Left vs. right: Balance is healthiest

By Letter to the Editor on January 28, 2019.

Re: “Fact check your News ,”Jan.7:

The column highlights important points about media bias. While I agree with writer Paul McLennan that responsible consumers of news should be aware of media bias, they should also be aware of their own biases while reading or viewing. In this age of “post truth,” it has never become more important for individuals to check their confirmation bias at the door in search of truth. McLennan, however, seems to have some biases of his own when he suggests that “a number of independent studies” suggest the media is “up to 90 per cent on the left end of the political spectrum.” Really? He uses the coverage of Trump as his example, however, The Harvard report, to which he refers, includes Fox News as reporting 52 per cent negative coverage of Trump. Is Fox News left or does Trump create his own negativity?

McLennan also gives away his bias when he refers to the political spectrum. There has been much confusion and misinformation about what this spectrum means, so it needs some clarification. Historically, the conservatives in Canada are right, the liberals are centrist, and the NDP are left. However, today the provincial UCP is far right, while the provincial NDP with its pro-business and pro-pipeline agenda is centrist at best, if not to the right as well. In the U.S., the same could be said about the Republican and Democratic party: the former is far right while the later is centrist. One could argue that the provincial B.C. NDP is a party to the left of centre; hence, the battle between Alberta and B.C. for the pipeline.

But what does it mean to be right or left? Those on the far right espouse that since we are born equal and have equal opportunities, those who are less fortunate in life bring it on themselves, and thus, the government (the people) should stay out of it. The left, on the other hand, question this notion that we are born equal: People are born with vastly different abilities, aptitudes, physical attributes, and misfortunes that contribute to their ability to succeed, and therefore, it is the duty of society to provide support for the betterment of all.

Had it not been for the NDP in Saskatchewan, would we have the health-care system that we take for granted today? And what would the newly unemployed do if we didn’t have EI? Finally, we have the centrist parties like the federal Liberals and the provincial NDP that strive for a balance between the compassion on the left and the self-sufficiency on the right.

Personally, I’ve always found balance to be the healthiest choice. I am a Libra after all.

Gwendoline Dirk

Medicine Hat

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