Dear Editor
On the morning of Jan. 2, I awoke to the sound of a “Canadian singer/songwriter” performing, through the miracle of radio, something called “I would die for you if you want me to.”
Now there’s a brilliant little ditty everyone will be humming decades from now, don’t you think?
Or, perhaps not. Are we in an age of the lowest common denominator for everything? I have heard radio commentators babble on about something being the greatest song ever written. Nonsense; the world has vibrated to truly great songs of many types for hundreds of years.
Oh well, this a democracy, people are supposed to be able to enjoy freedom of speech and venture their opinions and their music.
In my opinion, however, there is a difference between freedom of speech and free speech. The latter is used by people who think it is acceptable to bombard other peoples’ ears with the “f” word, and to casually say nasty things to people who are, to all intents, their victims.
And everyone else is expected to put up and shut up.
I’m beginning to have doubts about democracy and have come to believe that, whereas those of us in any kind of minority have the right to express our ideas, a minority does not have the right to dictate to the rest of the country.
I also have come to believe the political party system is going to destroy democracy, especially when we have leaders of political parties who think character assassination is just good, clean fun.
Investigative journalism is so necessary in a democracy. Whenever a country becomes enslaved by a dictator or dictatorial group, the first thing done, almost, is taking over the press and airwaves and even murdering reporters.
There are times, however, that I wonder about investigative journalism. Usually the people in that group do excellent work digging out wrongdoing, including the wrongdoings of politicians. (That is no doubt why, even in a democracy, some governments have tried to choke off public broadcasting.)
However, there have been times lately that journalists have made tempests in teacups, times when they have also pandered to political correctness, a term I have come to dislike. This sort of thing makes me snap off a radio dial immediately, because often, if someone tries to voice some independent thinking then that person will be blackmailed, as to speak, because of not bowing to political correctness.
It seems to be just a way of shutting us up, of stopping freedom of speech.
Meanwhile, we can still write “songs” and even if no one ever likes what we like in that way we don’t really have to die for it.
Not yet.
Christine Pike
Waseca
