Planes landing, Gander International Airport, September 11, 2001

The world is a scary place. Less than 8% of people live in a full democracy, authoritarianism and fascism are gaining popularity in powerful countries, the climate is changing, World War III looms, and America faces a hard decision: elect a far right criminal or elect a woman. It’s a tough one to be sure. But we have it pretty good in Canada, with a full democracy, less radicals than other places, and friendly, welcoming people. Which is why in our latest Humanities project, we answered the question “Why Does The World Need More Canada?”

The first part of the project that we did was Thinking Thursday, where we had to research and present a Canadian current event that showcased Canadian identity. I chose the carbon tax and it’s relation to Canada’s future. However, I forgot that it was a tax, and I got pretty bored writing it. But I did it! I feel like I could have presented and shared my ideas in a more engaging way by rehearsing it and choosing a more interesting topic than taxes. After that, we began to make our podcast.

To make our podcast, we had to make a script and chose a topic. I decided to choose 9/11 and Gander, because my dad lived in Gander during that time, and I thought that a familial connection would be interesting. Also, it wasn’t taxes.

Another reason I chose this topic is because it was one of the most influential events in the past 20 years, influencing other terrible things like the War in Iraq. You can read my script here. I think that it turned out well, the only problem was that the podcast needed to be 5 minutes, and when I recorded, it was nearly 8 minutes. For days I toiled, adjusting everything, but I gave up and rewrote the beginning because it was way too long.

The podcast launched a few days ago, and I’m really happy with the result! You can listen to it here. One thing I’d improve, though, is the sound design. In my focus on hitting the time limit, I overlooked background music and effects, which could have made my episode more engaging. Next time, I’ll make sure to include those details.

 

Bussing passengers off planes, Gander International Airport, September 12, 2001

So, why does the world need more Canada? Well, through the research I did for my podcast, I have come to the conclusion that Canadians are accepting of everyone, regardless of race, religion, or ideology. And as the world becomes more polarized, being accepting, kind and helpful is more important than ever. 

Ok, bye!