The Rural Voice, 2005-06, Page 10Jeffrey
Carter is a
freelance
journalist
based in
Dresden,
Ontario.
In the wee hours of
the morning, as I mulled over
Stephen Harper's meeting with
nearly 200 farmers in Chatham in
April, a rather obscure connection
popped into the old noggin.
In the early grades of primary
school, boys used to wrestle. There
wasn't anything structured or
malicious about it. Teachers turned a
blind eye.
It was, essentially, a healthy
exercise, an innocent expression of
youthful exuberance — despite the
chipped tooth I received from one of
Jeffrey Carter
Whg bogs should wrestle
my neighbours.
Then there were those two fellows,
one concession over. I had to wrestle
both of them, at same time, every
recess during the first few weeks of
Grade 1. They had the advantage of
numbers.
Of course, this is all very much
politically incorrect for today's
schoolyards where swing sets are
removed and children may even be
restricted from running.
Liability is the primary issue. That
a natural expression is being
suppressed, doesn't seem to matter.
Meanwhile, visual forms of graphic
violence are allowed to pervade the
fabric of our society without the
measures of remorse and morality to
temper them.
Boys need to wrestle.
The ability and willingness to stand
up for oneself are as much a matter
of survival today as they were when
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6 THE RURAL VOICE
humanity were full bellies, wild
beasts, and members of the
neighbouring clan.
Wrestling, for youngsters, provides
another equally important lesson.
Taken too far, the act of defending
person or possession will hurt others.
My early experience with wrestling
served me well during a science -class
excursion, soon after I entered
highschool.
We were walking along a path but
needed to scale a steep embankment.
Being a stubborn individualist, I
declined the suggestion.to race to the
top that was eagerly taken up by the
others.
One rather bulky individual felt that
single-mindedness should be
rewarded with a shove back down the
slope. He edged toward me from
above, an arm tenuously outstretched
— a foolish city boy unused to the
basic tenets of wrestling.
I continued measured ascent,
virtually unimpeded. No one was hurt
and the fellow at the bottom of the
slope Teamed a valuable science
lesson — gravity works.
Flash forward to the present day.
The "boys" behind the tractor rally
at Chatham must have wrestling
experience, and were able to transfer
the physical experience to the
marginally more subtle art of political
maneuvering. Seeing the advantage
that a looming federal election
presents, they were able to wrest a
promise from Mr. Harper that he will
address the ongoing farm financial
crisis in a real and significant
manner.
What remains to be seen is whether
the Conservative leader is a person
of substance and honour — if he
actually reaches the Prime Minister's
office.
Some of the above events may
actually resemble real occurrences.
Apologies are extended to any girls
who, if they wish to wrestle, should
in no way be excluded. Running
away is generally the superior
response to impending physical
conflict.0