|
Editor:
Desert Connection titled explosive interview with Michael Ryan is
tendentious.
It should be stressed this is about the social, economic and ecological
issues the community is facing it is about issues not persons. In his
interview with Michael Ryan, the Osoyoos Now Society, Robert Shuster
tendentiously or rather blunt blatantly promotes the Town’s economic
development model and contract with Destination Osoyoos. Hopefully, people
don’t buy a car because an ad or TV commercial shows the car sitting on a
mountain top. Hopefully in their guise as taxpayer and voter people will
recognize tendentious political purpose driven interviews and educate
themselves on the issues. One must assume that the major concern for the
Osoyoos Now Society, and Michael Ryan and all other’s, is the social,
economic and ecological issues the community faces. Inevitably then, the
major concern must be the Town’s Economic Development model and allied
issues, such as land uses, i.e. zoning and ecological and environmental
issues, the analysis, planning and control system – how could it not.
Assumedly, nobody would travel by air without at least some confidence in
the crew and in the air control system. Why would we not have the same
concern for the analysis planning and control standard as “passenger” of
society. The Town Council and Destination Osoyoos seem to stifle justified
concerns about the Town’s economic development model. They would rather
cloud the issues by publishing the same rudimentary and virtually
meaningless information that Destination Osoyoos has published for years.
Bolstering the positive, telling people be happy don’t’ worry, we are in
charge - that should be an insult to the community. What Designation
Osoyoos and Robert Shuster don’t seem to understand, is that the issues are
not whether Mr. Mandzuik and Destination Osoyoos have made a positive
contribution to the community or not (is any anybody claiming they haven’t).
The fundamental issues are whether the Town’s economic development model and
the contract with Designation Osoyoos address the long and short-term issues
the community is facing. Investment in real estate and allied business will
come automatically, that is easy. Osoyoos and the South Okanagan also needs
investment in business that can distribute wealth in the community via
fulltime better paid jobs, so that ordinary folks can afford to live here,
and that is much more difficult than to ride a inflating real estate
balloon. Therefore, the members of the community should demand an
independent scientific prudent analysis and audit of the current economic
development model. Will that happen? So far it hasn’t, the supporter of
the current model claim “this is how the voter wants it”, hence be happy
don’t worry. Reminding me of what Winston Churchill said, “the best
argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average
voter, and democracy is the worst form of government except all the
others”. What Churchill meant, is that understanding is the lifeblood of
democracy, and understanding emerges from vigorous and open discussions in
the press and in the community. So far the Town Council and Destination
Osoyoos have refused to discuss the issues letter is unanswered, and so far
the society has been silent bystanders, a situation where a free press as
Osoyoos Times is crucial for democracy. Osoyoos Times is also a business,
but Osoyoos Times shows that the papers’ overriding responsibility is to the
society it serves, and that is the crucial difference between advertising
and good journalism. Osoyoos support your local weekly paper and get
involved in the real issues the community faces.
OISD
October 15, 2005
top |
Back
|
