If one was to base his or her worldview on nothing more than mainstream media headlines, that individual might end up indefinitely hiding under a rock in a perpetual state of paranoid fear.
But reality is not necessarily reflected by sensationalist headlines that make mountains out of molehills, heard a large group of high school students on Oct. 5.
Students from Caroline, Spruce View, Carstairs as well as Didsbury joined Sundre High School students for a presentation by Gwynne Dyer, who is an author, speaker, historian and independent journalist. His discussion on current events provided a different perspective the young minds might otherwise not have had the opportunity to consider.
For example, he challenged the notion that terrorism represents a great threat by analyzing numbers that essentially get completely glossed over or even outright ignored by the mainstream media.
To drive that point home, he noted that since 9/11, only four Canadians have been killed by “terrorist” actions, which were actually perpetrated by other Canadians. Yet about as many people die on a fairly frequent basis in just a single vehicle collision, but those stories generally won't make mainstream headlines — let alone international headlines — unless it's a slow news week, he said.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., some 3,000 citizens perished on 9/11, resulting in the ensuing War on Terror that has very directly led to the further destabilization of the Middle East and continued to increase the number of casualties and collateral damage along the way.
But about as many American citizens are gunned down every other month or so in relentless gun violence that has plagued that nation for decades, yet no concrete action is taken to mitigate that carnage, said Dyer, adding facetiously that U.S. troops have yet to invade and occupy cities like Boston, Chicago or Detroit.
Even though terrorist actions cause relatively minor casualties compared with, for example, gun violence in the U.S. or car crashes in Canada, the mainstream media tends to sensationalize such instances, giving the public the impression the situation is more serious than it is, he added.
However, terrorism is not what weighs heavily on his mind. If that was humanity's only problem, our kind would not be in such bad shape, he said.
What keeps Dyer from falling asleep as quickly and soundly as he once did is the disconcerting resurgence of extreme political movements that spawn from the desperation of people who are pushed to their limits during prolonged economic struggles.
He drew parallels with the economic desperation that led to the rise of fascist governments in the years before the Second World War with today's economic situation that has fostered a similar growth of far right-wing parties throughout Europe and even south of our own border.
That is all happening despite the documented fact that humanity is currently experiencing its longest period of relative peace among the world's great powers. Certainly there are still conflicts, but the world has not been embroiled in global war since 1945. However, as some people are increasingly pushed towards desperation and extreme political parties, the international stage could potentially shift for the worse, he said.
Dyer's presentation provided some valuable food for thought and encouraged the students to engage as much as possible their ability to think critically and to not necessarily buy hook, line and sinker everything the mainstream media spews.
