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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-05-17, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1989. Opinion Paying the price for freedom It’s ironic that people in a totalitarian Communist country like China can be giving lessons in Democracy to Westerners, but that is what the students of China are doing these days. As Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev visits China this week there is a huge protest of 20,000 to 30,000 students holding a “democracy protest’’ in the centre of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. They have vowed to stay there despite the urging of their government to stop this embarrassment to their government. ' It’s hard for us to imagine the courage actions like this must take. While there is safety in numbers, in a country like China with an all-powerful government, those in the crowd can’t be sure they won’t be found out and persecuted later, if not now. The students join others who have disregarded personal danger to fight for democracy around the world. Last week the papers were filled with pictures of bloody Panamanian opposition leaders beaten because they refused to accept the results of a rigged election in that country. There are vivid memories of the crowds that wouldn’t give in to the military in the Philippines. There are memories of protesters in other countries who put flowers in the guns of the soldiers and won a peaceful transition to democracy. We have such a soft life in North America. Not only do we have all the material goods the rest of the world can only dream of, but we have a freedom for which we don’t have to pay a daily price. It’s 40 years since Canadians have had to defend their democracy. Two whole generations have grown without knowing that there is a price to be paid for freedom. Instead we have a nation where many people don’t even go out to vote, let alone take positive action to make democracy work. If those protesters in China win more democracy for their country, even the limited democracy within the Communist system, they won’t likely be as lackadaisical about their new freedoms as we are. They’ll know the price that had to be paid to win those freedoms. Gambling for (government) dollars Our politicians often make pious speeches about the need to clean upsociety: untilatleastthere’sachancetomake some taxes from our vices. The Ontario Government is about to find another way to make money off the frailties of human beings. Likely by next January, we were toid last week, there will be betting ‘ * theatres’ ’ in Ontario where you can go and relax and have a drink (taxed by the government) and a meal (taxed by the government) and watch horse races on a television screen and bet on the winners. Five per cent of the bet will go to the government. No doubt some politician somewhere will justify this new off-track betting scheme in the name of fairness. After all, he’ll say, why should only the rich who can afford to take time off to go to race tracks be able to bet on races? Why should only those near the track be able to bet legally on horses while those in the north or in areas far from a track, are deprived of the opportunity to bet. Some other politician will say how this new scheme is giving the people what they want, letting people enjoy themselves in a harmless pursuit while helping pay the government’s bills. Happily ignored, however, will be the heartache caused by those whoget hooked on gambling, whospentthe mortgage money and the grocery money on betting. Who, when they lose, feel the only way is to find more money to bet to try to win back what they’ve lost. There seems to be a progression we go through in this country: first we deplore a human vice, then we say people will do it anyway so, although we dislike it we won’t make it illegal anymore, then we tax it, then we tax it some more and some more. Our only hope is that, like cigarettes, the government gets so greedy for taxes it actually drives people away from the vice. In the meantime, however, the government goes merrily along making money off the weaknesses of others, ignoring the heartache and agony caused in families. There are some ugly words for that kind of callousness. Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 Spring's blooming Letter from the editor Love’s changing plot BY KEITH ROULSTON The age of the video recorder has brought the great variety of Holly­ wood movies into every home. Not only can you rent movies, new and old, at your local variety store these days, but you can tape movies to your heart’s content on late night television. When I watch an old movie I’ve taped I like to get out the TV guide to see when the movie was made but usually you can figure it out within a few years just by the way the romantic angle of the movie is handled. If there wasn’t any difference in colour quality or costumes, for instance, you could still tell a pre-1960 movie from a 1980’s movie by the plot line. The old standard plot for movies was boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back again. Today it’s more like, boy meets girl, they jump passionately into bed, they stay madly in love for a week then decide their love can’t last because their careers are just too important for even good sex to come in the road of. Lately I’ve watched a couple of oldies taped at from showing in the middle of the night (have you ever noticed how many commercials they stuff into those things? Who can be watching at that time of the night?). Virtue was a virtue in those days. In two of these movies, and probably dozens of others, the reason boy lost girl after boy had found girl was because of a mix-up in hotel rooms. The boy and the girl end up in the same hotel. The boy promises faithfully that they’ll be on separate floors but the hotel goofs and they end up in adjoining rooms, always with a connecting door and shared bathroom. The boys decides to just try to keep quiet about it but she of course finds out and the romance is off. There were some daring movies Continued on page 5 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario, by North Huron Publishing Company Inc Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $17 OO/yr ($38 00 Foreign) Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited Advertising Deadlines Monday, 2 p m - Brussels, Monday, 4pm - Blyth We are not responsible for unsolicited newscriptsor photographs Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. 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