OT: Coupure dans la culture - MAACA ARCHIVES - JOIN THE NEW FORUM AT HTTP://WWW.MAACA.ORG

Hmm... being on the fence culture-wise (my father is anglophone and my mother is francophone), I do have a certain opinion on this...

I heard arguments from both sides of this. On the French side, I hear a lot that the Anglos are attacking our culture and we should not stand for that. On the English side, many state that there are many known artists driving Mercedes cars and living the high life. Gross misconceptions from both sides.

Let us not forget that the federal government is cutting the budget on cultural affairs, regardless of what province. Whether it is in the west, the Prairies, Ontario, quebec or the Maritimes, everyone is feeling the pinch.

And as for the image that the federal government has over certain artists, I find this to be a very narrow-minded view. To say that most artists roll in the dough is like saying with certainty that most amateur hockey players can play in the NHL. Bullshit. 99.9% of artists (me being a musician in the past and knowing first hand) DON'T make money. I know musicians that could put to shame many popular artists out there right now, but they are working regular jobs to make ends meet.

Some people forget that the expression of one's society is not through our Gross Domestic Product, but by our culture, whether it be music, paintings, poetry, sculpture, books... those are the true reflections of what we are. Unfortunately, we have a government in place right now that only gives a mess about making money. It doesn't matter that the teenage genius musician will not be encouraged to flourish as an artist... let's keep milking the tar sands in Alberta for all they are worth, regardless of the rise in cancer cases in and about the sand sites, and let's export 99.9% of the oil to the US where they will pay us for it, while we keep paying out of our asses to fatten up the Arab petrolium conglomerates, so they can build their bank accounts to obscene heights.

Culture budget cuts are but a small fraction of what is going on, guys... pollution is getting bad (crazy weather, smog, contaminated water sources...) but HEY!!! Harper says we will cut pollution by 20% by 2020... WTF does he care??? Politicians have an attention span varying between 1 day and 4 years... Harper's attention span might end on Oct.14th.

Our environmental minister (Baird) is a joke, claiming he will reduce pollution, but then he turns down Kyoto. Hmmm... isn't there a big following for the Conservatives in Alberta's Big Oil country? Go figure... Even his predecessor, Ambrose, was an even worse joke. They had to pull her out because she looked like a complete idiot in front of a large environmental comission involving many countries. At least Baird saves face, but nevertheless he is still identified as having no credibility worldwide due to his positions. But then again, I believe he is just Harper's puppet.

...Sorry guys... I get cranked when I talk about either politics or religion. Unfortunately, for politics, regardless of the party in power, NO ONE has ever proved me wrong when I say '' same mess, different party''.