HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-06-10, Page 21■ IZ.EJM, WfcUNbSDAY, JUNb 10,1992. PAGE 21.
Letters
THE EDITOR,
Congratulations on another great
issue of Stops Along The Way,
written especially for tourists and
people who love to do new things
in Huron County. As someone soon
leaving his beautiful part of the
country for a new job running a
theatre in Ottawa, my memories of
Huron hospitality will always
remain.
As the Blyth Festival and nearly
100 volunteers played host to a
visiting theatre troupe from
Northern Japan, I witnessed, once
again, the great generosity of
families in this area who opened
their homes, their hearts and their
minds to the wonderful talents that
the Furano Group shared on stage
and wherever they went.
Kanashibetsu - their story about a
coal-mine closing, and the collapse
of their town, was one of the most
thrilling and compelling pieces of
theatre I've seen in years. As one of
the teenagers said who saw their
first performance in Blyth (the
North American premiere), “It's
better than Cats and I'm making my
folks come with me again tonight.”
Our Japanese visitors were
introduced to Canada in a most
special way - with Huron County
hospitality that extended to a
wonderful square dance planned in
their honour (nearly 100 people
learned how to grand chain
together), with capacity crowds
every evening at Blyth Memorial
Hall, and with generous people
who responded to our every crisis.
Special thanks to Dr. Maarten
Bokhout who acted as our doctor
when several Japanese performers
came down with some troubling
illnesses, to the four volunteer
translators who spent six busy days
in Blyth, to the incredible
volunteers who whipped up a quick
lunch for 75 people (in 10 minutes)
when they learned the bus would be
delayed by 90 minutes on Sunday's
departure day and to the Blyth
Festival's treasured Jennifer Iutzi
who co-ordinated the schedule of
over 100 people over six days.
We're very pleased that a special
TV crew from Japan - Hokkaido
Cultural Broadcasting Company in
Sapporo have filmed everything
that happened here over the six day
cultural exchange. In September, a
special documentary on the Furano
Group visit to North America will
be aired in Canada and Japan. Now
more people will sec Huron
hospitality in action.
Jane Gardner
Director of Communications
Blyth Festival.
THE EDITOR,
I am writing to thank Publisher
Keith Roulston for the wonderful
and very insightful column he
wrote for the April 29, 1992 edition
of The Citizen - “An era comes to
an end.”
His kind words about my
grandfather, “Doc” Cruickshank,
meant a great deal to everyone in
my family.
Naturally, we were always aware
of his desire to “serve his
community - indeed, that was the
basic philosophy of his life. His
very existence was dedicated to
making life for everyone around
him - family and community -
better.
Like Mr. Roulston, CKNX was
“the centre of my universe”. The
people who worked there were a
part of my extended family through
my grandfather, my father (Bud)
and my great uncle (John).
Together, they built a legacy that
continues today as my brother,
Steve, and my two brothers-in-law
carry on in the field of television
communication.
My grandfather was a special
man to many people and I am
constantly hearing stories about
him (rom others. These tales from
the past and articles like yours
serves to remind me of the
importance of this man and CKNX
to “our little comer of the world”.
It is ironic that Mr. Roulston
closed his column with a line from
a Joni Mitchell song that has been a
favourite of mine for years. That
reference capped a piece of writing
which appropriately summed up the
situation that exists today with the
loss of CKNX television.
The Cruickshank family, like
everyone else in the vicinity, feels
great concern for those who have
lost their jobs and now must try to
find new careers elsewhere.
I have always been thankful that
my family wailed until after my
grandfather's death to sell CKNX to
CFPL. The sale was the right thing
to do, but it would have been very
difficult for him to accept under
any circumstances. Likewise, this
loss would have hit him very hard.
Mr. Roulston's kind words about
my grandfather, and the eloquence
of his column, were greatly
appreciated by my family. On
behalf of all of us, I thank him.
Mary Ann Cruickshank.
THE EDITOR,
In response to John Hesselwood's
letter in last week's paper, I also
feel the citizens of the town are
being deprived of the use of the
hall.
The amount of money the town
has to pay is certainly not
benefiting the people whose tax
dollars are being used. It is high
time the town shaped up and people
get their money's worth out of the
Memorial Hall!
Marie Heffron.
THE EDITOR,
In response to Liz Stryker's
response to my May 27 letter in
The Citizen , I would like to correct
a few misconceptions regarding
Secular Humanists.
Firstly, Humanism is the non
religious moral philosophy that is
concerned with the betterment of
humanity through the application
of reason and humanist ethics.
Humanists have faith and trust not
only in themselves, but also in all
fellow human beings. All
monotheistic religions (not just
Christianity) can and do offend the
sensibilities of humanists and
atheists alike. She should realize
that any progressive improvement
in human health, medical care, and
happiness which has occurred since
the Dark Ages, those mean-spirited
days of fear, guilt, ignorance and
injustice, can be attributed to the
rebirth of two major forces in
human history 1) science and 2)
humanism.
The concept of Gods or God was
used earlier by people affected by
natural phenomenon like floods,
earthquakes, cyclones, etc., because
they thought there was some kind
of supernatural power behind it all.
The Catholic Church did manage to
suppress the “blasphemous”
knowledge that the earth revolved
around the sun from the 1400s to
the 1600s under threats of death
and excommunication because it
went against the teachings of the
bible.
Secondly, she feels that she was
being personally attacked by my
letter attacking religion. In
attacking Christianity, I was not
attacking Christians. As Humanists
see it, Christians are victims of a
dehumanizing, infantalizing belief
system that is not good for human
consumption and I could hardly be
called a Humanist if I attacked
victims of any description.
We would not attack victims of
air pollution, political persecution,
or food poisoning, so why would I
attack victims of a noxious set of
beliefs?
While I am sure her religious
advisors have done everything they
can to make her feel her religion is
an organic part of her, Humanists
feel that the human being is an
entity apart from the belief system.
We believe that human beings
come into this world, not in a state
of original sin as Christianity
teaches, but rather with the
potential to achieve great things
and to enjoy pleasures of all kinds.
In calling the holy men both past
and present “Theological Snake Oil
Salesman” is, quite honestly calling
a spade a shovel. When these
salesmen use the media to ply their
trade or to sell their product, with
the ever-present threat of eternal
damnation if one fails to buy the
product is only one form of
blackmail or fraud. In the secular
arena, false advertising is against
the law; in the religious arena it is
law. These salesmen are able to
promise anything, knowing they
will not have to deliver or be held
accountable for what they promise
in any way, all done, of course in
the name of a mythical supernatural
“Big Daddy”. That is not
suggesting that people do not have
the right to worship Gods or purple
people eaters for that matter,
provided they do so in the privacy
of their own church, synagogue,
mosque, or whatever.
Thirdly, a common myth is that
religion and the bible have played a
useful role in helping human beings
to control their deep powerful
destructive impulses, promote a
“Lawful Order” in society, or
encourage peace, love, and giving.
According to this myth, without the
blessing or religion we would all be
depraved, murdering, licentious,
rapacious zombies. In fact the
opposite may be closer to reality.
History and the daily media supply
plenty of evidence to support the
hypothesis that a god-oriented
society creates, promotes and
encourages violence and
exploitation. Christians fight
Muslims in Lebanon, Nigeria,
Yugoslavia, etc.; Muslims fight
Jews or themselves in the Middle
East; Protestants and Catholics
slaughter each other in Northern
Ireland; even the Quebec Unity and
Constitutional debate within
Canada has the same roots as
Ireland.
The rise of Christianity in the
Western world can be attributed
more for its ruthless indoctrination
(witch-hunts and the inquisition)
than the truthfulness of its ethical
doctrines. Nazi Germany was not a
unique phenomenon in history.
Guilt is the only emotion
acceptable to the church.
Christianity is in fact, the “House
that Guilt built”. Jesus does advise
his followers to turn their backs on
their families and to follow him;
Paul advises Christians to “pray
without ceasing; which does not
lend itself to develop any human to
human bonds or communication
skills. Religion has always been a
divisive force in human history,
continued on page 22
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