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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1966-06-16, Page 4Failing our children? '"'"!•Wir,,.. • Int Those terrible teens coteexeferZmo.-,Muocafe SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND Member: C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A., C,C.N.R. and ABC Publishers: J. M. Southcott, R. M. Southcott Advertising Manager: Val Baltkalns Phone 235-1331 thought of them. They were just disgusted that they'd been caught. They didn't regret what they'd done. Nothing is wrong anymore, except being thought narrow min- ded. How can you teach honesty and pad you income tax? How can you prepare an adolescent for stable marriage when you play around yourself and coun- tenance infidelity in your friends". Culture can multiply There were days, some fifteen years ago, when this writer was ap- proached by some Canadians, promi- nent in the creative fields, with the awed respect for European culture. Canada has made great progress in these years. No longer do we have to take a second seat to European coun- tries (especially if the years of progress are kept in proper balance). Canada is producing its own talent, is finding ways to utilize it and it seems, in a matter of years, may be able to pro- vide it with a full scope of home con- sumption. Nor do we stop there. Our gov- ernment, or at least some of its cabi- net ministers, consider the purchase of costly Leonardo Da Vincis to put Can- ada on the cultural map. At $6,000,000 the shot, it must be a bold cultural move, indeed. We are expanding also in other di- rections and it seems that Canada no longer is satisfied with only one cul- ture. It is during the recent years that the word "bi-culturalism" has been coined, creating a score of new prob- lems that might not have anything to do with culture after all. There are dissentists who believe that on occasions cultures can be just one too many. Voices are raised from a fragment of this nation that has been accorded a mere back seat in the past. Things might have been more comfortable if somebody would have come up with some sort of tri-cultural- ism, If this has not been done so far, it is because this back seat element can not be pinned down to a separate culture. It is a conglomeration of cul- tures, nationalities and traditions and is most popularly known as the New Canadians. Yet it might surprise many to learn that the number of those people have reached the very impressive mark of six million. This is practically one- third of our population. From their ranks have come the call to stop dividing this nation, to for- get about historical prejudices and to live in peace in this great country and to work for its future. There have been skeptics who have wondered whether the varied back- grounds and on some occasions, hostile sentiments back home, might not im- pede the unity of this segment in achieving the desired influence. The answer was that there might have been hostile traditions back home, but in their new homeland the idea of the common goal might be stronger. If this indeed could be proven within a relatively short time, it might throw a different light on some pain- ful problems. And who knows, maybe a united Canada still could become a reality. The missing picture For one day in the year the father is the King. And appropriately for this day, a photograph on this page should have depicted some father, plus some fish- ing tackel and his son busily engaging in a friendly activity. This photograph is missing from our file. Maybe out of sheer principle, since long ago we gave up photograph- ing men in respect far another master, who played a great role in developing our own particular field of photo- graphic activity that certainly is not one of portraying men and their char- acter. Maybe also because it would ap- pear too much like blowing one's own horn. After all we too belong to the same court that is held by the King of one day. And maybe, because those pictures, that seem best fitted for this day have never been captured on film, even if they are quite vividly alive in memory. Like the quiet evenings in a dark- ened living room lit by a candle as father tried to explain, with the help of an apple, why there was day and Grace Lane goes on: "Typical of this attitude was the comment of a secretary of a national charitable organization after two of her colleagues had run off together, leaving a wife to cope as best she could with five chil- dren--'of course what they do is their own business but we're afraid it will hurt our work'. "What youth looks for are time tested standards that have in them the bite and the strength of steel. We have such guidelines. They are the values which grow out of the Judeo-Christian world view. It's high time we articu- lated them clearly and worked at communication the faith that sustains them". "Admittedly the Christian e- thic is difficult. Its demand for integrity, unselfishness and chastity runs counter to the flab- by self-indulgent sensuality and callousness youth sees all too often in the adults he knows best'. She then quotes James Mit- chener from his nove 1, 'The Source' which is set in modern Israel: "Life isn't easy, it's meant to be life...The Jews had survived only because the stern rabbis had kept them faithful to the law and now if this law raised certain difficulties, that was nothing new..only it could keep Israel alive.. Where were the Chaldeans and the Moabites, the Phoenicians and the Assyri- ans? Each had been more power- ful than the Jews, yet each had perished and the Jews remained. It was no mean thing to be the custodian of God's law...for if His Law was exacting it was also ennobling". I believe that somehow we m ust clearly state just how and why the ethics of our Judeo-Christian heritage are still the most exac- ting and most ennobling values we know. Unless we do we will fail our children even if we give them everything else the world has to offer. There are many indications that we are failing our children, The United Church Observer of June 1, carried an article by Grace Lane entitled 'Why We Are Failing Our Children'. It was subtitled, ,We can put rockets into space but can we put charac- ter into children'? She introduces the subject this way: "young Canada, in many ways has never had it so good. Our Johns and Marys are grow- ing up in a booming economy. Most of them get the health care they need. Education is free and doors to advanced training are opening rapidly. Beginners at work are cushioned with securi- ty benefits and leisure unknown even a decade ago... And yet-- All is not well with our children". "Prosperity and social ser- vices run parallel with broken homes, battered babies, school drop outs. Judges, pastors and social workers worry about in- creased illegitamacy, alcohol and drug addiction and the number of young offenders on every police blotter. Between 1957 and 1961 juvenile delinquency rose 27%-- three times the Canadian popu- lation increase." "Two national gatherings—the Vanier Conference on the Family in June 1964 and the Second Ca- nadian Conference on Children in Montreal last November-- at- tempted to tackle the problem. Both times it was easy to pin- point the maladies--what was lacking were remedies. One psy- chiatrist said, "There are no technical problems we can't solve There are few moral problems we do solve. How do you put character into children." That is the question and Grace Lane says that the word 'values' came up again and again. "The only snag was no one would de- fine what he meant. This was like deploring malnutrition but refusing to produce food. This reluctance to come down any- where is not confined to the con- ference table. It recurrs in the press, in public addresses and in private conversation". She quotes Judge Flynn of the Moose Jaw Magistrate's Court who held long private interviews with several teenagers who had committed assault. "I found a frightening self-love. Not one of them had the slightest sense of social concern. They weren't e- ven interested in what others By Val Baltkalns qcteideity cieackla 49414 night on earth . . . years before this question was ever touched at the school, Or an afternoon in the kitchen with the water kettle boiling when father showed how air condensed and gave rain . . . or the quaint nights be- fore bedtime when the family went out for a stroll to watch the mysteries of the stars and the moon. Life has become more hectic in the last few decades and the head of the family has been left, mostly by circumstances, in the background and in the role of "hand me over the car keys" . . . Still there are moments, even in the busiest families, that will live for- ever and no craftsmanship will ever be able to record them on film or paper. Like the letter bearing a far-away stamp and starting with the casual "Hi Dad". And we would read it, nod at times, and remember, and with quiet pride would say to ourselves, "Well, we did not do so badly after all." Who knows what it's all about? Reams have been written about re- gaining control of our economics in Canada, of reclaiming our sovereignty, but who really knows what it's all about. Certainly not the average citi- zen. He doesn't understand any of it and has no real interest in it. Prime Minister Pearson did give an inkling recently when he said that Canada could gain complete control of its economy but at a heavy price. Im- mediately we would have to be ready to accept a 25 to 30 6:-"r, lower standard of living. This was enough to disinterest the average citizen right away. How- ever, no one, not even the Prime Min- ister, has ever said publicly what this drop in living would involve. Would it mean less food, poorer houses. poorer education, clothing, cars. No one is go- ing to appear too interested in paying the price if they are never told what the terms are to be. cedure. What gives a seeming justification to the mockery is the fact that'the scales of justice are no longer in balance. The Crown has at its disposal all the necessary means to prove the guilt of the accused. The ac- cused on the other hand, as a rule, has quite limited means to maintain his innocence. Properly conducted defence, in cases when it is most desperately needed, can be extremely expensive. For the sake of objectivity we must point out that the courts may appoint a lawyer to a de- fendant who is unable to provide one himself. As in all welfare cases this system has its basic deficiencies. As a rule it fails to provide the expert help that is needed in most serious cases. This practice must be considered inadequate. To retain the balance of justice, expert help to defendants should be available as a matter of course. The state (and the tax- payer) should bear the costs. It might appear a rather ex- pensive way to administer jus- tice. But if we accept the ex- penditures for the rehabilitation of the criminal, compatible with this enlightened age, we must as willingly accept the respon- sibility of seeing that the inno- cent have their fair chance in the courts of our country. It is but a small way in which to repay the debt to our con- science. job in exercising the principles of a fair trial. We have seen magistrates, who certainly do more than their share in volun- teering information to the ac- cused on his rights. We have seen these representatives of t he Queen sternly advising the ac- cused to get a lawyer and point- ing out the serious consequences that might arise of neglect to do so. We have witnessed, and this sounds quite unbelievable, Crown Attorneys plead the case of the accused when it has been emin- ently clear that he had been the victim of circumstances or en- tangled in technicalities. Also we have seen other Crown At- torneys withdrawing cases that could spell a serious tragedy to the younger generation who had encountered the possible sever- ity of law without any premediat- ed criminal intent. * Even so, we believe, our law makers have a job ahead of them in correcting a situation that creates a stumbling block in ob- serving the rights of an individ- ual. we have heard mockery aimed at the doctrine that everybody is presumed innocent till proven guilty. Yet the principle is sound. It still governs our court pro- By V.B. A judicial review of a court case within our midst that would have remained unnoticed but for the inquiring mind of a free lanc- ing writer is bound to open new vistas of argument. It has already raised a serious question in re- gard to others who might have fallen victims to the inequities that exist in the administration of law. We have read some arguments, emanating from the profession in defence of the existing system which is held infallable in prin- ciple even if subject to human error and the occasional "mis- carriage" of justice. We are familiar with the his- torical doctrine that bad law is better than none at all; that laws and the principles upon which they are built have remained untouch- able through the centuries and are the last ones to follow the path of progress. Thus fortified we can, for the most part, make sense of judg- ments and procedures that baffle the general public and on oc- casions give rise to an outcry of "injustice" for a seemingly good reason. On the average, it appears to us, our courts are doing a good It is standard knowledge with al- most everyone that our economy has to be tied in with the United States, our greatest market, and this whether we like it or not. It is also true that Canadians could invest more in their own country's growth than they are doing. They have the money. We Canadians are told that we are the greatest buyers of life in- surance in the world so that a vast amount of our savings are invested abroad by the insurance companies, and our country is the loser. Thousands of Canadians ask about this sovereignty, why do we want it, is it desirable even if we could get it? And that is where it remains, and will no doubt remain for a long time. Peo- ple as a whole are not interested enough so the politicians are quite safe from having to be more specific. (Stouffeville Tribune) "When are you going to get up so we can enjoy Father's Day?" 0110,fiREMWSORTAMW•• • 50 YEARS AGO Jack Mallet is already wear- ing three stripes. He has been appointed sergeant of the offi- cers' mess. Mr. W.G.Medd of Winchelsea purchased a large truck for haul- ing butter and cream. Mr. T. Willis of Centralia also pur- chased a truck this week for the same purpose. Wedding bells are ringing in Whalen this week. Mr. Frank Squire and Miss Vera Hodgson will be united in wedlock in the church here by Rev. Finlay. Caven Presbyterian C hu re h and Trivitt Memorial Church have installed electric motors for pumping the organs. Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 15 YEARS AGO Thursday hydro men start the first change-over in the Exeter rural operating area when they tackle farms south-west of the town. A bylaw for the extension of Edward Street was passed at the meeting of Exeter council. The Huron County Pioneer Mu- seum in the 95-year-old former Central Public School, Goderich, was officially opened Wednesday when Tom Pryde, MLA for Hu- ron County cut the ribbon with a pair of ancient sheep shears, symbolic of the museum itself. Exeter (England) city council will present a mayor's gavel to Exeter (Ontario) in honor of the latter's new town status. "Now, that's what I call ACT- ING. They're married in real life, you know." leigrialielikitro, v4 A• IA 00 %wk., ). Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ont. Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Dep't, Ottawa, and for Payment of Postage in Cash Paid in Advance Circulation, September 30, 1965, 4,208 to 0, SO 1V A 4 Or QS COM9"' 25 YEARS AGO Southcott Bros. were awarded the five dollar prize for the best decorated window in the Victory Loan drive. In Hensall the prize was awarded to ILK Middleton, druggist. Huron County, with a quota of $1,400,000 in the VictoryLoan drive, was the second county in the Dominion of Canada to oversubscribe. Mr. Vernon Schatz has pur- chased the Dry Goods and Gro- cery business of Mr. A.V.Tie- man, Dashwood, Rev, Harry ,Jennings, who, for three years, was an Anglican missionary at Norman, N.W.T., and for the past year has been stationed at Ft. Smith, returned to Exeter Saturday to visit his mother, Mrs. Harry Jennings, Sr. It took three and a half weeks to make the trip home, 10 YEARS AGO Huron MPP Thomas Pryde Thursday afternoon laid the cor- ner stone for Mt. Carmel school for which he had donated the stone. Tom Pryde, Huron MPP, an- nounced this week that tenders have been called for paving Thames Road from Exeter to Russeldale. South Huron Hospital is only seven away from giving birth to its one-thousandth baby. The milestone will probably be reached within a week. Firemen and neighbours, who rushed to Staffs sawmill when it caught fire Monday night, Worked in vain to stop the raging blaze which was fed by lumber, sawdust and oil. The mill was levelled to the ground. It was the second time the Staffa Mill has been destroyed in 40 years, SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada 0.00 Per Year; USA $7.00 Those Terrible Teens are at it again. Riot in Montreal. Riot in Toronto's Yorkville. Teen- age boy charged with glue- sniffing. Girls nailed with bun- dle of marijuana. Students pic- keting everything but the public lavatories. Searching articles by sociolo- gists point out the obvious: that teen-agers are rebellious, re- sentful of adults, eager to ex- periment; anxiety-ridden, reck- less, sensitive, moody. Any par- ent knows all that. "Probing" and "sensitive" TV programs point out some more of the obvious: that teen-agers like power (boats, cars, motor- bikes: but not lawnmowers); that they like music with a big beat; that they like members of the opposite sex, Anybody who is not blind and deaf knows all that. What's all the fuss about, then? Is it a lot of overblown sensa- tionalism in the mass media? I'm no sociologist, but I have been a teen-ager, I have two of them under my roof, and I teach swarms of them every day, so I have some qualifications, how- ever amateurish, to speak a piece, Let's try to look at the whole thing coolly. They did inherit a pretty cruddy world. Their fresh- ness and idealism is soured at every turn by the massive march of materialism. Man is aiming at the stars with his feet firmly mired in the mud. And over all hangs the threat of annihilation. What do they want? They want to sweep away all the old shib- boleths and start fresh. They want to be their brother's keeper. They want to communicate. But every way they turn, they are confronted by a great, passive resistance from a society con- structed by adults for the com- fort and convenience Of adults. Who wouldn't be frustrated? Students would like to take over the universities. And re- membering some of the deplor- able professors and ridiculous courses I was subjected to, I don't blame thefn. They'd like to have the vote at 18. And this might be a good thing. It would mean nobody over 25 would dare to run for public office. In this way we might "Herb, you loft your tooth- brush on the washbasin again!" get rid of vast numbers of the incompetent politicians we now have at every level of govern- ment. They'd like to be able to drink legally at 18 (instead of illegal- ly at 16). This, too, in the long run, might turn out well. The resultant slaughter on the high- ways might ruin a few insurance companies, but at least it would help control the population ex- plosion we hear so much about. They'd like to be able to non- conform (though they do cling rather frantically to the ultra- conformity of the teen cult). Well, there's nothing wrong with being a non-conformist. I'd love to grow a beard, if it didn't emerge as a grizzled stubble that makes me look like a Bowery bum on a binge. I'd like to have two mistresses and a pet tiger, but I can't afford it. I'd like to go in bare feet, but I have this terrible Seed-wart on the ball of my right foot, that hurts like the dickens. They'd like some direction in their lives, so they say, and blame the lack of it on their parents or adults generally. Did you ever try to direct a teen- ager to get to bed or mow the lawn? Right now! They'd like to be beautiful or handsome. They'd like to be loved and trusted. They'd like to be given responsibility. All these longings prove is that they are human beings. You know, things haven't changed that much. When I was 18, I thought my parents well- meaning, but terribly narrow- minded. When I was 21, we used to call chaps of 29 in the Air Force, "Pop." When I was 25, people in their late 30's were completely incomprehensible. All they could talk about was furniture and fuel bills, children and chimneys, taxes and tea- chers. People over 40 were dodd- ering, senile. Don't try to understand teen- agers. Just try to put up with them, They want to fly. We want them to get on the treadmill with the rest of us squirrels, Remember, you too once wanted to fly, Yes, you,MOm, who necked in the back seat of a 1935 Ford. And you, Dad, who got drunk when you were 18.