HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-01-03, Page 5By Raymond Canon
International Scene
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1996 PAGE 5.
Death Experience
not a barrel
of guffaws
The grave's a fine and private place
But non, 1 think, do there embrace.
Andrew Marvell.
Too true, Andrew. Whatever else the
Death Experience might offer, it does not
appear to be a barrel of guffaws. Or, for that
matter, a love-in full of hugs and kisses.
Death is a serious and solemn business,
and more's the pity. I think death could use a
horse laugh or two.
Not to mention a little truth in advertising.
Consider epitaphs — some little lines of
praise engraved on tombstones supposedly
to tell the Living a little bit about the
Departed.
Did you ever read an honest epitaph?
Probably not.
Ambrose Bierce defined an epitaph as "an
inscription which hopes that virtues acquired
by death will have a retroactive effect."
There's a story told about Charles Lamb,
the British writer. Apparently as a child,
Down Mexico
way
Perhaps we are so preoccupied with what
is going on in our own country that we do
not have much time or inclination to pay
attention to other places, but it needs to be
pointed out that for the last two years
Mexico has been involved with us in a Free
Trade Agreement better known as NAFTA.
This means that a country with a population
of just over three times that of Canada has
become a partner in trade with us and thus a
potential market for our goods and services.
For the most part we have been blithely
ignoring it.
The most important thing we need to
know from this point of view is that the
Mexican market can serve as a gateway to
the rest of central and South America since,
once you cross the Rio Grande, you will hear
nothing but Spanish all the way to the tip of
South America. Firms who thus gear
themselves for a Spanish-speaking market
have a giant headstart on those who treat the
rest of the Americas as a projection of the
United States.
We have another thing in our favour. It is
simply that we are not Americans and thus
do not arouse all the mixed emotions in
Mexican minds as do the "Gringos", the
word most frequently used there to describe
their neighbours to the north. Just by being
ourselves we have an advantage that would
otherwise be hard to come by.
Many things that the Mexicans might
produce but don't could be supplied by
Canadian firms, a fact which is likely to
remain for some time. The reasons for this
are not hard to find; the main one being a
Charles was walking through a graveyard
with his sister, reading the epitaphs on
tombstones — all full of 'beloved' thises and
'virtuous' Chats.
Charles turned to his older sister and asked
"Mary, where are all the naughty people
buried?"
Good question, Chuck. Herewith a
compendium of epitaphs, real and imagined,
that — if they didn't make it to granite
immortality — should have.
American wit and writer Dorothy Parker:
Excuse my dust!
George S. Kaufman, American
playwright:
Over my dead body!...
You don't have to be famous to create an
immortal epitaph. Consider this offering
from a very plain tombstone in a cemetery in
Edinburgh, Scotland:
Beneath this stone a lump of clay
Lies Uncle Peter Dan'els
Who early in the month of May
Took off his winter flannels
In a Ruidoso, New Mexico cemetery you
can find a stone that reads:
Here lies
Johnny Yeast
lack of entrepreneurs who might take their
knowledge, as Canadians do, and set up their
own business.
Even those who might considered to be
aggressive enough to establish a business
with growth potential find themselves
stymied by the banks which, for the most
part, make their Canadian counterparts look
like reckless lenders. Current interest rates of
40 per cent, plus demands for all sorts of
collateral are guaranteed to turn off all but
the most intrepid of entrepreneurs.
Added to that is a decrepit transportation
system. Someone has pointed out that it is
cheaper to send a container from Taiwan to
Los Angeles than it is from Mexico City to
the same city.
Railways are behind the times, roads are
expensive and red tape is outrageous.
Finally labour is unreliable. We have read
a great deal about the maquiladora plants
which have attracted a few Canadian firms; a
turnover of seven per cent a month is not
exceptionable and for many managers labour
is something to be exploited, not utilized
efficiently.
Finally there is little research and
development, even compared with Canada,
which is not among the leaders.
There are other problems in Mexico which
are being addressed although many would
say not intensively enough. The first is the
development of a 'truly democratic
government and not one riddled with graft
and corruption.
The second is the abject poverty which
pervades all of the country's areas. The
recent economic crisis did not help one iota
in alleviating the latter; if anything it added
some former members of the middle class
who, like other North Americans, were long
on debt and short on assets when interest
rates started to rise.
Each one of the two topics mentioned
would take more than a short article to deal
Pardon me
For not rising
An attorney in Rockford, Illinois by the
name of John Goembel got the epitaph most
lawyers would probably settle for out of
court:
Goembel
John E.
1867-1946
The Defense Rests.
And has anyone - poet or magistrate -
summed up the hazards of dangerous driving
more succinctly than a chiseled tombstone in
Uniontown, Pennsylvania?
Here lies the body
of Jonathan Blake
Stepped on the gas
Instead of the brake
An old maid's gravestone in Scranton
Pennsylvania is brutally honest:
No hits, no runs, no heirs
But for all time, no-nonsense brevity I
would have to wave the checkered flag in
favour of Arthur Haine of Vancouver,
Washington. Mister Haine was an atheist, it
seems - and an unapologetic one at that. His
tombstone inscription reads:
Haine
Hain't
with; I point them out as the most pressing at
the present time.
Even if you do not believe all the hype
about the benefits of free trade, and there are
some that are pretty hard for even econo-
mists to swallow, the fact remains that the
lowering of trade barriers is an essential
ingredient of any potential success story in
Mexico. We may not share a common
border with Mexico as does the United
States, but there is no reason why we cannot
develop considerably more trade with that
country than we have so far.
The list of what Mexico could buy from
Canada is almost endless and there are great
possibilities for joint ventures as the
Mexicans raise their level of education and
entrepreneurship. It would also serve as
something of an antidote for what ails both
our countries — an unacceptably high rate of
unemployment.
The question is, what it will take for
Canadians to realize this?
`Letters to
the editor'
policy
The Citizen welcomes letters to
the editor.
They must be signed and
should be accompanied by a
telephone number should we
need to clarify any information.
Letters may be edited for content
and space.
The
Short
of ►c
By Bonnie Gropp
What are we
celebrating anyway?
Another year has come and gone, the
holiday revelry has ended.
New Year's Eve is a traditional party time.
Whether it's a quiet dinner at home with a
special someone, a beer and pizza gathering
or a formal affair, most people have plans
for new year's.
Why? As a friend recently asked, "What
are we celebrating anyway?"
The most plausible answer I could come
up with was that we're thrilled to see the end
of 1995. They tell us not to live in the past
and a quick review of this last year would
make that seem sensible advice.
The sordid details of the Bernardo case,
and the circus of the star, aka the O.J.
Simpson trial, showed us a human capability
for evil and the judicial system, respectively,
at their worst.
As people made their homes on the streets
and Bosnia's war claimed innocent lives,
million dollar athletes whined about money
and playing on a losing team, reminding us
who real winners are.
While our great country is burdened by a
burgeoning deficit, inflation and continuing
unemployment problems, Canadians also
found themselves in 1995, praying that a
common thread of love and pride would be
enough to bind it together.
Even when we were given a bonus,
(Remember those summer temps springing
into our lives early?) we were forced to
repay it (snowfall in fall).
Certainly, the year in review was not
without highlights and heroes, but in life's
uncertain seas, our troubles and worries
seemed to always stay afloat, while the
others broke the surface only on occasion.
So it would seem apt, I suppose, to
celebrate the end of a year that was fraught
with worry and uncertainty, that began with
little promise and delivered probably less.
Thus we look to the future. To delight in
the passing of 1995, there must be a rebirth
of hope for the new year. Unfortunately, this
appears to not be so as it is through a cloudy
crystal ball that most people are viewing the
future. Predictions are pessimistic regarding
the state of the country and society.
So, as the strains of Auld Lang Syne
competed with the boisterous clang of
noisemakers, as I looked at the smiling faces
of friends, who cheered and embraced,
welcoming in 1996, I asked once again, "So
what are we celebrating?"
And like a clearing sky on a cloudy day
the answer shone through with crystal clarity
— this moment, right here, right now. In
celebrating New Year's Eve we capture that
minute in time to hold in our memory
forever. It is an opportunity to think of our
blessings, reflect on the trials of the past and
gather strength to forge on to the future.
When you think about it if we embraced
each moment with the same fervour and
enthusiasm we do that 10 second countdown
to midnight each Dec. 31, we would be
looking at this life as we should, accepting
the small pleasures we are given with a spirit
of fun and spontaniety. Yesterdays may have
looked better and tomorrows may appear
scary, but making the most of each joyful
moment might help give us strength to face
the challenging ones.
Arthur Black