Matthew Steinbach
opinions@theotherpress.ca

Campbell goes into damage CONtrOl 5, cuissn

 

A; anyone who has been following the political scene in British Columbia knows, Gordon
Campbell hasn’t been the province’s most popular guy as of late. With his highly unpopular
carbon tax unfairly whacking B.C. drivers since July 1“, and many of his top government
officials receiving astronomical raises, it’s not much of a shock that the provincial NDP has
pulled in front of Campbell’s Liberals in the most recent polls.

Well, it appears that Gordo has recognized that crucial fact as well. With the
combination of all those factors, Campbell has gone into full damage control mode in

order to salvage what is left of his reputation and try and save his increasingly unpopular
government. It’s a good move, too, because lately the approval ratings of the provincial
Liberals are tanking just as fast as their federal counterparts.

First, at the recent convention of B.C. Municipalities, Campbell announced the
beginning of the Climate Action Revenue Incentive, which will reimburse municipalities
that agree to sign the Climate Action Charter, which requires municipalities become carbon-
neutral by 2012. After this unexpected proclamation, Campbell later declared that school
boards would also soon become exempt from the controversial carbon tax.

These shameless attempts to win back the voter’s support continued when
Campbell revealed that the ridiculously over-the-top raises to his top bureaucrats would be
slashed in half. After that, Campbell divulged that the Coquihalla Highway toll would be
immediately removed.

I don’t know what Campbell calls all of those gifts to taxpayers, but anyone with a
brain can see that it’s blatant damage control. However, it’s not nearly enough. If Campbell
really wants to buy back his voters and win the next provincial election, he should ditch the
carbon tax right away.

The odds of that happening are minimal, as Carole James and the NDP would
jump all over him and insinuate that he’s backing down. Despite that though, it would do
more than have Campbell momentarily lose face; it would keep him in office. All the premier
has to do is take a look at the polls and approval ratings of Stéphane Dion, the leader of the
national Liberals. He’s been selling his campaign on his proposed Green Shift, and it’s pretty
clear that that isn’t what Canadians are primarily interested in right now judging by how fast
the Liberals fading right now.

Aside from a few monumental blunders, the real shame of all this is that Gordon
Campbell hasn’t been a bad premier. For the most part, he represents British Columbians
well; just look at how he handled himself at the recent Beijing Olympics. He’s certainly
better than Carole James, with or without the carbon tax holding his reputation back.

While the recent announcements are certainly welcome, until Campbell admits his
mistake and cancels the carbon tax, he runs the risk of permanently tarnishing his legacy.

 

We know them all— Facebook, YouTube, iPods, blogs, Blackberries, email, text messaging,
MySpace. These familiar gadgets and technologies were purportedly created to make

our lives easier and more fun but are our lives really getting better as a result of new and
improved wireless devices? Can we really share and connect more than we did prior to
being permanently plugged in?

One thing’s for sure: we’re buying more into the idea that networking, maintaining
friendships, and building relationships is made easier by firing off quick emails,
“Facebooking,” or texting. It may be faster, but is this type of communication really better
than face-to-face interaction?

We’re sacrificing precious time with the people who mean most to us in the interest
of saving minutes and hours. Technology is making it so that we don’t actually have to
physically “see” our close friends and family to feel close to them. But what is really
happening is a fundamental disconnect in the way that we interact with each other. Now,
more than ever, people seem to be able to relate less on a personal level when they’re faced
with real-life social situations.

Now, we all have the ability to have hundreds, some of us even thousands, of virtual
friends. But do these numbers really add up to meaningful associations? For the vast
majority of us it isn’t humanly possible to speak with these people on a daily, weekly, or
(sometimes) even monthly basis. Where’s the merit in that? I would argue that social media
is helping us to further isolate ourselves rather than becoming increasingly connected. The
next time you reach for your Blackberry’s key pad, I dare you to dial a number instead of
sending a message. Believe me, you can do it!

 

Ranting, Raving, and Relating

 

Technology is making us antisocial ,, «..:.:::.,