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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-09-02, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1992. E ditorial I No easy solutions For Canadians who care about truth and understanding, last week's decision by the Supreme Court of Canada to throw out the conviction of Toronto publisher Ernst Zundel for spreading false news is disturbing. It is, however, probably the right decison. There's no easy solution to the dilemma posed by Mr. Zundel and his type. He was charged with spreading false news for printing pamphlets that claimed the Holocaust was a hoax, part of a world-wide Zionist conspiracy. Wackos like Mr. Zundel want us to believe not only that the history we have seen on film, and in some cases in person, didn't happen but also that western governments are part of a Jewish conspiracy to run the world. Why an Irish Catholic like Brian Mulroney would want to assist Jews in taking over the world is beyond understanding to all but people like Mr. Zundel. The problem with the Supreme Court decision is that it allows the smug Mr. Zundel and others who would encourage hatred against this or that minority, to think they’ve gotten away with something. They have received heeps of publicity for their twisted views and then used the guarantees of free speech under our constitution to protect them. There are those who would change that. They see the need to stop people like Mr. Zundel as being so great they would be willing to curb freedom of speech in order to silence him. If they had their way, however, how many other good reasons might we have in the coming years for prohibiting people to speak or write what they feel. Even with its excesses in cases like the hounding of the royal family, a free press is still an essential part of democracy. If we say you can't write this, or can't say that, do we then lead toward the day when things that need to be said can't be? Can we see the day, for instance, that if the press is restricted, something like the Watergate investigation by reporters couldn't have happened and an entire country would be led by a corrupt regime? Could a government find ways to prevent legitimate debate on something like free trade or the constitution? Unlikely, but possible. There are two wrongs here, no right. It's not right for people to spread hate yet dangerous to change all the laws to prevent them doing it. What we must all do is fight the Ernst Zundel's of the world, expose the stupidness of their arguments. We must teach our children understanding of others, whether people of other colours, religions, genders or lifestyles. There's no law that can make the bad guys go away, no simple decision by a Supreme Court. It's up to each of us, every day to make this world work, to undermine the haters and build up the people who are understanding and loving.—AT? Correct the course As schools go back in again in Ontario next week there is a sense of unease in many students that they don't know where the jobs will come from they are expecting to get as the reward for their long years of training We must do something to give these young people, the future of our country, a sense of direction. Canada is in a great time of change, a change that is effecting the lives of nearly every Canadian as we enter a new age when international forces have more to say with day-to-day life than our own governments. As a result of trade adjustments and the recession, 1.5 million people are unemployed. Hundreds of thousands more people are underemployed, doing jobs well below the level for which they have been trained, at well below the income they had expected when they had completed their training. Canada, we hear over and over, must be competitive and must retrain and must have a more skilled workforce. Retrain for what? Where are we going? Does anybody know? After the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement we were promised a retraining program for those who lost their jobs because of free trade. A panel set up to study the problem, however, felt it would be too hard to determine who had lost a job because of regular economic adjustments and who had lost a job because of Free Trade. As a result, with the federal government worried about spending anyway, we have few new training programs. But even if the government had spent billions on retraining, the question remains retraining for what? Boosters of free trade with the U.S. and Mexico promote the idea of high tech jobs for Canadians but if we retrain people for these fields will the jobs really be there? How can we plan, whether for our own lives or our childrens', if we don't know where we're going? We need leaders to give us a sense of vision, a sense of direction that gives people confidence to plan ahead.—KR Photo by Bonnie Gropp Looking Back Through the Years ONE YEAR AGO September 4,1991 Sherry Hoegy of RR 1, Walton was crowned Queen of the Furrow at the Huron County Plowing Match. Runner-up for the title was Lorrie Glanville of RR 1, Walton. Belgrave Squirts captured the north Division title in the Tri­ County Squirt softball series. THREE YEARS AGO August 30,1989 Bruce Shillinglaw, a conserva­ tionist farmer from the Londesboro area, was presented with the Con­ servation Award of Distinction by the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority. Doctor Jan Raczycki joined Dr. Keith Hay's, Clinton and Blyth practice after spending two years practising medicine in a small Northern Ontario town. The Blyth Inn Slo-pitch team recorded four straight victories to capture the "Gold" championship in their division. The Auburn Squirt Inter Town­ ship boys finished their year on a winning note by capturing the "A" championship at the year-end tour­ nament. FIVE YEARS AGO September 2,1987 Brussels' own world class figure skating champion, Kevin Wheeler with his pairs partner, .Michelle Menzies of Preston, won the gold medal at the international competi­ tion in St. Gervais, France. Angela Nethery of RR 4, Brus­ sels, the 1986-87 Huron County Dairy Princess, was selected as one of the ten semi-finalists vying for the title of Ontario Dairy Princess at the Canadian National Exhibition Letters THE EDITOR, As the one who first responded to Rev. Cameron McMillan's earlier column, I felt his latest column (Religion, helps us survive, Aug. 5) should also be responded to. Firstly, my response was not only “critical” of Christianity, but rather all monotheistic religions. Secondly, let's deal with the misconception of regarding the seeds of doubt being sowed in childhood about the truth of Christianity. When an individual's in Toronto. Don Lobb of RR 2, Clinton, was the only Canadian among the nine recipients of an international con­ servation award presented to indi­ viduals who have shown outstanding leadership in the field of soil and water conservation. The Soil Conservation Society of Amer­ ica presented Mr. Lobb the award at its 42nd annual meeting at Billings, Montana. own intelligence brings him or her to question or even deny some aspect of dogma, and one's impulse to self-educate becomes aroused, he or she may start down the long, liberating road toward humanism. We are all bom atheists. Religious beliefs are learned, not inborn as the godtalkers would have people believe. Thirdly, there is an erroneous belief that we are never pressured into accepting Christian beliefs and we have the freedom of choice. Nothing could be further from the truth. The primary reason for this is due to religious indoctrination and brainwashing in the pre-irrational stages of childhood, the age of reason. This is religion's dirty little secret; its transmission through the ages; mental rape at an early age. Continued on page 6 C itizenTheNorthHuron P.O. Box 429,P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont.BRUSSELS, Ont.Publisher, Keith Roulston N0M1H0 NOG 1 HO Editor, Bonnie Gropp Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Sales Representatives, FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 Jeannette McNeil and Merle Gunby The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31.03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A, and Foreign. 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