Newsletter: It’s time Canadians got real

It’s well-known that Canadians have a reputation for politeness (the stereotype even dominates our cultural memes) — but what happens when this social convention prevents us from saying what we really mean? 

At The Discourse, one of our goals is to set the table for conversation between people who wouldn’t normally engage with each other, and may have very different views. As Director of Communities, I believe that honest — and sometimes raw — conversations lead to empathy, genuine connection, mutual understanding and ultimately, solutions to today’s complex problems and polarized politics.

Real talk can be hard, but how can you resolve something if you don’t say anything? Sidestepping an issue just leads to miscommunication, mistrust and more conflict down the road. The only thing you achieve is delaying dealing with the problem. 

That’s why I’m introducing a new hub called “Real talk” to our weekly newsletter. My goal is to create a safe, respectful space for Canadians of all backgrounds to bring conversations they’d normally only have in the privacy of their homes to the public. As for the topics we’ll tackle, I’ll be taking inspiration from reader feedback, online comments across Discourse platforms and internal editorial discussions. I hope you’ll be part of it.

Real talk.

Last year, I wrote a newsletter asking readers whether we should get rid of objectivity in journalism — and it sparked many impassioned responses from our community. I’ve directly quoted four different responses to my newsletter, which you can read above, from left to right (click on the images to enlarge them). Then head over to The Discourse’s Communities channel to give me your thoughts — I’d love to hear ‘em.[end]