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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-10-01, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2009. PAGE 5. Bonnie Gropp TThhee sshhoorrtt ooff iitt In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure dome decree. In the spring of 1938 a short, pudgy Austrian immigrant name of Victor Gruen waddled hopefully down the gangplank of a ship newly docked in New York harbour. His timing was not propitious – America was coming off the Great Depression and heading towards a World War. The guy had $8 U.S. in one pocket and an architect’s degree in another. Nevertheless that Austrian immigrant probably did more to change the physical world you live in than any other human being of our time. Gruen was a socialist as well as an architect, and he greatly missed the warmth and conviviality of the typical European towns he grew up in – the cheery cafes, the bustling plazas, the common, cozy meeting grounds. He resolved to bring some of that magic to cold, car-ridden North America, so Victor Gruen invented the modern indoor shopping mall. Boy, did he screw that up. Today, just about every medium-sized town and all of the big ones have at least one indoor shopping mall – several acres of parking stalls surrounding a blank-walled complex consisting of inward-facing storefronts, air- conditioned in the summer, heated in the winter. And all dedicated to separating people from their money. Like dinosaurs, the shopping malls dominated the terrain they overlooked by virtue of their sheer size. Traditional downtown retail districts shriveled and shrank before the mighty malls with their fountains and food courts and near-endless siren enticements for consumers. But somewhere around the turn of the 21st century the shopping malls assumed another characteristic of the dinosaur. They began to go extinct. Not surprising really. The enclosed shopping mall was a rarified and artificial creation from the get-go. It was dedicated to the proposition that consumers would always be ready to nibble and that each year they would always happily spend more than they did last year. Unlimited growth forever: the modus operandi of the cancer cell. Your typical shopping mall has another fatal genetic flaw: almost everything it sells is unessential. Name-brand jeans? Designer sunglasses? Pastel-hued cell phones? Two- hundred-dollar running shoes? As social scientist Henry Fairlie puts it: “The most important fact about our shopping malls is that we do not need most of what they sell.” Which may work when times are flush; but it’s not so hot when the economy is hurting. Our next-door neighbours are feeling the pinch more than Canadians. Over 400 of the 2,000 largest U.S. malls have closed in the past two years. The plight of U.S. malls has become so grim it’s inspired a website. Deadmalls.com was created by a couple of guys who decided it was archeologically important to document the abandoned malls for future students of American civilization before those malls disappeared entirely. Dinosaurs were doomed at least partly because they were cursed with fatally small brains; the powers behind malls have a stronger survival instinct. For the past 10 years or so, mall promoters have been re-inventing their product, encouraging visitors to use the premises for walking and jogging, book signings and karaoke get-togethers. Some offer their facilities for laser tag, paint ball for teenagers and merry-go-rounds for the kiddies. “Parents still need to entertain their kids,” an industry analyst says. “Teenagers still need a place to hang out. Adults need a place to walk, out of the elements. Workers still need to buy their coffee.” All true – but a bit of a scale-back from the high times when supermalls confidently promised “the ultimate in ‘shoppertainment’”. I didn’t make up that grotesque line; it’s a quote from Larry Siegel, the man in charge of the nascent Xanadu mall currently a-building in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Xanadu is scheduled to be truly a monster mall – 2.4 million square feet – with an indoor ski slope, a for-real fishing pond, the largest Ferris wheel in North America – even a 30- foot-high chocolate waterfall. Xanadu broke ground in 2004 and was slated to open to the public last August, but what with the recession and all the grand opening had to be pushed back to late November. Then it was delayed again. Right now, Xanadu is now scheduled to open ‘sometime in 2010’. Or not. Arthur Black Other Views Getting mauled by malls Opponents of Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty must be wondering what they have to do to win an election, because obviously they are not doing the right things now. The latest proof was a by-election here after the Liberals were caught repeatedly failing to protect taxpayers’ money. The Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats were unable to put even a dent in their comfortable majority. The Conservatives have repeated every waking moment before and since that the Liberals gave Ontarians a “summer of scandal”. But they will need much more than catchy phrases to bring them down. The Conservatives, as the second biggest party and one voters traditionally support when they do not vote Liberal, appear to have the only chance, although small, of catching up to the Liberals in the election due in 2011. Voters have virtually excluded the New Democrats from their thinking since they put them in government for the only time from 1990-95 and they ran up massive budget deficits, although they have recovered so they offer some of the better ideas and more effective presentations in the legislature. One guide to opposition parties’prospects is how previous opponents won government. When McGuinty won in 2003, voters were ready to replace the Conservatives under premier Ernie Eves, because they had their fill of spending cuts, started by premier Mike Harris and continued by Eves, that weakened public services. But McGuinty also promised many changes in policies, including increasing the minimum wage and welfare benefits, which largely had been frozen by the Conservative government, and more spending on health and education, which signaled a more compassionate approach to governing. Harris won government in 1995 when a puff of wind would have toppled the NDP, but he was brimming with tempting policies, including cutting bureaucracy and income tax, eliminating deficits and putting stricter curbs on labor, which many felt held back business, all in an easy-to-read pamphlet called The Common Sense Revolution. These very much suited the public mood at that time, although some had lost their appeal a couple of elections later. The NDP under Bob Rae pushed out the Liberals in 1990 after premier David Peterson had lost popularity by calling an election a year early and putting too much effort into placating Quebec, when Ontarians were more concerned about jobs. But the NDP always offers more policies than other parties, because its rank and file, unlike those of other parties, hammers them out in public at conventions and expects them to be in party platforms. The NDP had policies for everything, including some it could not fulfill such as public auto insurance. All these governments helped dig their own graves, but opposition parties also offered appealing policies. This cannot be said of the current Conservatives. Hudak stressed only one policy in the by-election and this was opposing harmonizing the Ontario and federal sales taxes. But his case was weakened, because he was not sure he would kill harmonizing and some business-minded Conservatives support it. When Hudak campaigned for leader, his most consistent theme was curbing the power of human rights tribunals. He has been cautious not to raise this now, because most Ontarians feel the tribunals provide needed protection. Hudak also emphasized he is a disciple of Harris, which would have won him many votes a decade ago, but not now. He also has said since he wants to reach out to immigrants, but not how. Hudak was handicapped because the by- election was forced on him when he had been leader only a couple of months and before he could put together a wide range of policies covering current issues He will have difficulties finding such policies, because he has a record of being right wing when this is not popular and, if he wants to appear more moderate, McGuinty occupies most of the centre. But the Conservative leader will need policies, because he is not going to win an election merely by saying he is not Dalton McGuinty. Eric Dowd FFrroomm QQuueeeenn’’ss PPaarrkk Why? A simple question that in life’s mysterious way often goes unanswered. There are many times when we have found, and will find ourselves yet, pondering things, the reason behind them or for that matter if there actually is one. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do I feel so terrible when I have no reason? Why can’t I find the answer? Most of the time we accept that we will never know the why. Some will say there are universal forces at play and we are not meant to understand. But the other day such a special surprise came my way I just can’t help wondering why. Why it happened, why now. Did the universe recognize I needed a bit of a boost? Or did the energy I’ve expended in trying to bring about this very thing somehow in some cosmic way finally pull it off? I had a friend several years ago whose company was guaranteed to make me smile. She was in many ways my polar opposite — gregarious, where I am insular; bold where I am shy, fearless where I am timid. She was uninhibited, she would joke, while I had ‘mega hibits’. She was also one of those rare individuals who instinctively knows when a kind word is needed, or when you need to lighten up and just let it all go. Generous to a fault, she would give, both kindness and monetarily, to a stranger as casually as to a friend. We shared many common interests of course, as did our spouses, but what was most enjoyable was that I could relax with her and laugh with her. As life has a way of doing however, things changed. The group that brought us together ceased to exist. Her personal life took a new direction, and we somehow lost touch. In the years since I have tried to contact her when I would discover her dancing around the periphery of my social circle. But somehow it just never worked out and before I knew it 10 years had gone by. Then last week, there she was in front of me, and it was like she’d never been away. We parted this time promising we won’t let it happen again. Time will tell. I obviously hope we mean it. Shakespeare in As You Like It said, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances... ” In life, the cast of characters is on-going. The faces and the places change for varying reasons. It is one of the ironies that some we dislike stay constant in our world, while others close to our heart, whether we like it or not, will consistently or forever, move out of our orbit. When I think again how odd it was to have met this old friend in the way I did, where I did, when so many places and opportunities would have seemed more likely, is it any wonder I ask why, why then, why now? It’s nice to think that the universe is out there helping us make our way, guiding and supporting as we fumble along. I like to think it happens, and try to pay attention to the hints and signals that may be coming my way. I also, however, find myself inevitably pondering the motives. Maybe it was clear that my friend and I were both in a better position now to ensure we keep our promise then we might have been a few years ago. Maybe it was simply a way to brighten my day. Either way, it doesn’t really matter I suppose why it happened when it did. The important thing is simply that it did. Conservatives lack policies Wondering why Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise.