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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1978-05-31, Page 2Brussels Post BRUSSE LS ONTAR 10 WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 1978 Serving Brussels and the surrounding community. Published each Wednesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario by McLean Bros.Publishers. Limited, Evelyn Kennedy - Editor .Meinber Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association *CNA Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $9.00 a Year. Others $17.00 a Year. Single Copies 20 cents each. Too much government? Prince Philip, never noted for his reticence, got himself in trouble recently for suggesting that the level of government interference in the lives of the people of Britain was approaching the Orwellian era of 1984. Prince Philip was not railing at the almost daily recital of major and minor violations of civ it rights, frighterning as that may be. Rather , it would appear that he was attacking a cast of mind which says bigness in government is an inevitable and necessary outgrowth of technological democracy. While we sympathize with the views expressed by Prince Philip, we must recognize that the more complex the society and the more intricate personal relations become, the more government intervention there will be. The problem is.to know how much interference is too much, how little not enough. In attempting to throw some light on the question, the Reverend Clarke MacDonald, Deputy Secretary of. the United Church's Division of Mission in Canada, recently told a men's club inChatham, Ontario, that it was the responsibility of the Christian conscience to determine "what is too much and/or too little." Governments and the people that run and administer them, exist solely for the citizens of the nation they rule. But if these citizens demand more and more in the way of social benefits, government bureaucracies will increase in direct proportion at best and more likely out of all proportion. When this happens, denial of human rights looms as a real danger and George Orwell's fictional prophecy of a Big. Brother watching over our every move could become reality. As Dr. MadDonald pointed out in his Chatham address, determining what is too much or too little is a matter of conscience. Every citizen should make sure that the voice of conscience is heard in parliament and legislative assemblies. • (Unchurched Editorial) OUTGOING PRESIDENT — Julie McCall, outgoing president of the Leos received roses and a silver cup from vice-president. Linda Machan when the Leos held their second annual anniversary at the Brussels Morris and Grey Community Centre on Friday night. There's so much written these days about national unity that one hesitates to add another word in case it might be the straw that breaks•the country's back. Still it's a problem that continues to bother people, writers included and the only way to deal with it, is to bring it out in the open. It's ironic that when this country is more affluent than ever before (despite the minor setback of our present economic situation), when we've just seen some of our most stirring national events such as the centennial events of 10 years ago, such as the international hockey victories of,1972 and 1976 that sent the country into wild celebrations, such as the 1976 Olympics, that now of all the times in our history the country should be so close to blowing to smitherens. The problems of the country in general, I think, can be tied to something singer Henry Belafonte mentioned the other night on a television interview. Belafonte said that despite the affluence of. North American and European life right now, there is something missing. People aren't happy despite all their wealth. This is reflected in general by what has been called the "me generation". The idealism of the 1960's, of the civil rights battle and the anti-war movement has given way to the selfishness of the 1970s. This selfishness, from the business executive all the way down to the workers on the factory assembly line has had a great deal of effect on our current economic problems. Canadian's, among the most selfish of the selfish peoples of the 1970's, priced them- selves out of the international markets. They helped create problems because we became so greedy to buy whatever was cheapest so we could save our money for "important" things like vacations in the south, that we nearly killed industries like the textile business because we'd rather buy cheap imports than support our own country, Okay, that's covering our economic problems but how does the "me" generation lead to national disunity? Surely it's just the old "Quebec problem" in a new face. It would be except for the fact that it isn't just a Quebec or language problem. We hear constant rumblings from the west. We hear that the Maritimes would go if Quebec separated. We hear about Newfoundland wanting to re. negotiate its terms of Confederation. None of the problems are new. They've been around for years. They aren't even unique to Canada. I can imagine the people of Kansas feel just as isolated from the power of Washington and New York city in the U.S. as the people of Saskatchewan do here, but I haven't heard any seccessionist talk down there. The problems seem so large now because of the "poor little me" feeling Canadians have at the present. Amid our affluence we're still feeling sorry for ourselves. We want to blame others for that emptiness that Belafonte mentioned earlier. So Quebeckers, even though more gigantic steps have been taken to improve their problem in the last ten years than in the 100 before then, feel ready to give up on Canada. So Maritimers, after living with their inequities for so long, now demand action. Westerners do the same. And Ontarians, feeling sorry and put-upon; rebel against the outrageous' injustice of having to listen to part of the national anthem sung in French, by booing at a ball game. The problems of the country are really small compared to the Depression years or the war years when we had all the same regional disparities plus many harder realities. The difference is that then we tended to look on the bright side, not look for black clouds on a sunny day. They say there are two kinds of people: the optimist can look at a glass of water filled half way and say it's half full, the pessimist says it's half empty. Canadians seem to be the latter. We look across the country and we see only what makes Albertans different from Ontarians, Quebecois from Maritimers. I n better tiros, we'd look and see what makes us alike. The other thing about the "me generation" is that it refuses to accept responsiblity for anything, It's always somebody else's fault. So we refuse to admit that the problems the country faces are created by you and me and our counterparts elsewhere in the country. They may be exaggerated by poor government but to accuse one man, the prime minister or premier of Quebec or anyone else of causing the problems is just looking for a scape goat. The problem is within us and the solution is within us. Only when we recognize the fact and try to change our own attitudes toward the country will we begin to pull it back together again. It's a race against titne, and against ourselves. I'M A REAL SWINGER — Although he was the only person on the swings Paul Willie seemed to be enjoying thiS ride by himself at Brussels Carnival Days on Thursday. (Brussels Post Photo) Behind the scenes By Keith Roulston