Right in the centre - Thought dictators

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Published on Friday, June 2, 2023

By Ken Waddell 

Neepawa Banner & Press

The world is polluted today with thought dictators and nobody likes them. It doesn’t matter what a person’s beliefs are, they don’t like to be told what they must think, what they must say and, perhaps more important, what they must not say.

Alberta’s election was held Monday night and wasn’t won by the party that the thought dictators predicted or wanted to win. The corporate media, academics and many pundits told Alberta they must vote NDP. After all the United Conservative Party had the audacity to say they don’t agree with the Liberal-NDP propaganda. We must accept, perhaps even love the carbon tax in spite of the fact it has a lot more to do with tax than carbon. The Liberal/NDP coalition in Ottawa insists we must bow down at the climate change alter, put our lives on hold so more taxes can be squeezed out of every person, farm and business in the land. We must subsidize EV battery factories, subsidize electric cars even though they are basically useless in rural areas and dangerously impractical on the prairies. Some EVs can’t even make it from Brandon to Winnipeg in cold weather.

But something happened on the way to the election polls. People said no way, we are not going to buy this bullplop. And, as people expressed that impolite expletive, they didn’t care whose sensitivities might be offended by hearing the BS word.

Several CBC commentators, including a former Calgary mayor, dropped their impartiality facade to come to promote the academia/labour/NDP politically correct stance on everything from gas and oil to mining to electric cars to social issues. The people spoke but in a very quiet way. The UCP won a majority in spite of the thought dictators.

A quiet movement is sweeping across North America. For example, a beer company recently tried to boost its sales by riding on the coat-tales of fame related to a Tik-Tok content creator. This online celebrity is viewed by some as an advocate for the transgender community, though some within that same community disagree. (but that’s another conversation for another time). Either way, some people didn’t like that idea and sales in the United States dropped. A big store chain tried a similar idea and sales dropped. One report says that the two companies lost $28 billion in stock value. I find that hard to believe but even if it is a half or a quarter of that amount, it’s a huge financial rebuke. Investors expressed their view dramatically albeit quietly.

Most people believe that we should live and let live. Where the problems arise is when the thought dictators come sweeping in. People can do just about whatever they want and it’s more evident than ever before that “freedom of choice” is rampant. What the thought dictators don’t realize is that while people can do almost whatever they want, nobody is obliged to go along with ideas they don’t like. We are bombarded with ideas, thoughts and trends that we must adhere to or else we will be declared “bad” people. We will be shunned, ostracized and excluded. Whether it is an election or consumer preferences, the thought dictators can’t control people and influence decisions nearly as much as they assume or desire.

That’s a good thing and recent elections and consumer decisions are a source of encouragement. The thought dictators can beat their brains out trying to control us but it will not happen. We should be thankful for that.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the Banner & Press staff.