CHARBONNEAU – Two Solitudes redefined: Quebec draws closer, the right drifts apart

PRESIDENT TRUMP has managed to unify Canadians more than any other U.S. president.

For the first time since the Conquest of New France in 1759, the wall of ice between the Two Solitudes is thawing.

For the first time since the invention of the printing press in 1440, the divide between left and right is widening.

The irritants between Quebec and Canada have been epic. Quebecers have felt alienated for centuries.

Canada nearly lost Quebec in the referendum of 1995 in which 49.4 per cent of Quebecers voted to leave Canada.

However, a recent poll indicates a significant rise in a “deep emotional attachment to Canada” among Quebecers, increasing from 30 to 45 per cent.

A Leger survey revealed that 83 per cent of Quebecers would not like Canada to join the U.S., greater than either B.C. or Alberta.

At one time, Free Trade with America seemed like a sure way of asserting Quebec sovereignty.

Former Bloc Québécois leader Jacques Parizeau likened the Free Trade to “calling on the Americans to protect us against the Canadians.”

Regrettably, as we pull together as a nation we are pulling apart politically, creating new solitudes.

The invention of the printing press was one of the most transformative events in history. It revolutionized society by democratizing knowledge, accelerating communication. The invention reshaped culture, politics, and religion.

With more reading material available, more people learned to read and write, leading to higher literacy rates.

And the resulting acceleration of communication led to the development of other news sources such as radio and TV.

They all had a common mode of operation – they employed reporters to dig up the news.

“Invented” news was an exception; such as propaganda during war.

The creation of the internet in 1969 also revolutionized communications with the World Wide Web.

The internet allows users to find channels that align with their opinions. These are not news channels; they are echo chambers that confirm our biases.

More than ever, the internet has blurred the distinction between fact and opinion.

What you are now reading is opinion. I looked up sources I want to refer to but I am not reporting news. I didn’t go out and dig up anything that wasn’t already on the internet.

The lack of distinction between the news and opinion has allowed right wingers, more accurately called populists, to build a realm of information.

We now have Two Solitudes of information, two parallel lines of “news.” Like two parallel lines, the two will never meet.

Mainstream media supporters emphasize journalistic ethics, editorial oversight, and fact-checking. They criticize populists channels for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories

The populists that propelled Trump to power criticize mainstream media as biased, elitist, and disconnected from the concerns of ordinary people.

They claim that mainstream media promotes a globalist, liberal, or corporate agenda and suppress alternate perspectives.

As Canada draws together in response to threats from America, we drift apart into two worlds in which each finds the other unbelievable.

David Charbonneau is a retired TRU electronics instructor who hosts a blog at http://www.eyeviewkamloops.wordpress.com.