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The Citizen, 1990-06-27, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 1990. Editorials Building communities There’s no doubt it takes dollars and cents to keep a community going but a community is more than the sum of its gross product. This past weekend’s Blyth Rutabaga Festival and the upcoming Brussels Funfest are cases in point. Given that the majority of both events are free of charge there is little chance either will have a huge economic impact on their community. Since both events are in their infancy it’s hard to predict if they will bring tourists flocking in either. What the Funfest did last year however, and the Rutabaga Festival did this past weekend, was to build their respective communities. First of all people were brought together to plan and carry out the activities, giving people a sense of togetherness. Then people flocked to the events (in Blyth’s case despite the weather) and turned them into big community parties. Finally, all those hard working people could see what they had accomplished working together and take pride in their efforts and in their community in the large turnout to support the events. In the long run, those things may be more important than tourist dollars. What makes a rural community different than a larger urban centre is the sense of belonging, the sense that you don’t just sit back and have things done for you but go out and make it happen. Hard-working volunteers like those who ran the Rutabaga Festival and those who are putting the finishing touches to the Funfest prove that small towns are alive and well. The agony of waiting The frustrating thing for many Canadians as Canada Day, the 123rd anniversary of the founding of the country, comes up this Sunday is that we can only sit by and wait to see if the country will survive the latest crisis. The Meech Mess has soured the mood of the country and left its future very much in the hands of the Quebec government and citizens of that province. All we can really hope for is a cooling off period until, as former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau put it, we find out how to be civilized again. All we on this side of the border can do is try to prevent the kind of small minded bigotry that saw ‘ ‘ English only” resolutions passed by municipal councils or people stomp on the Quebec flag so that there won’t be new irritants to spur on ill feeling. We can refuse to rise to the bait of Quebec nationalists burning the Canadian flag as was done at St. Jean Baptiste Day celebrations on the weekend. Quebec Nationalists want to stir the pot. They want the resentment to continue. They want to make English Canadians angry so they’ll do things that will turn moderate, pro-Canada Quebecois into separatists. The frustrating thing is that Canadians of good will are so helpless in this struggle to save their country. The “think-small” people who would rtither have a Canada without Quebec on one side, or the Quebec without Canada on the other side have so much more going forthem. It’s easier tostir up resentment and hate than it is goodwill, especially from a distance. Pictures of pebple holding candlelight vigils for their country don’t carry the impact of people burning flags. It would be a tragedy, not just for Canadians, but for the example we could show the world, if this country is split into two or more pieces by these small thinkers. A united Canada with its mosaic of native peoples, French, English, and immigrants from every continent and country in the world, is a symbol of hope that people of different backgrounds and races can live together, a symbol that we can hope for world peace Splitting the country would be new evidence that there is no real hope for lasting peace when even the residents of one of the most blessed lands in the world can find petty arguments to drive people apart. We have been focusing on the things that make us different, the things that upset us about others, rather than the things that we share in common. Why would any Canadian want to give up the feeling that the Rockie Mountains or Perce Rock belong just as much to them as the people of their home province? Why wouldn’t we want to be as proud of heroes like Terry Fox or Guy Lafleur whether they spoke English or French. The petty people would diminish the richness of Canada by saying it’s simpler to have one than two languages. The result would be like playing one line of a rich symphony instead of all the instruments: much weaker and less impressive. Canadians who think big, can only sit and hope that common sense, tolerance and love of their fellow citizenswill prevail in the long run. They can only patiently hope there will be enough time to heal the wounds. What Canada means to me BY DOROTHY L. THORNTON R.R. #1, BLUEVALE Canada, the land of my birth is a vast structure, built with a solid base of trust and hope, from our native people and first citizens to the early British and European immigrants as well as the later arrivals from every continent in the world. My Canada is not political; it is not Meech Lake; it is not govern­ ment, although that aspect is more important to our being and to helping this great land survive our present crisis. My Canada stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific; a piece of fabric woven with the thread of inland lakes, the prairies, the mountains and the winding road­ ways. My Canada is a lonely farmhouse in Nova Scotia; Indian children running to catch the school bus in New Brunswick; a fisherman bring­ ing in his catch in Newfoundland; a Grandfather and his inquisitive grandson repairing a lobster pot in Prince Edward Island and an Inuit dashing across a white, northern expanse in a snowmobile. My Canada is the rolling farm­ land of southern Ontario where generations have produced food in progressive methods and maintain­ ed a way of life; a tired miner trudging home from a mine in northern Ontario and Quebec; the mighty St. Lawrence seaway as it majestically flows past our first farms, set up in strips by the French settlers; ranchland in Al­ berta and a lonely cowboy on horseback rounding up cattle; our towering forests where lumber and wood products supply our nation Continued on page 7 The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $19.00/yr. [$40.00 Foreign]. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisment will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. Editor & Publisher, Keith Roulston Advertising Manager, Dave Williams Production Manager, Jill Roulston Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968