A Disappointment

Last Friday, Paul Martin formally appointed Michaelle Jean as the next Governor-General. The major mainstream newspapers (including Vancouver Sun, a local publication in itself) all devoted much space to report on this development, and mostly with a very positive tone. The news, of course, was already leaked out on Thursday.

On both days, however, none of the Public Affairs phone-in programs on AM1470 and AM1320 (at 5-6 pm) chose this as a topic. Was it not chosen because other news were more locally relevant, or was it because the program hosts thought their listerners might not be interested? But the appointment of a new General-Governer, regardless of one's view on the value of this traditional institution, should at least deserve to be a point of discussion. In this particular case, the appointment of Michaelle Jean was widely praised as a positive move. One columnist even argued that this appointment for a traditional institution reflected the arrival of a New Canada.

Needless to say, I was quite disappointed. If we look back at the topics discussed on the shows, the majority of them were understandably local, to match the interests of the listeners. National topics were far and between, and often, a smaller number of listeners would call in. Granted, AM1470 and AM1320 are not the CBC, but should they not take on some responsibility to help listeners expand their vision by learning more about national affairs?

In a previous article, I was arguing that the Chinese media ironically created a cultural enclave for the community. I think by not choosing to discuss about Michaelle Jean's appointment, the program hosts are once again helping to strengthen this cultural enclave.

抗衡「泛道德主義」、走向「多向度思維」

一直以來，華人社區內都有人認定加拿大社會已變得太自由，個人主義過度膨脹，而道德的約束力日漸式微。由同性婚姻、大麻非刑事化、安全注射屋、到賭場博彩的爭議，以至近日有關娼妓合法化的初步探討，都有不少社區中人從「傳統道德」的角度，反對各種政策的「自由化」趨勢，更甚者，政府被認為包攬「黃、賭、毒」三大害。批判的矛頭亦指向教育制度，認為學校缺乏為下一代提供道德標準的能力和勇氣。簡括而言，這種觀點描述的社會，正走向自我滅亡。從日常觀察所得，這種觀點甚有市場價值；它的支持者固然不遺餘力地透過公共媒體傳達訊息，同時，它亦成為批評政府－－包括政客、官僚等－－的利器。

上述觀點的基礎是意識形態而不是客觀分析的。事實上，前述種種問題，各有其前因後果，亦屬不同的社會範疇，當中涉及人權、法治、醫療健康、社會安全、及商業利益等價值的互動和衝突；籠统地定性為「道德淪亡」的後果，不只阻礙理性的討論，對問題的解決也起不了作用。這種泛道德主義的傾向，支持者中不乏社區有識之士，能夠利用其影響力，將觀點推而廣之。

華人社區內提供討論空間的公共平台〔public platform〕極為有限，商業團體及服務機構固然不少，但缺乏文化、教育或論政的民間團體，總令人覺得社區內產生不了多元化的發展。另一方面，日漸壯大的華語媒體，雖然對社區極有貢獻，又反過來令社區人士減少接觸非華語媒體的機會和意欲，慢慢形成「內困的文化圈」〔cultural enclave〕，使某類觀點能佔據這個具其影響力的平台，不斷循環再造〔recycling of viewpoints〕。

要抗衡這種影響，大概可從兩方面着手。個人方面，只要能力許可，最直接的是多接觸非華語媒體上的觀點，擴闊視野及從不同的角度分析問題。同時，多跟同輩討論，從互動中理解問題的複雜性，走出「單向度思維」〔one-dimensional thinking〕的局限。群體方面，有心人大可組織起來，成立論政及各類文化、教育團體，爭取或發展表達意見的平台，達致「多向度思維」〔multi-dimensional thinking〕的目標。

因互聯網技術的發展，每個公民都可以利用網上的平台表達自己的意見，這絕對是簡單易行的第一步。例如近年出現的網上日誌〔weblogs〕，提供一個快捷的途徑，使任何人都可擁有自己的平台，與別人交流，只看我們是否加以利用。更進一步看，多元化網上電台的方興末艾，絕對有利「多向度社會」的發展，壓制「泛道德主義」的擴散。