HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-09-01, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011. PAGE 5.
Know what I like best about Canada’s
national symbol, the beaver? It’s not
imperial. Not for us the American
eagle with its razor talons, the British
bulldog with its gobful of teeth or the ballsy
Gallic rooster that struts symbolically for
France.
Canadians chose a docile rodent with buck
teeth, a pot belly and a tail that looks like it
was run over by a Zamboni. We could have
opted for a ferocious wolf, a majestic moose, a
mighty bison or a fearsome polar bear.
We went with the flabby furball that
wouldn’t harm a black fly.
Maybe that set the pattern for our provincial
emblems because they’re pretty bland and
inoffensive too. British Columbia has the
Steller’s Jay; Newfoundland and Labrador
went for the Atlantic Puffin. For Ontario it’s
the Common Loon (perfect—what with
having Ottawa and all) and New Brunswick
stands behind the mighty Black capped
Chickadee.
I’m not sneering about this. I think it’s
positively endearing that Canadians chose
non-threatening, peaceable symbols to
represent their provinces. For our prickly
cousins to the south, it’s a little different. They
go for state guns. Arizona has just proclaimed
its official state firearm; the Colt single-action
Army revolver. It’s the long-barrelled, six-
cylinder shootin’ iron favoured by Wyatt Earp
and various other sanctified thugs of the
American Wild West.
Arizona was late off the mark – the state of
Utah has already declared its official state
firearm – the Browning M1911 – a semi-
automatic .45 calibre handgun.
Is the Browning M1911 for hunting elk or
target shooting? Nah. Its purpose is to kill
people, period. It was developed by gun maker
John Browning specifically for the U.S. Army
which had put out tenders for a handgun
powerful enough to drop an enemy soldier
with a single shot.
I can see how the army might lust after a
powerful heater like the Browning M1911.
It’s more difficult to figure out why any state
legislature feels it needs to honour an
instrument the only purpose of which is
homicide. You’d think that American
politicians might be just a tad sensitive to the
idea of venerating a weapon of semi-mass
destruction scant months after U.S.
congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot
along with 18 other unarmed citizens in
Tucson by a lunatic armed with – guess what –
a semi-automatic handgun.
But then Arizona has a different take on
handguns and a lot of other things, than most
of us. It has a state reptile, the rattlesnake –
even a state tie, the bolo. And if you Google
‘Arizona motorcycle seat’ you will see an item
that’s very big among some bikers in the
Grand Canyon state. It’s a leather motorcycle
saddle with a couple of extra features: along
the back is a cartridge belt for bullets and on
the flank is a holster for a long-barrelled
revolver.
Just what I want to see thundering down the
highway at me – a biker on a Harley
with one hand on the throttle and the other
thumbing back the hammer on his hog leg
pistol.
Wouldn’t raise an eyebrow in Arizona I
guess. Another state politician – Republican
Lori Klein – was recently asked in an
interview if it was true that she carried a
raspberry pink pistol in her purse.
“Aw, it’s so cute,” she enthused as she pulled
out a .380 Ruger and pointed it at the
reporter’s chest. The nervous reporter noted
that the gun seemed to have no safety
mechanism. Rep. Klein assured him that it was
alright because she “didn’t have a finger on the
trigger”.
Not every American politician takes a Dirty
Harry attitude to guns. One of them once said
this at a press conference: “With all the
violence and murder and killings we’ve had in
the United States, I think you’ll agree that we
must keep firearms from people who have no
business with guns.”
Sounds pretty reasonable to me, but what do
I know – I’m a beaver boy, a Canadian.
American politicians ignored the politician
when he made that statement.
And that’s a pity. His name was Robert F.
Kennedy.
Arthur
Black
Other Views Canadian symbol represents its people
Canada has long been known as a
country where all kinds of people are
welcome. It is a country that prides
itself on its diversity and its tolerance. And if
people can say one thing about Canadians, it’s
usually that they’re very nice people.
One needs only to drive through Goderich
right now to see just how nice. A trip through a
town recently ravaged by a tornado can be
jarring, but it can also be life-affirming.
For every house without a roof or uprooted
tree, there is a spray-painted message of love
and thanks, or a billboard committed to
inspiring the town’s people to put their heads
down and continue on. For every one of
Mother Nature’s punches, there has been a
counterpunch of compassion from one of us.
But every once in a while, the nice guy has
to push back and defend the small part of the
world he calls home. In New Brunswick’s case,
it’s Canada they have to defend.
A small elementary school in New
Brunswick, Belleisle Elementary School, has
recently discontinued the singing of O’
Canada at the beginning of each school day.
The decision was made to accommodate
parents, says Principal Erik Millett, who have
said they don’t want their children
participating in the practice any longer.
“We try to balance the needs of every
student, and we want every student to feel
welcome in our school,” Millett said.
I have had this discussion before with many
people, saying that I love Canada for many
reasons and its tolerance and accepting nature
has always been paramount among them.
If Canada hadn’t been so welcoming to other
countries’ residents, a lot of us wouldn’t be
here. My ancestors wouldn’t have come to
Canada from Ireland and Germany for its
promised opportunities and many of us would
be stuck in the same, pardon the pun, boat.
And this is not to say that these parents are
immigrants who don’t respect the country in
which they live. No one knows who these
parents are, or their reasons, except for them.
However, one can only think that a
“problem” such as this in the U.S. would be
handled quite quickly and it would probably
revolve around the “if you don’t like The Star
Spangled Banner, then get the hell out”
ideology.
Maybe we need to look to our friends in the
U.S. for a little courage on this front and dig
our heels in on this one. This is Canada and
anyone who lives here should respect its
anthem and its way of life if they plan on
sucking Canadian air, occupying Canadian
land and benefitting from Canadian services.
This is not, of course, to say that everyone
must change their way of life. Everyone has
their own beliefs and practices, but one must
respect the ground on which they have been
allowed to exist.
This is not a religious battle where everyone
may pray to a different God, if we live here, we
are all Canadians and as soon as we touch
ground here, we already owe a debt to those
before us.
In Canada’s endless quest to diversify and
make all of its residents feel at home in this
great country, one has to wonder if it has let
some of its own ideals and practices fall by the
wayside in the process.
What does it mean to be Canadian? The
freedom and diversity and opportunity comes
from the hard work of those before us, who
believed their sacrifice could help craft a
country that could be even better than when
they were here. Canada is a home, not a
campsite to be trashed and moved on from.
Nice guys finish last
It falls to us, citizens of Blyth, Brussels,
Belgrave and the surrounding area, to
insure that the heritage of our communities
carries on.
As North Huron Deputy Reeve David Riach
stated at the ground breaking for Maitland
River Public School in Wingham last week,
if any community wills a connection
between themselves and the school, it will
happen.
I know that this may sound odd coming
from someone who has only lived in Blyth for
a few months, but the simple fact is, I didn’t
buy a house with any intention to flip it.
I grew up in Seaforth, Egmondville,
Goderich, St. Joseph’s and (technically)
outside of Egmondville. I’m very much a
son of central, eastern, and western Huron
County.
Well, now I’m a resident of northern Huron
County and, having spent some time
volunteering and teaching Blyth Public
School students how to do some fun and nifty
things with Photoshop, I feel that there is
really a great childhood community around
here.
That isn’t to say I didn’t feel that before,
that’s just to say that you really don’t get
to know kids from taking their pictures
or interviewing them about specific
topics.
When you’re standing in the back of a
classroom and you hear students discussing
their plans and talking about their yearbooks
and bouncing ideas off each other, you really
get a feel for it.
As incoming vice principal of Blyth Public
School Mario Gagné said in the story I wrote
about him this week – children here are very
polite and respectful.
That kind of culture needs to be preserved
and I, for one, plan on trying to help preserve
it as best I can.
Yes, I have written in the past that I disagree
with the closure of any community schools (or
hinted at it, but... there it is, I disagree with it)
and I have stated that some of my best
experiences came from amalgamating to a
bigger school.
What can I say, I’m a master of the mixed
messages, ask Ashleigh.
However, I had reasons for saying both of
these things – I’ve covered quite a few schools
in my four years as a journalist – a grand total
of about 10 actually, and I can say, without a
doubt, that Blyth Public School, Brussels
Public School and East Wawanosh Public
School were not schools suffering due to a
lack of children in my eyes.
Sure, they weren’t full, but that doesn’t
mean they should be empty.
Maybe it comes from being a student in a
small high school and a small university
campus, but I think those schools blended the
best of culture and education.
And before anyone cries foul – I’m not
saying any school I’ve visited has failed to do
that. I’m simply stating that the
aforementioned schools definitely achieved
it.
However, the decision has been made. The
schools have been slated for closure, and,
barring some sweeping legislation change
after October’s provincial election, the
closures will probably stick.
(And yes, you certainly do detect a note of
hope in that statement, as a “survivor” of a
school closure who actually ended up thriving
because of it, I can honestly say I saw a lot of
people get lost in a much larger school, and
that is something no student of any age
deserves.)
Anyway, the whole point of this is that
I believe that we all need to come together
to keep the students of Belgrave, Brussels
and Blyth connected with their communities.
The school fair needs to find a way to work,
the Brussels Fall Fair needs to find a way to
continue to bring Brussels students to it, and
maybe even expand their draw by opening it to
other students that will end up attending
school either north or south of the soon-to-be
surplus schools.
Citizens need to come forward and express
their belief in the importance of having
students at events like the Remembrance Day
ceremony at Blyth Memorial Hall.
They need to make sure that those events
become a priority for the administration of the
new school.
However, at the same time, they need to be
ready to help provide an answer to the
question how as well as the answer why.
They... no, we. We need to provide
opportunities for community involvement
and we need to be ready to help them
happen.
The world has enough idea-people to over-
populate the GTA, what is needed isn’t people
with ideas, but people with ideas and with
thoughts on how to accomplish them.
So I urge everyone who can to turn their
thoughts and energy to keeping these small
communities a part of their children’s lives.
It’s important that Brussels, Belgrave and
Blyth continue to be communities and not just
detached suburbs of Wingham.
I want my children, if I’m still around when
they arrive, to be able to become a part of a
community similar to the ones I grew up in.
I want them to be a resident of Blyth and
a resident of North Huron, not a resident
of North Huron who happens to live in
Blyth.
Oh, and don’t take this as any indication that
I’ve got some master plan to have children
someday. Sure, it’s part of the grand scheme of
things in the undefined future, but I’m
definitely not putting any specific dates on
that.
Shawn
Loughlin
Shawn’s Sense
Denny
Scott
Denny’s Den
It falls to Blyth, Brussels and Belgrave