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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-09-04, Page 54 Lak ' Advance • Wedneeda ' . meet 4, 2013 opinion www.lakeshoreadvance.com tadeshore Advance PUBLISHED WEEKLY P.O.BOX 1195 58 Ontario St., North Grand Bend ON NOM 1TO phone: 519-238-5383 fax: 519-238-5131 email: lakeshore.advance@sunmedia.ca SUN MEDIA A Quebecor Media Company NEIL CLIFFORD Publisher/ Advertising Manager noll.cllffordOsunnledia.ca LYNOA HILLMAN-RAPLEY Editor lakoshoro.advancoOsunmedia.ca MARK STEPHEN Advertising Sales mark.stephen@sunnedia.ca KATHY YOUNG Typesetting/Classifieds lakeshore.adsOsunmedla.ca www.Iakeshoreadvance.com Publications Mall Agreement No.40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLECANADUW ADDRESSES TO LAKESHORE ADVANCE CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT P.O.Box 1195 58 Ontario St. North Grand Bend ON NOM 1TO For any non -deliveries or delivery concerns: phone: 519.238.5383 e - m a I I : la keshoro. adva nc e¢esun m ed la . c a Changes of address, orders for subscriptions, and undeliverable copies (retum postage guaranteed) aro to be sent to l.akoshoreAdvance at the address indicated here. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertise- ment will be paid at the applicable rates. We acknowledge the financial support of the (anvernment of Canaria through the Canadian Periodical Fund (C1'I) for our publishing activities. Canaua Aocna Member ol the Canadian Gxnrnunity Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Acgoctatkin editorial Theft, fraud and sabotage - welcome to Parliament, son People may not enjoy gov- ernment waste, but these days, they automatically expect it. It's all in a day's tion -work. } low sad is that? When did governments become completely unaccountable? the entire senate is now fac- ing the scrutiny of the Auditor General, after four members bilked taxpayers for hundreds of thousands of dollars in bogus expenses, and housing claims - some greatly exagger- ated and some completely fabricated. 'Ihe Prime Minister's office initially supported both Sen. Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy, covering for their colours. What we learned is that loyalty is worth more than responsi- bility with our national leadership. Remember When Parliament was prorogued in 2008 and 2009? Both were instances when the Conservatives faced very low points - a looming no confidence vote and damning evidence about mistreated Afghan detainees. Remember when they were held in con- tempt of Parliament? Nobody seems to. Again, we just expect poor performance from gov- ernment so the lesser of the evils wins the day. What I find ironic though is the wave the Conservatives rode to the top was a sponsor- ship scandal that was hun- dreds of thousands of dollars. Now, they are misplacing bil- lions and nobody is saying boo about it. it is not unfair judgment to say the constant eroding of public trust and ignoring accountability to the voters and taxpayers since then is wrong. In any other job, that much waste and ignorance would be an immediate death sentence. 1n fact, if you stole $10 from the cash register, you would be fired. if you stole $1,000 from the cash register, you would be in court. If you stole $10,000, you would be in jail. hl Ontario, the governing Liberals have done much the sauce - lie, covet 1t tip, lie again when the story comes out. Turn on your brothers when the blame shifts and cut the dead weight. Meanwhile, spend with no scruples, take no responsibility and cut back services when internal waste becomes too cumbersome. 1 lowever, nobody shows up with pitchforks and torches to Ottawa or Queen's Park, so the corrupt retain their seats alongside the honest folk who really do their country, prov- ince and ridings proud. The Arab Spring should have given us hope that people have the power to overturn corrupt governments... Should have. I lowever, the ongoing violence in Syria and the recent out- bursts in Egypt show us that solutions must be civil or they will never succeed. Complacency is ruining Canada. That much we know. But, if the people at the top forget what it's like to be at the bottom, maybe it's time to take them down a couple of pegs. If they want to eat, sleep and play on the public clime, we should still support them - but this time they can do it behind hat's where we know exactly how much we're spending on then(. - Gerard (:rent's, QMl Agency LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Lakeshore Advance welcomes letters to the editor. Letters trust include the writer's full name, address, daytime phone number and signature (for verifi- cation. Anonymous letters will not be published. We reserve the right to edit all editorial submissions including letters for clarification, style and length. Letters must be signed and be in good taste and follow the laws of libel and slander. Respect is taught as well as earned 1 was one of those kids who viewed back -to -school as an exciting time. A new school year meant new clothes, shoes, and sup- plies, and 1 was always intrigued to see how class- mates changed over the summer. Behind the excitement, however, was always a bit of dread for returning to a place where in truth I was afraid of everything. 1 once cried my way out of doing a class presentation and reg- ularly prayed that my teacher wouldn't be at school on a particular clay because 1 forgot to do Any homework. I was bullied from time to time, just Tike ('very kid is. Sometimes, shamefully, i was the bully who joined in on the mockery of others. When I went to university, I was 1'l'li('Vl'd to be Its an atmosphere that fostered cultural exchange instead of racism, and interest and respect for one another's ideas instead of quick judg- ment and insults. For a short period of time, my younger, naive self thought bullying was some- thing people grew out of as they aged. I thought it was confined to elementary and high school classrooms, playgrounds and school - yards. i thought bullying was horn out of the igno- rance that comes with youth, and believed adults have more respect for other human beings than kids do. But as that first year uni- versity glow began to fade, 1 realized respect and accept- ance isn't just something you grow into. It wasn't until recently, when con- templating what the word "bully" means, that 1 con- sidered how bullying isn't just a shove on the school - yard or a snicker at a class- mate. A recent news story out of Newcastle, Ontario trade me think of bullying in a different light. A grown woman with kids of her own wrote an anony- mous letter to the fancily of a i 3 -year- old boy with 111111501, complaining of the sounds the boy slakes. The letter is full of name calling, labelled hint as a disruption to neighbours, and went so far as to imply the boy is Column Kathryn Forrest unfit to share the world with other human beings. I'm not going to repeat any of the letter's language here, but the fact such thoughts as those listed above were put to paper leaves Illi' al a loss for words. It's heartbreaking. it's sickening. This letter further opened Illy eyes to that the fact that bullying, in one form or another - extreme o1' not isn't contained to the school -aged. Bullying, in all reality, takes form in everyday life, whether we call it bullying or not. Adults experience and instigate bullying in the workplace, on the streets, in public institutions, gov- ernment, and even the edu- cation system. It is unfortu- nate that it has to takt' media coverage of acts of ignorance Tike this to put bullying in the spotlight. The media slakes us think, and thinking is a powerful thing. However what we (10 with our aware- ness is what counts. In regard to bullying, change happens at a personal level. We lead by exaslplt'.- ignorance in adults fosters ignorance in youth. If adults aren't respectful of the peo- ple we encounter daily in our neighbourhood, in the grocery store, at work and beyond, how can a younger generation act any differ- ent? What are their values but those reflected on then(? it takes one person, regardless of age, to remind another to be respectful and kind. If we utilize kind tress and respect 111 all aspects of our lives, others will follow. it's true that kindness is conta- gious. Small acts go a Tung way. Big acts go farther. Let's see how far we can slake the ripple go.