Letters, Dec. 28

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/12/2024 (462 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bad examples

Re: Tangled up onscreen and Daring erotic thriller marks return of the genre, Dec. 24

On the front page of the Arts section on Christmas Eve, the Free Press directed my attention to two new movies.

One of them reminisces about a young male genius who mistreated the women who loved him.

The other tells a story of a powerful woman who discovers her true self by becoming the submissive to a dominant young man.

From my students at the University of Manitoba, I often hear terrible experiences that young women have had with the men in their lives.

I ask myself how, after generations of feminist activism, many young males can still display such twisted expectations and abusive behaviour. This glimpse of our popular culture helps me to understand.

Movies have been called the collective dreams of our time. Apparently we are still dreaming about male heroes who subdue women and do with them as they please. If this is what boys are absorbing as they grow into manhood, our world will continue to be a dangerous place for women.

Justin Jaron Lewis

Winnipeg

Turnabout is fair play

Your editorial Saturday, Who’s going to be running the show in the U.S?, Dec. 21, ended with a comment and a question: “We know who got elected. Who’s making the decisions?”

The editorial was about Elon Musk’s unusual and in-your-face influence on President-elect Donald Trump. It made appropriate points about the upcoming change in administration, and questioned whether the president will be acting alone, or with undue pressure from “the money.”

However, the editorial’s closing sentences could also look back four years. We know who won, then. Who has been making presidential decisions for the last four years?

Last week’s Wall Street Journal expose documented what has been evident to many since the current president’s 2020 campaign, and has been questioned for his entire administration (to scornful dismissal of “cheap fakes” and “disinformation!”): Joseph Biden has not been up to the job for a long time. The June debate stopped the Democratic Party, and the media, from covering it up any more, resulting in Vice President Kamala Harris’s unsuccessful campaign.

Unelected influencers have always been a part of every democratically elected administration everywhere.

However, by questioning the disturbing effects Musk seems to be having on the coming presidency, but not the unknown advisors who have been making decisions in Biden’s name, the Free Press is going along with mainstream media generally in covering one party closely, even obsessively, while ignoring similar actions and situations in the opposition party’s procedures and policies.

So, who did decide that Biden would not run? Who has been issuing pardons? To Hunter Biden (every father everywhere, especially those with troubled offspring, knew that Biden would do that) but now to manifestly corrupt individuals, and to all but three federal prisoners convicted and sentenced to the death penalty — who made those decisions? Who else will be exonerated in the next month,of all impending crimes, and undisclosed ones? For how long into the past will the absolution extend? Why?

Media coverage of politics in a free society must treat all officialdom indiscriminately. Speaking truth to power must not be limited to one side, or democracy will die, not in darkness, but in deliberate ignorance, as light is directed away from preferred parties.

Bill Rambo

Landmark

More than trees

I am writing regarding the ongoing destruction of Lemay Forest, which represents far more than just a collection of trees. This vital ecosystem serves as a sanctuary for countless wildlife species and holds deep historical significance for our community.

While recent media coverage has oversimplified this issue by focusing solely on tree removal, public statements should acknowledge the full scope of what we’re losing. What’s being destroyed is an intricate web of life — a complex ecosystem that has developed over generations. When we remove these trees, we’re not just cutting down timber; we’re dismantling entire habitats and disrupting delicate ecological relationships.

As we’ve seen in other communities across Canada, once these natural spaces are gone, they cannot be truly replaced. In Delta, British Columbia, residents are fighting to protect their urban forest precisely because they understand the comprehensive value these spaces provide — from supporting wildlife to maintaining environmental balance. Similarly, in Toronto, citizens have recognized the irreplaceable nature of their heritage trees and the ecosystems they support.

The narrative needs to shift from a simple discussion about trees to an honest conversation about ecosystem destruction and habitat loss. Our urban forests are vital components of Winnipeg’s environmental health, especially as we face increasing threats from climate change and urban development. Recent studies indicate that Winnipeg could lose up to half of its tree canopy by 2065. We cannot afford to accelerate this loss by destroying established forest ecosystems.

I urge city officials to reconsider their approach to development and recognize that Lemay Forest is not just a stand of trees — it’s a living, breathing ecosystem that deserves protection for future generations.

Jaxon Kowaluk

Coalition to Save Lemay Forest

Winnipeg

Finding faith

Tim Sale’s suggestion that we ask children to develop prayer(s) to guide our legislators and hopefully all of us in the years to come is brilliant. (Politics and prayers, Think Tank, Dec. 21) It is what I needed to finally make sense of my spiritual issues of prayer, belief and love. I am grateful.

Jen Zoratti’s front page story “Holy Trinity’s message of hope” in the Dec. 24 issue helped to take me further on my journey.

I finally understand and accept that I need concrete human ways to remind myself of the absolute necessity of belief.

I believe that humanity invented religion as a way to sustain our connection with the holy mystery of life.

I believe that the turmoil and despair in our country and in the world today is the result of our having lost a method of coming together and sharing what we believe. And without that sharing, we flail about searching for meaning in our lives.

I deeply hope that we are on the edge of a Renaissance in religion.

Over the span of history, we have built beautiful buildings and filled them with objects of veneration to remember what we believe. These buildings instil a calmness and sense of awe that I feel when I am in nature. They are absolutely necessary in the civilization we have created, which has immense forces leading us away from our connection to each other, to soul.

When I look at the front page of the Free Press of the Holy Trinity church and the beautiful stained glass, I am in awe. I am moved to joy, wonder and peace.

Sacred buildings do that. As does prayer. Asking our children to compose prayers and to present them to our legislators will help all of us to respond to the challenge of determining and living our beliefs every day of our lives.

How can humans define and understand prayer? By speaking, singing and writing what we believe.

Bill Martin

Gimli