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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-10-05, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1988. Opinion A fair people In a week of turmoil following the winning, then the losing of a gold medal at the Olympic Games by Ben Johnson, there is one thing Canadians can be proud of: themselves. Given the high Canadians felt when they won, it might have been expected that Canadians might have been so distraught over the loss of the medal and the embarrassment the doping scandal brought to their country that they would turn on the sprinter. The potential was particularly troubling because there are always those willing to turn the situation into a racist one because Johnson is a black, and an immigrant, born in Jamaica. But Canadians, perhaps to the surprise of both the media and politicians who were quick to condemn Johnson, have stuck on his side. When Global television held a phone-in poll to ask if people felt the sprinter had been fairly treated their lines were swamped. The results showed 15,000 who said they felt he hadn’t had fair treatment, 1,000 who felt he had. A restaurant owner hired an airplane to fly over Toronto urging people to phone with their opinion of what had happened and the overwhelming majority supported Johnson. School children organized theirowndemonstrationsoutsidethe Johnson house to tell him they still thought he was number one. Canadians may be naive, particularly those who still cling to the belief that somehow Johnson has been framed but it’s an admirable weakness to have. Better people would believe the best and be proven wrong in their hopes than to be quick to find the man guilty before all the facts are in. As events unfold, this black mark may be even blacker, but ordinary Canadians who havewantedtogivethemanafairhearing are doing this country proud. A piece of the prize Canadians have a right to feel they own of piece of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Uni ted Nations peacekeeping forces last week by the Nobel committee. It was Lester Pearson, Canadian Ambassador to the UN and later Canadian Prime Minister, who got the idea of a UN peacekeeping force accepted as a way of policing the ceasefire in the Suez war in 1956. Canadian troops have served in every oneofthe 15UnitedNationsforcessincethen. From the Middle East to Africa to Afghanistan to Vietnam, 77,000 Canadian troops have served with 78 of those dying on duty. Presently we have soldiers in six different UN missions. Last year it cost Canadians $37 million tokeep our peacekeepers overseas, with only $1.6 million coming back from the cash-starved United Nations. Canadians have paid the price and have earned their piece of the Prize. Do your homework The examination date has been set for November 21. Now is the time to do your homework. Canadians whocareabouttheircountry must take some time to really reflect in the next seven weeks before the federal election, on just what kind of country they want to live in. They face one of the most important elections in our country’s history, an election that won’t merely decide which party will form the government, but will decide what vision of Canada will be followed. Two pieces of legislation put in motion in the last four years have that ability to change the country: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Meech Lake Constitutional Reform package. On Free Trade there is a clear choice with the Progressive Conservatives under Brian Mulroney firmly supporting the agreement while both the Liberals under John Turner and the New Democrats under Ed Broadbent feeling this particular deal is not a good one. On Meech Lake there is noclear choice. Canadians who don’t agree with the give-away of power from the federal government to the provinces, upon the creation of a “distinct society’’ in Quebec will find none of three parties provide a chance to oppose the move. The only alternative they will have is to make their displeasure known to candidates of all the parties. Never has the vote of each Canadian mattered so much. Do your homework. Decide which of the parties most reflects the hopes you have for the country’s future and cast your ballot for what you believe in. The look out Letter from the editor When I'd rather say I cleaned sewers BY KEITH ROULSTON There are times to be proud you’re part of this business of journalism and times when you’d rather give your profession as anything but journalist. Last week, watching the silliness of the international media about the Ben Johnson story was one of those times when you’d like to disguise yourself as the guy who cleans the sewers because it would give you a more respectible aura. The Ben Johnson story seemed to bring out all the worst aspects of the business. Yes, people were curious about the story and so it was natural that the media tried to meet that curiosity but in doing so, seemed to let itself get totally out of control. Packs or reporters dogged Mr. Johnson and his family as they struggled to get on a plane at Seoul to fly home. Another jossling, pushing throng met him in New York where he stopped to change planes for Toronto. Pat Reid, a Canadian high-jumping coach on the same plane called the New York scene “a feeding frenzy”, the kind of thing that happens when sharks ',ent blood in the water. In Toronto another horde waited and, when they couldn’t get him to say anything at the airport, camped outside his house for days, trying to follow anyone who went inside the house and having to be pushed back out the door. In the vacuum created by Ben not talking, my colleagues showed how much the world-wide media can be like the infamous small­ town gossip television and movies are always so quick to condemn. Withthousandsofreporters set loose on the case, it was possible to find someone to quote who would say just about anything. While one “expert” would say he was sure Ben would never knowingly use the steroids found in his urine, another would say Ben’s doctor had bragged about using the drugs and another yet would say Ben knew about the drugs being used to help him get over his injuries and hoped to stop using them once the Olympics was over. The story goes on. It shows the media’s ability to keep a story alive even when there is really little new to report. What is really a story of personal tragedy has been blown so big that it knocked the an­ nouncement of the Nobel Peace Prize off the front pages of the country’s newspapers. And this isn’t just a Canadian story, it has Continued on page 6 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 517 OO/yr ($38 00 Foreign) Advertising isacceptedon the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited Advertising Deadlines Monday, 2pm - Brussels, Monday. 4pm- Blyth We are not responsible for unsolicited newscriptsor photographs Contentsof The Citizen are © Copyright Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. 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