In polarized environments, expressing constant rage only provokes reciprocal anger. Satire, however, can be a more effective persuasion tool. It encourages opponents to see the absurdity in their own positions, leading to self-awareness and potentially changing their minds, something direct confrontation rarely achieves.
In rapidly secularized nations like Canada and Ireland, fervent progressive movements can function as a replacement for traditional religion. They provide a moral framework, a sense of collective identity, and an outlet for fervent belief, filling the void left by the decline of organized faith.
Canada's national identity is described as "thin and unstable," allowing for wild lurches in collective self-perception. Within a few years, the prevailing narrative swung from Canada as a progressive beacon, to a "genocide state," and then, prompted by external threats, to a fiercely defensive, patriotic nation.
On the fifth anniversary of the "Unmarked Graves" story, which many outlets had named their 2021 story of the year, there was a media blackout. The silence was a strategic avoidance of accountability, as acknowledging the anniversary would force news organizations to admit they had propagated a false narrative.
The 2021 Canadian social panic over Indigenous residential schools began with false reports of 215 graves. This hysteria was ignited by a widespread misunderstanding of ground-penetrating radar, which only detects soil anomalies, not confirmed human remains. This technological illiteracy fueled a national crisis.
A CBC-funded show mimicked Sacha Baron Cohen's ambush style, but inverted its purpose. Instead of targeting powerful figures to expose hypocrisy, it targeted ideological dissenters—including an already-canceled professor and an 82-year-old history buff—effectively using journalistic techniques to punish heretics rather than challenge authority.
The human instinct for social control and enforcing conformity, once centered in religious institutions like the Sunday church service, has migrated to digital platforms. Social media now serves as the primary tool for crowdsourced surveillance, where hashtags and public shaming ensure ideological alignment within a community.
In workplaces dominated by a rigid ideology, employees may develop a dual existence. They perform conformity in official, recorded channels (like Zoom) while expressing their true, often dissenting, opinions in private backchannels (like WhatsApp). This creates a split consciousness akin to the sci-fi show "Severance".