Fake news defence
Kim Campbell asserts that scholarship and journalism are bulwarks in the fake news era (How Journalism Will Protect Our Democracy From Fake News, Feb. 15).
I might add two points to the challenges facing scholarship. Alongside the decline of the news media in the Internet era is the neoliberal challenge to university funding that has resulted in underfunded and overworked adjunct professors, whose expertise is being hamstrung by quotidian concerns such as job security. Another worrying trend is the increasing focus on disciplines that offer supposedly direct career paths and in speeding up education; neither results in the training that citizens of a robust democracy need to challenge so-called "alternative facts" and adjudicate between complex and conflicting sources.
Universities and governments should be attuned to the need for training in the liberal arts (and the development time of these skills), and above all the ability to read carefully, to assess information, to make informed decisions, and to defend and debate opinions.
Peter J. Miller, assistant professor of classics, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg
Ms. Campbell rightly suggests that consumers should seek out diverse perspectives and be wary of their consumed and purchased news. Caveat emptor. However, her column does not go far enough in noting consumers should be particularly cautious of free news.
Quality content is generated by professional journalists, and professional editing helps filter out erroneous content. You get what you pay for, and if you don't pay, you had better be discerning, disciplined, unbiased and unusually wise.
T.J. Hiller, Kitchener, Ont.
Indigenous identities
I loved Drew Hayden Taylor's defence of those who find their aboriginal identity questioned and I welcome a better understanding of what makes someone "a true Indian" (Defending My 'Tenuous Indian Background,' Feb. 13).
But I have to point out that Canada has a history of non-indigenous men – it's almost always men – who make a career out of claiming to be aboriginal. For example, British-born Archibald Belaney successfully passed himself off as Grey Owl for several decades and became an acclaimed writer and speaker on aboriginal ways and the need for conservation. In the 1920s, Sylvester Long, a man of African-American ancestry, moved to Alberta and, recreating himself as Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance, became a convincing and much-sought-after writer on the traditional ways of the Blackfoot. In the U.S., well-known actor Iron Eyes Cody claimed to be of Cherokee-Cree ancestry but was really of Italian heritage. Today, an organization called New Age Frauds and Plastic Shamans tracks and exposes the thousands of non-indigenous individuals claiming to be Indians or indigenous men claiming to be chiefs or traditional healers, either from a desire for gain or some romantic idea of adopting a tribal persona. Sadly, it's because it does happen that Joseph Boyden, Mr. Taylor and others come under such ill-directed scrutiny.
Mark DeWolf, Halifax
Head shaker
In an era when the toll of concussions and the harmfulness of blows to the head have become abundantly apparent, it seems oddly unenlightened to extol pugilism when at other times we wring our hands and denounce the harm wrought by blows to the head (Boxing Classes Will Have You Floating Like A Butterfly, Feb. 15). As a pediatrician, I cringe at the idea of promoting boxing when at the same time we are trying to protect our children and youth from the harm wrought by concussions.
Paul Thiessen, Vancouver
Tweak first
So U.S. President Donald Trump wants to tweak the North American free-trade agreement (Trump Vows Only 'Tweaking' Of Canadian NAFTA Provisions, Feb. 14). Fair enough. The deal is now 23 years old, and needs some timely updating. But why are we waiting to see what tweaks the Trump administration wants? Far better to be proactive rather than reactive. It's time for Ottawa to seize the moment and put together a Canadian want list of NAFTA tweaks.
Ken Cuthbertson, Kingston
The lens lies
You did your newspaper and truthful media a disservice by showing a split-second picture of the Trudeau-Trump handshake where Mr. Trudeau seems reluctant to shake Mr. Trump's hand (Trump, Trudeau Promise Co-operation On Border Security, Feb. 14).
Anyone watching the real time video will realize what a pure distortion of reality this picture was. No wonder Mr. Trump supporters talk of "fake news" and "alternative facts" when mainstream media distorts reality and clearly shows its bias.
Thomas King, Aurora, Ont.
Eloquence of tongue
Beyond pachyderm diplomacy and the male pas de deux, it was striking to hear how well-spoken Mr. Trudeau is compared to Mr. Trump (Justin Dances With The Elephant, Feb. 14).
While Mr. Trudeau can be affected, he generally speaks with consideration, empathy and worldliness. By contrast, Mr. Trump speaks with an adjective-repetitive choppiness.
Mr. Trudeau's opening remark about clement Washington versus snowy "back home" and his nod to Atlantic Canadians, caught in the middle of an awful storm, showed an easy eloquence that nicely set the stage for his prepared speech.
Mel Simoneau, Gatineau
Hurry hard
Thanks to Globe and Mail columnist André Picard, I now know why I feel fit all winter (Go Hard, Go Short, Feb. 14).
Three times a week I am at my exercise location where I experience "short bursts of intense exercise separated by periods of recovery," as Mr. Picard's column calls it.
Yes, I am at my local curling rink where we are exhorted by our skip to "hurry hard" and brush the ice with our brooms as hard and fast as we can to make the rock go further or straighter. A short rest and then the next rock to be swept is delivered.
In addition, 16 times a game I bend down in the hack and stretch as I propel my own rocks down the ice. Afterward, there is social time with the other players. Curling is a great way to exercise in winter.
Philip Howarth, Dundas, Ont.