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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-12-23, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1992. ditorial Peace and disharmony In Britain, the continuing battle between Roman Catholic and Protestant factions in Northern Ireland continues to have people living in fear of constant bombings, kidnappings and murders. At least part of the trouble in the former Yugoslavia is religious based, as Christian Serbs battle Moslems. In India, Hindus storm and destroy a mosque, they say was built 400 years ago, on a sacred Hindu site, bringing retaliation by Moslems in other areas of India and Pakistan. In Israel, 400 fundamentalist Moslems are deported, against international law, with no place that will take them, because the Israeli government says they have been, or have aided, terrorists. In Germany, people who represent a "Christian" background, terrorize Jews and foreigners, reliving the gory "glory" of Nazi days. Recently a writer visited Canada who has lived in hiding for several years because a death sentence has been placed on his head by a fundamentalist Moslem leader in Iran because he wrote a book the leader felt ridiculed his religion. He was received like a hero by Premier Bob Rae, which prompted letters to the editor in newspapers from Moslem readers deploring the fact he was honoured. The basis of nearly all the world’s great religions is the same wish behind the great Christian festival now being celebrated around the world: peace and understanding. Yet religion is also the root cause of much of the hatred and conflict around the world as people find ways in which their religion is demeaned by others. How is it that people can forget the message of their religion so easily? Religion should be a way to let us deal with our problems, not cause more. It should help us overcome our baser instincts, not exaggerate them. Somehow we have debased our religions by turning them into ammunition for hate instead of love and understanding. People turning to religion should mean a step toward peace, not toward hatred and distrust. It's a time of the year that is sacred to both Christians and Jews. Perhaps all people of both religious backgrounds should use that time to look at their lives and see if they are living up to the best or the worst of their religion.—KR Bah humbug! Ah yes, Christmas time. A time for children. A time for innocence. But parents of children are wondering how long innocence can last these days. Listen to the language children pick up in school yards and a parent wonders if they're learning the wrong things at school. Kids seem to be getting older fast, even if they're not maturing faster. One wonders how long the beauty of the Santa Claus legend can last, for instance, if junior kindergarten comes in to start the schooling process, and the disillusionment even sooner. Kids are more apt to be exchanging Madonna stories than Christmas cards. And from the lessons kids leam in the outside world, Scrooge may become their hero more than Santa Claus. After all, anybody who gives things away must have a screw loose. Take sports, for instance. Sports used to be an area of fantasy to kids. It taught them that hard work pays off. It taught them about loyalty and self sacrifice for the good of the team. That was long ago, however. This faE should have been a time of ecstasy for young Ontario kids. The Blue Jays, after all, won the World Series. But by the time the team was invited to meet the Prime Minister and the President last week, it wasn't the same team. Faced with rising salary demands, the team that already had the highest salary budget in baseball last year, had to shed many of the stars that brought it the championship. Some of the players jumped at bigger offers elsewhere, bleating about the disloyalty of the team to them. Some were pushed away from the team which felt it had younger players who would do as good a job for less money. On top of all this, there's talk that the owners of baseball teams could lock out the players next spring so there is no baseball at all. Innocence dies young for our children these days. The lesson our youngsters are learning is not that of loyalty and self-sacrifice but of getting it while the getting is good. "It's just business" is the message our kids leam today. Merry Christmas to all It has not been a happy year, what with wars in various parts of the world and the weather here at home that caused the worst crop failure in living memory. Still the Christmas season has the power to overcome much. May it bring joy to your family.—KR Photo by Bonnie Gropp A choir of angels Looking Back Through the Years ONE YEAR AGO December 23,1991 Blyth village council agreed to install new "no parking" zones and signs at the corners of all main street intersections in the core area. A former Brussels man was fined $200 in Ontario Court, Criminal Division, when he pleaded guilty to possession of property stolen from Oldfield Pro Hardware in Brussels. Department was called to the home of Ross Daer, on County Rd. 25, two miles east of Auburn, to extin­ guish a chimney fire that had spread into the attic of the house. An organizational meeting was held for a new Toastmaster's Club in Brussels. Two local broomballers were honoured for their long service to the game during the Goderich Broomball Challenge. Elgin Pease and Jim Phelan were honoured as coach and player for the 8th Liners. THREE YEARS AGO December 19,1989 The Blyth and District Fire FIVE YEARS AGO December 22,1987 Right Worshipful Brother Nor­ man Hoover of Brussels was hon­ oured with his 60-year jewel by the St. John's Lodge #284, in recogni­ tion of his six decades of service to the Brussels' Masonic Lodge. Jack Lee was named Citizen of the Year for Hullet township in a ceremony at the Hullet Central School Christmas concert. He was honoured for his many years of vol­ unteer service in many capacities. Reader applauds generosity Letters THE EDITOR, During the festive season budgets and tax dollars are not always our priority. I commend the Huron County Home Care staff who celebrated the Christmas Season with an excellent dinner and party paid by staff. They also donated to the Children's Christmas Bureau with the surplus funds raised at their dinner. At this time there are significant losses and suffering in our county. Farm crops have not been as productive as in past years. This letter is to challenge other organizations, municipalities, and government agencies to remember your budgets are tax dollars. I encourage you to pay your way at Christmas time. Respectfully submitted, Karen Lehnen Bayfield, Ontario. THE EDITOR, I am tired of comments of how lucky and grateful we should be to live in Blyth because of what we have here. Yes, our little village has many things to offer, but it is the people that make up our village. I am proud to live in Blyth because of the people that live here. Not the ones who stand on the street comer and complain or the ones who won't do anything because of what the neighbours might think, but the ones who care enough about our town to speak up when they have been treated unfairly. Myself, along with many others, would like to know why the Blyth Festival was allowed to go months without paying their hydro bill. I'm sorry my dear Reeve but that's not rumour that's fact. It was printed in black and white in “Council Briefs” in the Citizen a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, some residents of Blyth have been threatened with hydro cut offs if payment was not made immediately. The heart of the town is not being tom out by the people, because the PEOPLE are the heart of this town! Brenda J. Burkholder. CitizenTheNorthHuron 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, Ustowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A, and 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, 4 p.m. - Blyth. 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