Let me begin by getting something off my chest. I know Nolan Crouse. In fact, I’ve known Nolan Crouse for about 25 years. Further, a number of years ago, I worked in a company where I reported to Nolan Crouse, and later on, I worked with Nolan Crouse as a peer. As I came to understand Nolan, I also came to realize that he was one of the 10 most remarkable people I’ve met in my lifetime.
So let’s address all the gossip about financial issues surrounding our mayor. Most of us make mistakes from time to time, and when we discover the mistake, we fix it if possible. Nolan apparently made some accounting mistakes, is rectifying the problem, and it’s the end of the issue.
If it’s not the end of the issue, then you have to convince me that Nolan Crouse risked his job, his career, and his reputation, in order to deliberately abscond with 12 cents here, and 22 cents there. Seriously? You would never do that, I would never do that, and Nolan never did that. Some members of our society delight in weakening the powerful, humbling the rich, or mocking our leaders. Perhaps they enjoy this, but remember the words of Abraham Lincoln: “You cannot help the weak by destroying the strong.”
Let’s get on to real issues, such as the following:
Two recent events highlight that there is a public institution that really does need some humbling, and some weakening of their powers. The events in question include the breakout of the Ebola disease in Africa, and its subsequent arrival into the United States, Spain, and a few other nations as well.
The second, and equally scary event, has been the emergence of ISIS in Syria and Iraq. If brutality and hatred were Olympic events, this group would win gold, silver, and bronze in both categories. Most of us are not physicians and we cannot determine the medical threat posed by Ebola, nor are we national security experts, and therefore cannot judge the true danger of ISIS.
However, there is one institution whose members have decided they are experts in both areas (despite having no apparent education, training or expertise in either topic), and have taken to reminding us, constantly, of the imminent peril we all face, every minute of the day, and in every nook and cranny in the world.
I speak, of course, of the press, or more specifically, I speak of television news. Turn on your TV, and whether it’s CTV, CBC, Fox, CNN or a dozen others, you will be bombarded with constant warnings of mortal danger and emotion raising hysterical reports of “the sky is falling.”
What annoys me is that I believe the press has an obligation to firstly understand these issues, and secondly, to explain them clearly and calmly. This rational debate is not happening. Rather, we are subjected to attention-grabbing theatrics, and verbal diarrhea that does not help; in fact, it inflames the issues and makes them worse.
I have neighbours getting quotes on bomb shelters, so as to survive the upcoming ISIS invasion, and friends rushing to complete their wills before Ebola sends them to meet their maker. If the threat is really this high, then tell us. If it is not this high, then tell us this fact as well, and stop the constant sensationalizing of the news.
Brian McLeod is a St. Albert resident.
