50

In article <3047@watdcsu.UUCP> brewster@watdcsu.UUCP (Dave Brewer, SysDesEng, PAMI, UWaterloo) writes:
>
>
>   Arguements in favour of supporting CBC in the form of :
>   a) but we have supported it for a long time
>   b) but not everything has to break even
>   c) but this is a medium for supporting the Canadian national identity
>   d) but it brings the country together

You miss the whole point of the CBC.  If one has any goal for the
culture you live in, the education level of the general
population, their ability to make decisions, both personally for
themselves and jointly for the nation, you might well want to
have a television and radio service that presents its programs
for a reason other than selling toothpaste.  

The difference between American and Canadian programing is well
illustrated by comparing kid's programming.  In Canada, Mr
Dressup, Fred Penner, Friendly Giant, and the Canadian portion of
Sesame Street all have the goals of enlightening the children as
well as entertaining them.  The educational goals of these
programs are obvious to the parents of children who watch thje
shows with their kids.  The goals of the children's shows on US
TV are to sell products - often products that have very
questionable social side-effects.  

I would gladly pay my share of the CBC subsidy just for their
radio service.  Its quality is exceptional, and its role of
informing people is well carried out.  

I am sorry that there are those in the country that would rather
have everything run solely for the purpose of making money.

>    The rights of minorities is an oversold political turkey.  In a democratic 
>    state, if the majority of voters support A, then A should happen.  If the 
>    majority of voters oppose A, but some minority wants A, then A shouldn't 
>    happen.    This is the supposed basis of a democracy.  
> 

This is certainly not the basis of democracy.  (What happened in
your school when they taught "civics"?)  The basis of democracy
is that the general population has the right to elect its leaders
who then make decisions as they see fit.  If we do not like the
set of decisions they make, we throw them out.  Nowhere in our
system is there the notion that we have any right, as an
electorate, to make decisions on the individual issues of the
day.  One of the common current complaints of our governments is
that they often make decisions according to Gallop rather than
using their "wisdom" to make the decisions best for the province
or country.