International relations between countries are all the more important in our global economy. Which is why I find it puzzling that a major American network would air something which intentionally creates ill will with us Canadians.
The obviously light-hearted current affairs panel on the Fox News network called “Red Eye with Greg Cutfeld,” began discussing how our Canadian Forces will be pulling out of Afghanistan in 2011. Naturally, an American show will have an American spin – while our Canadian news and current affairs shows discuss how many soldiers lives have been lost, the ethical dilemmas involved in any war, and the cost to Canadian taxpayers to support an American-made war – the American spin often revolves around how Canada is helping aid American efforts to fight the war on terror.
Not so with Greg Cutfeld’s show. Cutfeld even starts off his show by equating the Canadian military’s ending of the Afghanistan mission with a holiday, saying that: “certain members of the Canadian military are looking to take a well-deserved break. And by certain members, I mean all of them.”
He goes on: “Meaning, the Canadian military wants to take a breather, to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants.”
This well spoken but highly mis-informed American on the boob-tube fails to mention the over 3,000 soldiers from all nations across the globe via the United Nations, assisting his country’s war. A war which originally was begun “to get Osama Bin Laden and those who stand against America’s interests,” as proclaimed by then-U.S. President George W. Bush, but now has been nothing more than another Vietnam, as Bin Laden continues to haunt the world with his broadcasts calling for violent acts against America and its allies.
Nor does Cutfeld mention the 116 brave Canadian soldiers killed in the line of duty, serving in Afghanistan in his country’s war. Though Cutfeld did indicate that we “shared a border with the most powerful country in the universe.”
Guests on Cutfeld’s show got into the Canadian-bashing, with even more outrageous mis-informational insults slung our way.
“We have police officers, they have Mounties,” said one guest on the panel. “Our cops ride heavily armoured cars, they ride horses. We have bullet-proof vests, they have wonderful little red jackets that can be seen a mile away. This is not a smart culture Greg!”
Another guest chimed in, supposedly in our defence.
“Yes, but to be fair to the Canadians, they are up there where it is frigid, where it is very cold, they are a hardy people, good allies of the United States, this is why I’m so disappointed in them,” she said. “So they are getting manicures, they are getting pedicures, everybody needs a little time off.”
Maybe those coming back from Afghanistan will get a pedicure, but I’m sure it won’t be nearly as an important a moment in time, as when they first see their teary-eyed spouse who hasn’t seen them in over six-months, the baby that was born while they were away and have never seen, or even just the comfort of landing on home soil, where it is safe.
The sacrifices our Canadian soldiers and the various civilian support staff that spend many months, and in some cases years, overseas, defending the interests of our nation and our allies is far greater than the need for well groomed nails.
What this show – on a news network, of all things – did was to degrade, alienate, and offend a whole nation, by downplaying the hard work, dedication, and above all else, the sacrifices our nation has made for another country’s home-grown war.
Granted, the Fox Television Network is known for it’s edgy, often in-your-face shows which aim to be anything but politically correct. The network’s founding shows included “Married with Children,” about a shoe salesman more interested in nude magazines than taking care of his family, “In Living Color,” a show which poked fun of racial stereotypes by reversing and exacerbating those stereotypes, and the very popular “The Simpson’s,” which often shows how a dysfunctional family can be quite functional.
However, Fox News is a news channel, and news channels should have a sense of obligation and respect for the content which they broadcast because chances are, unlike a made-up show with made-up characters, news is about real people and affects real peoples’ lives.
Or at least, maybe that is one of our Canadian traits that our American neighbours still need to learn.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment