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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1988-09-28, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, September 28, 1988 Times Established 18't Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 Imes-fldvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM ISO Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519.235.1331 PCNA "NA • ROSS HAL CH IEM 8E0.ETI Editor Publisher is thertising Manager DON SMITH Business %tanager HARR) [)R RIES Composition Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 Can you contribute? Three years have elapsed since the last municipal election and nomination dates • for the November 14 election are quick- ly rolling around. Nomination papers may be filed be- tween October 13 and October 17. A number of municipalities in the im- mediate coverage area of the Times Ad- vocate are expected to have vacancies and will be looking for new blood -to fill all council spots. - Can you contribute? Do you have the time and patience to serve on a municipal council? If one wants to put forth a 100 percent effort to serve his or her community, it takes much more time than we expect most persons think. Council meetings once or twice a month are only a small part of the re- sponsibility. Most councils have commit- tee and board meetings which collective- ly add up to more time than that which is spent at regular meetings. In the townships, municipal drain re- ports, severances, minor variances, offi- cial plan changes, etc. are usually handled by council -of -the -whole. Then there is the interruption of your personal life. Phone calls from ratepay- ers can be expected at any time of day or night with a variety of complaints. If you think you should run for council because you have a beef or want to get something done to benefit yourself, for- get about it. You would be only one voice on coun- cil and will probably find out that a deci- sion made by a previous council was the right one or the only one that could be made sensibly. In addition, hands of local councils are tied very closely by higher levels of gov- ernment. This situation could be intensi- fied if the recent recommended changes in county government are put into place. If you still think you carmake a valua- ble contribution in making your munici- pality prosper and be a better placeto live, then by all means file nomination papers. It could be the best three years of your life or the worst. Remember nomination papers must be filed between October 13 to 17. Good luck. God - Lord or Lady? Stephanie and Duncan are both convinced that God is an old gentleman with a kind face and a flowing white beard, wearing a white garment resembling a Roman toga, brown sandals, and holding up a crooked cane. They know, because they have seen His picture in Sunday school. Alexander is not quite so sure. Like his younger brother and sister, he also thinks that God lives in heaven, "fairly high up, above the clouds", but he thinks that he may not always wear the same clothes. He suspects that what he has been told might be in the same category as talcs of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny — not to be taken literally. A very good friend of ours, who has two university degrees, and who considers herself a good Christian, firmly believes that God is a woman. She has read enough books to convince her, and her arguments arc as difficult to disprove as the Bible. Our minister regularly apologizes whcn he uses a masculine pronoun for God, and he admits that to some people God may indeed be female. I am like my children. As soon as the word God appears, my mind (which was formed in the 1930's) ' conjures up a vision of the Almighty seated on a carved oak or walnut throne with red velvet cushions. He resembles King Arthur, and He speaks English with a refined British accent, sora of like Richard frtrton. I could never brim; rr,t of t( irn:,.;inc Him wcarir,' a modern suit or talking like a Texan, or speaking Italian. Or wearing a skirt and blouse and high -heeled shoes. I hope I am not being disrespectful. I am only trying to understand what goes on in some people's mind. I would find it L PETER'S POINT • by Peter Hessel absurd to say "And on the seventh day God finished Her work which She had done, and She rested on the seventh day". I also have trouble with "the Lady God", and with "God the Mother", especially when we get into details about the conception of Jesus, the son of God. What is all of this leading to? I think that the personification of God is something to be overcome. It made sense in the Middle Ages. It doesn't make sense now. Perhaps it is time to regard God neither as a man nor as a woman, but as a universal force. A c the power that drives the world ging and everybody in cr,, ,: ve sang "It holds the ', )1e ()rid its hands" and praycc. d .,, the almighty energy that pulses in all of us, we would be note in step with By Ross Haugh reality. Perhaps the millions of people now staying away from the churches and mosques and synagogues and tempies — not out of apathy but because they cannot relate to what is going on behind their walls — would find it easier to learn of an impersonal God, a great It equally meaningful to men and women. An It that _knows all languages, cultures and denominations. An It that crosses boundaries of the body and divisions of the mind. Is God male or female? The question is absurd, because God is neither man nor beast. Our society is in the process of bending over backwards to accommodate those • who are offended by "male chauvinist" language. The National Museum of Man has been renamed the Canadian lviuscum of Civilization. Stewardesses have become flight attendants, firemen are now firefighters, policemen are police officers. There is nothing wrong with this. The churches who see it as their duty to be leaders of our society, should be in the forefront of change, not in the rearguard. If we feel that God is an important part of our lives, then the churches — and the Sunday schools — have the duty to bring our concept of God in line with modern thinking. We should call God It — for idea and ideal, model and principle, power and force. The old, man with the white beard belongs in a book of mythology. Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. fedy Publications Limited Interesting sights This week we will try and wrap up an account of our recent trip to the state of Wisconsin. The last portion of the trip involved visits to Little Norway, the Cavc of the Mounds and the House on the Rock. Little Norway is a unique out- door museum nestled in a pictu- resque valley. It includes many buildings which are authentic repli- cas of those built by settlers from Norway more than 100 years ago. One house has a growing sod roof, another, the spring house is peaked by three cupolas and most are trimmed with the warm, fresh blue that is typically Norwegian. Antique furnishings in these buildings are so realistic that one almost wonders if the family has simply not gone away for the after- noon to visit neighbours down the road. The most striking building in Little Norway is a large handsome Norwegian structure modeled after the 12th century "Stavekirke church complete with dragon heads at the peaks of the gables. Hand crafted in Norway, the church was used as that country's official dis- playat the Columian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Since the first guest was wel- comed to Little Norway in 1937, over two million people have vis- ited the valley. They turned off the high ridge and followed the pretty winding road down and down be- tween steep hillsides clad in birch and evergreen to the Valley of the Elves as peaceful and almost as isolated as whcn it was first Paraiiei issues..........,........,..:.: -,,17<-5,“7.:k r}.r_. settled. From Little Norway, we moved on to the Cave of the Mounds. This cave was discovered less than SO ispi From the ;editor's disk by Ross Haugh years -ago when blasting was being carried out for gravel and limestone for their quarry operations. Scenic caverns are rare in Wiscon- sin because of the great ice masses ?. which moved down over the world a million years ago. Four great gla-: tiers plowed across Wisconsin,} cutting deeply into rocks and Ieav-'. ing rolling hills and sparkling lakes. Throughout most of the state, the glaciers plowed away any caves which might have existed. By some bit of luck, all of the glaciers missed the southwest comer of Wisconsin where the Cavc of the Mounds lies hidden below the ground under one of two blue hills. The cave has been described as the "jewel box" of America's major caves for the great variety and deli- cacy of its formations. The main cavern began life over a million years ago as drops of water seeping into the lifeline dissolved the limestone bedrock. As Cavc of the Mounds staff pointed out, geologic time is mind- boggling. Imagine how long it took for the mildly acidic drips to dis- solve room -sized craters out of rock that is itself over MX) million years old. A lower, meandering portion of the cave was formed by the rushing water of an underground stream. The chemical versus mechanical process of cave formation is one of the eco- logical lessons pointed out on the tour. ' The drips coming through produce stalactites on the ceilings and those ,that fall' on the 'floor of the cave ,grow as stalagmites: The Chicago Academy of Scienc- es call this cave "• the significant cave of the upper Midwest" and it is on the permanent Registry of US National Landmarks. This column is getting little lengthy, so we will finish with the House on the Rock next week. That was- the most interesting ;stop on our entire trip. * * * We would like to take this oppor- tunity to wish the hest of luck to our former sports editor Mark Bis- sett who begins a new job today, Wednesday with a daily paper in Orillia. Mark came over from St. Marys more than a year ago as we attempt - 3d to expand our sports coverage and he has been successful in doing just that. A successor to Mark is expected to be named'latcr this week. Until the new person takes over , the rest of the editorial staff will try to carry on the best way we can to bring arca sports to you. There is a connection between bilingualism and free trade. It is not an easy one to make, but it has occurred to me that a connection docs exist. 'There are numerous parallels between the two issues. Both feature good ideas coupled with bad legislation. Both indicate the powerlessness of the Canadian people against a majority govern- ment with its jaw set on a goal. Recently, municipal councils all over Ifuron County have been pinned down by something called The Alliance for the Pres- ervation of English in Canada (APEC). It is a frightening name, possibly created by alarmists and paranoids, but many of the points the group makes are, un- fortunately, valid. Their basic claim is this: "official bilingual- ism, rather than fostering unity in Canada, fosters disunity, and that discrimination follows in the wake of its implementation". Whatever that means. After making that sweeping statement, APEC goes on to claim that the federal Bill C-72 and thc provincial Bill 8, both designed to implement official bilingualism, are very bad pieces of legislation. They are right. They hack up that assumption with some very'scary facts and figures. Did you know, for in- stance, that the federal govern- ment spends 1.3 million dollars per day on official,bilingualism? But 1 can't help but feel that the spirit with which APEC ap- proaches •bilingualism is sour and narrow: Probably an anti - French one. Bilingualism in itself is a very noble idea. But APEC has appar- ently had little trouble in finding Take Two by Mark Bisset people in Huron County who would rather cat cow dung than team how to say hello in French. That is an example of the nar- row approach Canadians have toward education and self- improvement. in Europe, it is not uncommon for school -aged children to be fluent in two or even three languages. The Japa- nese and the Chinese stand on thc verge of swallowing thc North Amerrcan economy whole, largely because they are willing, even eager to learn our language and the ways of our culture. We, on the other hand, stand by stubbornly, expecting those who don't speak English to learn fast or take their business else- where. It has only recently Oc- curred to us that it night he to .our advantage to loam another language. • Like bilingualism, free trade in world markets is a noble idea. Butfree trade with the United States alone is a narrow version of that idea. it iscbcing fprcc-fed to Canadians without consent. it is an ill-considered piece of leg- islation being pushed through because it sounds good. Free trade makes the Tories look .like a party with direction and sub- stance just as bilingualism adds a hint of liberalism to David Peter- son's government. One of the grandest arguments being put forward by the sup- porters of the proposed Conser- vative free trade deal with the United States is that Canada can- not afford to be protectionist. Crusaders for the agreement claim that Canadian business must look abroad for investment opportunities. ironically, many free trade opponents hold the same opinion. Where the two camps differ seems to be on the definition of the term "abroad". For free traders, "abroad" re- fers to the numerous states south and north of our borders. That is an example on one-dimensional thinking, or more to the point, one -continental thinking. HAVE AN OPINION? The Times -Advocate welcomes letters to the editor. They must be signed and should be accompanied by a telephone number should we need to clarify any information. The newspaper also reserves the right to edit letters. Letters can be dropped off at the Times Advocate Office or mailed to: Exeter Times' Advocate Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S0 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. fedy Publications Limited Interesting sights This week we will try and wrap up an account of our recent trip to the state of Wisconsin. The last portion of the trip involved visits to Little Norway, the Cavc of the Mounds and the House on the Rock. Little Norway is a unique out- door museum nestled in a pictu- resque valley. It includes many buildings which are authentic repli- cas of those built by settlers from Norway more than 100 years ago. One house has a growing sod roof, another, the spring house is peaked by three cupolas and most are trimmed with the warm, fresh blue that is typically Norwegian. Antique furnishings in these buildings are so realistic that one almost wonders if the family has simply not gone away for the after- noon to visit neighbours down the road. The most striking building in Little Norway is a large handsome Norwegian structure modeled after the 12th century "Stavekirke church complete with dragon heads at the peaks of the gables. Hand crafted in Norway, the church was used as that country's official dis- playat the Columian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Since the first guest was wel- comed to Little Norway in 1937, over two million people have vis- ited the valley. They turned off the high ridge and followed the pretty winding road down and down be- tween steep hillsides clad in birch and evergreen to the Valley of the Elves as peaceful and almost as isolated as whcn it was first Paraiiei issues..........,........,..:.: -,,17<-5,“7.:k r}.r_. settled. From Little Norway, we moved on to the Cave of the Mounds. This cave was discovered less than SO ispi From the ;editor's disk by Ross Haugh years -ago when blasting was being carried out for gravel and limestone for their quarry operations. Scenic caverns are rare in Wiscon- sin because of the great ice masses ?. which moved down over the world a million years ago. Four great gla-: tiers plowed across Wisconsin,} cutting deeply into rocks and Ieav-'. ing rolling hills and sparkling lakes. Throughout most of the state, the glaciers plowed away any caves which might have existed. By some bit of luck, all of the glaciers missed the southwest comer of Wisconsin where the Cavc of the Mounds lies hidden below the ground under one of two blue hills. The cave has been described as the "jewel box" of America's major caves for the great variety and deli- cacy of its formations. The main cavern began life over a million years ago as drops of water seeping into the lifeline dissolved the limestone bedrock. As Cavc of the Mounds staff pointed out, geologic time is mind- boggling. Imagine how long it took for the mildly acidic drips to dis- solve room -sized craters out of rock that is itself over MX) million years old. A lower, meandering portion of the cave was formed by the rushing water of an underground stream. The chemical versus mechanical process of cave formation is one of the eco- logical lessons pointed out on the tour. ' The drips coming through produce stalactites on the ceilings and those ,that fall' on the 'floor of the cave ,grow as stalagmites: The Chicago Academy of Scienc- es call this cave "• the significant cave of the upper Midwest" and it is on the permanent Registry of US National Landmarks. This column is getting little lengthy, so we will finish with the House on the Rock next week. That was- the most interesting ;stop on our entire trip. * * * We would like to take this oppor- tunity to wish the hest of luck to our former sports editor Mark Bis- sett who begins a new job today, Wednesday with a daily paper in Orillia. Mark came over from St. Marys more than a year ago as we attempt - 3d to expand our sports coverage and he has been successful in doing just that. A successor to Mark is expected to be named'latcr this week. Until the new person takes over , the rest of the editorial staff will try to carry on the best way we can to bring arca sports to you. There is a connection between bilingualism and free trade. It is not an easy one to make, but it has occurred to me that a connection docs exist. 'There are numerous parallels between the two issues. Both feature good ideas coupled with bad legislation. Both indicate the powerlessness of the Canadian people against a majority govern- ment with its jaw set on a goal. Recently, municipal councils all over Ifuron County have been pinned down by something called The Alliance for the Pres- ervation of English in Canada (APEC). It is a frightening name, possibly created by alarmists and paranoids, but many of the points the group makes are, un- fortunately, valid. Their basic claim is this: "official bilingual- ism, rather than fostering unity in Canada, fosters disunity, and that discrimination follows in the wake of its implementation". Whatever that means. After making that sweeping statement, APEC goes on to claim that the federal Bill C-72 and thc provincial Bill 8, both designed to implement official bilingualism, are very bad pieces of legislation. They are right. They hack up that assumption with some very'scary facts and figures. Did you know, for in- stance, that the federal govern- ment spends 1.3 million dollars per day on official,bilingualism? But 1 can't help but feel that the spirit with which APEC ap- proaches •bilingualism is sour and narrow: Probably an anti - French one. Bilingualism in itself is a very noble idea. But APEC has appar- ently had little trouble in finding Take Two by Mark Bisset people in Huron County who would rather cat cow dung than team how to say hello in French. That is an example of the nar- row approach Canadians have toward education and self- improvement. in Europe, it is not uncommon for school -aged children to be fluent in two or even three languages. The Japa- nese and the Chinese stand on thc verge of swallowing thc North Amerrcan economy whole, largely because they are willing, even eager to learn our language and the ways of our culture. We, on the other hand, stand by stubbornly, expecting those who don't speak English to learn fast or take their business else- where. It has only recently Oc- curred to us that it night he to .our advantage to loam another language. • Like bilingualism, free trade in world markets is a noble idea. Butfree trade with the United States alone is a narrow version of that idea. it iscbcing fprcc-fed to Canadians without consent. it is an ill-considered piece of leg- islation being pushed through because it sounds good. Free trade makes the Tories look .like a party with direction and sub- stance just as bilingualism adds a hint of liberalism to David Peter- son's government. One of the grandest arguments being put forward by the sup- porters of the proposed Conser- vative free trade deal with the United States is that Canada can- not afford to be protectionist. Crusaders for the agreement claim that Canadian business must look abroad for investment opportunities. ironically, many free trade opponents hold the same opinion. Where the two camps differ seems to be on the definition of the term "abroad". For free traders, "abroad" re- fers to the numerous states south and north of our borders. That is an example on one-dimensional thinking, or more to the point, one -continental thinking.