At the end of the year, dictionary publishers choose some of their favourite picks for words of the year, with current events, politics, and viral trends bringing terms like tweetstorm, dumpster fire, or gaslight to the fore. A political word of the year in 2016 that got a lot of notice was the term “post-truth” with dictionary makers defining this as describing something “belonging to a time in which facts matter less than feelings or emotions.”
The year of 2016 was certainly one in which many people questioned the “facts,” particularly as described to them by the mainstream media, choosing instead to find their own versions of the truth and promote those instead, even if these came from self-professed fake news sites.
Unhappiness and anger are like a tinderbox, and it doesn’t take much for an explosion to happen, with fake news or social media posts lighting the flames. With many people angered by the carbon tax, and particularly the timing of the tax, perhaps it was no surprise that the rage found expression with people complaining loudly and angrily – but also falsely - that First Nations people wouldn’t pay the tax. A simple search reveals the more nuanced truth, that First Nations people purchasing fuel sold on reserves will not have to pay the tax, but several people didn’t seem to be bothered to try and find the correct information, instead stridently calling for an end to race-based laws in Canada.
All of us have different views and opinions and we need that diversity of voices and opinions reflected in our political landscape – from those that vehemently oppose the carbon tax, to those that agree with it, and even those who agree with having a tax, but not in its current form. But when political differences turn to threats of violence, when rallies give way to chants of “Lock her up!” or discussions become hate-filled rants against any group of people, then it has gone too far.
In 2017, it is possible for Canadians to have respectful debate. It is possible for us to use our clear thinking to sort fact from fiction, to question assumptions and to probe for more details and information. We can, each of us, choose to live and accept a “post-truth” world, or to demand better from ourselves and each other.
