HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-06-17, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17,1992.
The Other Side
Father's Day?
Why not just
forget it
Some things just outlive their
usefulness and fall by the wayside.
The Miss Canada contest, the Miss
Grey Cup contest for instance, just
didn't fit with the tone of the 1990s.
Maybe Father's Day should join
the list of discarded remnants of an
archaic period.
Father's Day has always been a
pretty second class holiday at best.
Mother's Day was...well a mother
hood issue but Father's Day just
didn't have the same impact. And
that was when it was still political
ly correct.
The problem with Father's Day in
the 1990s is that you're being asked
to celebrate something that isn't
something to be proud of. The first
problem is that to be honoured on
Father's Day you have to admit to
being a man. These days that
means being expected to take on
the burden for every bad thing any
man anywhere has ever done to any
woman. If you also happen to have
pinkish skin, have all your faculties
and use of all your limbs, you can
take on a whole load of extra guilt
for wars, pollution, third world
poverty and sins dating back io
Columbus and the exploitation by
European explorers.
It's not enough that you've never
beaten your wife, never held a
bazooka in your hand, drive a small
car, buy your food in bulk and
always compost your kitchen
wastes, you are a male so you are
to blame. The only way you can get
off the hook at all is to blame your
father for giving you the wrong
chromosome to turn you into a
male instead of a much more,
peaceful, consensus seeking, non-
exploitive environmentally friend
ly female.
Then there's the fact that to be
Letters
THE EDITOR,
I would like to thank Doug
Trollope for attempting to clarify
any misconceptions I had in
regards to understanding his
philosophy of “secular humanist”.
(June 10, Letter to the Editor). I
must admit however, the gist of the
message was lost in the somewhat
lengthy reply. At the risk of
sensationalizing religion or
offending subscribers, I would like
to call a “STALEMATE” to this
journalistic bantering, as it is clear
to me that our opposing views
could continue to take up a great
deal of newspaper space.
Christianity aside, I have great
faith in our fellow readers and their
ability to come to their own
conclusions in regards to the issues.
If Doug has an answer in regards
to solving abuse and violence,
rather than speculating on the
remote causes, I would encourage
him to enlighten us with the
solutions. Unfortunately for the
victims there are no easy answers.
The large amount of support and
kind encouragement offered by
telephone or in passing, over the
last few weeks shows that the spirit
of Christianity is alive and thriving
in this community!! I have also
By Keith Roulston
celebrated at Father's Day you have
to be a parent. Being a parent isn't
something to be particularly thrilled
about these days either. It used to
be that if you were a mother or a
father you hoped young children
would grow up to be successful and
famous. Today you'd better hope
they are successful but not famous.
If they become famous they will no
doubt write a book in which they
will say that: (a) they succeeded
because of their own strength in
overcoming a childhood dominated
by parents who either (1) expected
too much or (2) didn't show any
confidence in their children or (b),
that they succeed through their
determination to show their parents
they could make something of
themselves despite a mentally or
physically abusive childhood.
If the kid fouls up, of course, you
know that the parent is going to
take the blame somewhere along
the way, unless society in general
can be blamed for its indifference
or expectations. Some analyst
somewhere along the way may
even come up with evidence that
you assaulted your child when
he/she was too young to remember.
Once upon a time bringing up
children was something you just
did. Today it's a profession. You're
supposed to read books, watch the
TV shows and go to lectures and
somehow be able to put all the con
flicting advice together to raise a
well-adjusted, upwardly mobile
(but not too competitive) young
people. Somehow it seems, howev
er, that the more advice we get, the
more trouble there seems to be with
the younger generation.
You're never, never, never sup
posed to resort to the kind of thing
your parents did when raising you.
While they may have given you a
cuff across the ear or a kick to the
seat of the pants when you were
being too smart for your own good,
you're supposed to out-think your
come to the stark realization that
certain Christian individuals
indulge in moments of humour
from time to time ... Shall I say
more???
Special thanks to the Editor and
Citizen staff for allowing freedom
of expression and speech to both
parties.
I hope the letters written in the
Editorials over the last few weeks
have challenged readers to think
deeply about the grappling spiritual
problems and life choices that have
perplexed mankind through all
ages.
In conclusion, to quote Abraham
Lincoln in a letter to his friend:
“Take all of this book, the Bible,
upon reason that you can, and the
balance on faith, and you will live
and die a better man.” (SOURCE:
Who was Who in Church History.”
AUTHOR: Elgin S. Moyer.)
Liz Stryker
Brussels.
THE EDITOR,
Former teachers and students of
West Wawanosh: In connection
with the West Wawanosh
Anniversary July 24, 25 and 26th,
we are planning a school reunion,
to be held on Sunday, July 26 at
Brookside School. Registration will
be at 1 p.m.
Now is the time to plan to attend
this school reunion with your
family and friends. If you have any
questions or know of anyone who
should be notified, please- contact
Walter Elliott, RR 1, Lucknow,
Ontario. N0M 2H0.
More letters on pg. 21
kid. You may have just worked a
12 hour day but you're supposed to
come up with an argument that
takes your kid totally off guard
when he/she hits you with some
thing she/he has been scheming
about all day. If you can’t outsmart
him/her, if you have the urge to just
turn the culprit over your knee, it's
a sign of your failure as a mature
parent.
Those Father's Day cards date
back to the days of Father Knows
Best, where the father was the king
of his castle, an object of respect.
Fatherhood today, however, brings
few of the supposed pleasures of
those old days. Fatherhood is a
dirty job, but somebody's got to do
it or there won't be any fathers of
tomorrow.
When Canadians
work together we can
take on the world and win
To succeed in today's world,
Canadians must be able to com
pete because our jobs directly
depend on it. Preparing ourselves
through training will help us to
compete and secure the prosperity
we want for ourselves and our
children.
We have to invest in ourselves
and be a country that says...
yes we can.
COMMUNITY TALKS
Everyone knows a small compa
ny from Regina can't compete in
world markets. Everyone, that is,
except Les Hulicsko, President of
Sweep Rite Manufacturing Inc.
His high technology, innovative,
mechanical street sweepers are
cleaning up around the world,
with exports accounting for up to
75% of sales.
Yes we can.
Weve got the proof.
Canadians are succeeding
every day. Many individual and
business successes exist... with real
benefits for individuals, the com
munities they live in and for
Canadian industry.
Hundreds of Canadian compa
nies are achieving remarkable
international success. They're cre
ating jobs, developing new skills
and opportunities for thousands of
Canadians and creating markets
around the world for Canadian
products.
Blyth Legion
installs new
officers
On May 29 the Blyth Legion
Branch 420 and Ladies Auxiliary
held their double/double installa
tion of officers' ceremonies at the
Blyth Legion Hall with Howick
Branch 307.
Zone Commander Ed Pyette and
Zone Secretary June Pyette were
present for the ceremonies. The
meeting was opened with “O
Canada”.
The new branch officers are:
President, Donna J. Dougherty; 1st
Vice, Gordon Haggitt; 2nd Vice,
Robert Hillis; Secretary, Robert D.
Mclnnes; Treasurer, Donna Govier;
Sgt. At Arms, Ralph McCrea;
Service Officer, John Stewart;
Executive Committee, Brad
Montgomery, Colleen Bell, Clare
Vincent, Ralph McCrea, Mary Lou
Stewart and Doreen Ritchie.
The meeting was closed with the
singing of “God Save The Queen”.
Lunch was prepared by the Blyth
Ladies Auxiliary.
The Prosperity Initiative's
Steering Group is developing a
consensus-based plan of action to
be presented to Canadians in
September. Canadians told us
that they wanted to participate in
developing this plan of action. We
listened...
Through a series of
"Community Talks", thousands
of people in 186 communities
across Canada have contributed
their ideas. They talked about how
to address the challenges and
opportunities facing us all in the
areas of competitiveness and
learning. They talked about how
to maintain our standard of living
and secure our economic future.
They concluded that all of us have
to play a part...and the govern
ment is listening.
Purchasing a vehicle
is a big decision!
Let us help you
make the right one!
GARRY WOODCOCK
Quality Cars & Trucks
We Can Save You Money
Drive A Little - Save A Lot
j^^NTGOMERYl LUCKNOW
528-2813^
Yes we can.
We've got the ability
to buila on our
successes.
We have a history of working
in co-operation with others for
world-class achievements in
peacekeeping, medicine and space
exploration. Now, with business,
labour, governments, academic
and social groups working togeth
er, we can achieve prosperity
through international competitive
ness. But there is one more critical
factor: Canada's ultimate potential
depends on the commitment of
individual Canadians to being
the best.
"I moved to Quebec with an
Ontario teacher's certificate. For
several years, 1 could only get
work as a substitute. I knew it
would be hard to get a full-time
fob if I didn't re-qualify, so I took
my Quebec Certificate. I now
teach full time, have a better
salary and realize that if you
want a better future, you have to
be ready to retrain. It was worth
it for me!"
Yes we can.
We've got the people.
It's time to focus our energies
on our most important economic
challenge yet... and prepare
ourselves for a more prosperous
future.
"fes,wecan!
Canada