Thinking Outside the Politically Correct Box has been the prominent non-partisan conservative talk show on Trent Radio for the last five years. As its end approaches, I wanted to reflect on the last five years of hosting this program. My experience as a T-Radio programmer was and has been such an amazing experience for which I will always be profoundly grateful. No doubt, there are many remarkable underlying stories which have accompanied this journey.
When I first got to Trent, I thought I would just be a pretty face with unpopular values. My sister came home with an application for Trent Radio and encouraged me to apply because of my outspoken nature. We both agreed that the Trent and Peterborough communities would benefit from my opinion and my enigmatic delivery. Meanwhile, I wanted to further break into the student community media so I hung around with other politics junkies and in first year wrote “The Financial Crisis & Why the Great Left-Wing Propaganda Machine Needs a Scapegoat” (The Absynthe, issue of Jan ’09). This fiery and heartfelt article helped to establish my name even more in the Trent students’ market place of ideas and by extension, after only five or six months, Thinking Outside the PC Box became a local favourite. Whether they agreed or not, people just couldn’t get enough of Dylan D.
Overall, my passion and talent only grew as time went on. Because Trent is a Left school, my values were challenged on a daily basis. I took an optimistic approach and my interactions in classes helped to reinforce my worldview. Over the years, I became very concerned about where Trent’s body politic stands and how it presents itself. My left-wing Profs told me to think critically and read between the lines. But yet, when I said I thought apartheid was an ideological struggle as well as a racial one, I was called a racist and dismissed with laughter. They said that people shouldn’t impose their ways on others, yet they would argue that abortion should be state-funded. They told me that it’s not okay to attack a politician based on their character, yet some of them thought it okay to accuse President Bush of having drank again.
In the face of such adversity and discrimination (and listed above are only a few of many examples), I felt morally obliged to continue defending Freedom & Liberty. I consistently ran Thinking Outside the PC Box as the main source for Right thought at Trent. On the first season (2008-09), the show only ran for a half- hour once a week. It was mainly filled with interviews and discussions about ongoing political topics. The second season (2009- 10) was when the show took on its hour long time slot. This season featured the same kinds of ongoing political issues and themes, but it was also during this period the much-loved “Left-Wing P.O.G.” songs were introduced. In my opinion, the show peaked in Season 3 (2010-11) because of the upcoming Canadian election. I had so much fun following the election closely and discussing all the personalities, the debates, and the politics involved. Because of the political intensity, this was the most heated season. Also by this time, the show’s accompanying YouTube channel “voiceofmoderation” was up and running www.youtube.com/voiceofmoderation.
Season 4 (2011-12) was interesting because it featured the introduction of co-host/regular guest Kelsey Powell. This was the first time I ever gave out a co- host/regular guest invite and I didn’t do so lightly. Kelsey’s worldview is far different from mine, but unlike many of his left-wing counterparts I found his presence bearable and I thought that his idiosyncrasies and the way he speaks would make an excellent addition to Thinking Outside the PC Box.
This season featured many animated discussions but in my opinion, the highlights were the global warming debate, the bottled water debate, dispute over Occupy Wall Street and talk about what President Obama was doing wrong.
Season 5 (2012-13) has been a lot of fun. Some very interesting topics have been covered such as Justin Trudeau’s Liberal leadership bid, Dalton McGuinty’s resignation, and Obama’s re-election.
As Trent’s Anchorman for the past five years, I had the privilege of interviewing Brett Joshpe (co-author of Why You’re Wrong About the Right), Michael Coren (Canadian journalist and writer), Mike McKenna (lead guitarist of Toronto Blues Band McKenna Mendelson Mainline), Betsy McGregor (Peterborough federal Liberal party candidate) and of course MP Dean Del Mastro among others.
I’ve been happy about all the interviews I’ve conducted on Thinking Outside the PC Box over the last five years but my interview with Dean will always be remembered closest to my heart. It was the day before the election, and as busy as he was he took time out to come to T-Radio and talk over important issues including social services for our seniors, how job creation has been stimulated by the Conservative party, affordable housing, the NDP surge, and Bev Oda being wrongfully accused. Unlike many leftist or liberal politicians and personalities whom I’ve talked to, Dean’s attitude was humble, graceful, kind, and caring. I found this to be extremely refreshing in my career as a radio talk-show host, because in my personal experience, leftists and liberals almost always spoke narcissistically, with an underlying narrative of arrogance, self-certitude, and self-aggrandizing present at all times. Moreover, unlike Dean, leftists and liberals I interviewed were also almost always guilty of a mean-spirited, vitriolic, resentful and unnecessarily malicious tone. It was almost like they were being intentionally upsetting.
Above all, there have been a few favourite ongoing issues and themes for me over the last five years on Thinking Outside the PC Box. I’ve always especially enjoyed talking about life, Israel, welfare reform, race and culture, political economy issues, and left- wing hypocrisy. I think that I’ve been very successful in defending Right values over the last five years and I know that the Trent and Peterborough communities have benefited immensely from my talent. To all those regular listeners of Thinking Outside the PC Box I just have two simple words to sum up how I feel about the legacy I’ve created in the last five years of broadcasting: You’re welcome.
And Wait! One last thing before I forget! Because the final season is approaching its end, here are what will be the last two shows of Thinking Outside the PC Box:
“Best Of” Marathon (Thursday, November 29 at 1 PM on 92.7 FM)
This will be an action-packed hour-long marathon filled with only the juiciest clips and segments of Thinking Outside the PC Box from over the last five years. Out-Of-Character Interview (Thursday, December 6th at 1 PM on 92.7 FM)
After five long years, the one and only Anthony P. Gulston interviews me out-of- character. We talk about the goals and insider secrets behind Thinking Outside the PC Box. He also asks me about how I really think the world works (and I have to be 100% serious!) and what I am like on a personal level.