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Clinton News-Record, 1984-11-28, Page 5Page c.oprroN NEWS RECORD, WEDN DAY, NQ's► R 28,1984 The Clinton Newa-Record Is published each Wednesday at P.O. Boa 39, Clinton, Ontario, Canada. NOM 10. Tei.: 4132.3443. Subsiriptlon Rate: Canada .019.73 Sr. CitiScon - $16.75 per year U.S.A. foreign . 053.00 per year It ,Ip rolllsfered at second class mail by the post office under the permit nembar OB17. The Nowts.liecard Incorporated in 1924 the Huron Ns ss^Record, founded in Met. and Me Clinton News Fro, founded In 10a5. Total Areal runs 3,900. Incorporating THE !MYTH STANDARD Jo HOWARD AITKEN - Publisher SHELLEY McPHEE - Editor GARY HAIST - Advertising Manager MARY ANN H's>LLENOECK - Office Manager CCNA MEMBER Display advertising rates available on request. Ask for Rate Card No. 15 effective October 1, 1904. A MEMBER Long term solution needed A recent newspaper article concerning the famine in Ethiopia is alarming. The heading says, "Ethiopians sell aid food for profit." The famine was first made public over one year ago but the announcement had little effect on the rest of the world. It wasn't until a BBC news team stopped in the famine stricken district of the African country that the world took notice. Since that news broadcast one month ago, financial aid has been flooding into the offices of world relief organizations. It's money needed to purchase necessary foodstuffs for thousands, possibly millions of starving Ethiopians. Food in the form of wheat and milk powder has been transported to Ethiopia. Though we've heard of problems transporting the food to the starving peoples once the food gets into Ethiopian ports, it's now apparent that food is getting through and the people are being fed. But thousands are still starving. The news article says wedding feasts are en- joyed by the country's uppe middle class and urban stores sell food intended for the suffering, says Dr. John Roder, a medical researcher who recently worked in Africa. '1 took pictures at a wedding feast for 1 ,000 people. Forty sheep were slaughtered, five oxen eaten, and enormous quantities of fruits and vegetables were consumed. That's life for the upper middle class." The doctor says when he and his wife were shopping in the capital, Addis Ababa, they saw food tins and boxes on shelves that were clearly stamped, "Not for Retail". "The government has several state-run co-op farms, growing bountiful ir- rigated crops - tens of thousands of acres of corn, rice and fruits. They export it. They're selling it to buy God know what - military equipment? Even if this situation is true as the doctor says, we as concerned citizens must still show our obligation to feed the starving thousands. At the same time, we must also realize that there are thousands more starving people in third world countries. And they too are dying from malnutrition and undernourishment. They, like the Ethiopians need our aid. , But once the situation has been cleared up, when the people have been fed and kids have a full belly, the United Nations should step in and examine the situa- tion. If what the doctor says is true, then the government of that country must be made accountable for its actions. To live in luxury while the poor citizens of Ethiopia suffer and die is unjustified. We cannot continue to let this happen. from the Huron Expositor. Honiecoming reunion to be held in Cochrane Dear Editor, 1985 is Cochrane's (Ontario) 75th birthday and plans are being made to involve everyone in the celebration. E.S.C.H.S. and the former Cochrane High School will be holding a Homecoming Reu- nion the weekend of May 17, 18 and 19, 1985. Anyone and everyone .who attended these, schools between the years of 1926 to.1985 is invited to join in on the fun. For more information, please write to: Homecoming, P.O. Box 2070, Cochrane,On- tario. POL 1CO Yours truly Cochrane 75th anniversary committee Behind The Scones algid 5(0 Local church groups, social service agen- cies and private individuals are taking greater action these days against por- nography. Bylaws regulating the display of por= nographic magazines, lobbying to censor violent pornographic films and increase public awareness are some of the recent ac- tions that have been highlighted. These people will be initially disappointed to see the results of a poll taken earlier this year for the now -defunct Canadian Unity In- formation Office. Results of the poll indicate that only 12 per cent of Canadians believe that pornography is a major problem. The survey, conducted between Feb. 15 and March 15, involved 2,021 interviews. A summary of the poll was released to Canada Press after a request under the Ac- cess of Information Act. Results of the poll are surprising. Only 12 per cent believe pornography to be a major problem, 21 per cent believe it is somewhat of a problem, 23 per cent believe it is a small problem and 36 per cent believe it is no pro- blem in their communities. Another eight per cent did not know or had no answer. While poll results indicated that most peo- ple did not buy sexual or pornographic material, pollsters warned that the figures could be "grossly understated." Only 11 per cent of those interviewed in- dicated that they bought magazines, "depic- ting scenes of sexual nature," and 18 per cent said they had bought a video cassette depicting such scenes in the last year. Twenty-five per cent of the people inter- viewed defined porngraphy as a "nude woman in a magazine or on a video." Nine- teen per cent define it as a mixture of sexual intercourse and violence. Ninety-nine per cent of the people involv- ed opposed "scenes of a sexual nature" in- volving children. The majority indicated that government intervention should pro- hibit and censor such material. People who are fighting pornography may By Shelley McPhee be disappointed in the poll results, but they can garner some new information from it. While those interviewed indicated that sexual material involving children was por- nographic, the general understanding of adult pornography may appear to differ from the feminist view. "A nude woman in a magazine or on a video," does not necessarily indicate por- nography. Pornography enters into the picture depending on how that nude woman is depicted. Feminists believe that por- nography involves violence, degradatiop and humiliation. A December Penthouse magazine display, with its depictions of bondage and violence against women, was termed por- nographic in nature and the magazine was banned in Canada. Only �9 per cent of the people surveyed in- dicate that they had a clear understanding of porrrrrr ography, defining it as a mixture of sexual intercourse and' violence. Not all nude women or sexual material is necessarily pornographic in nature. There is an acceptable, healthy, natural view of sexuality - erotics - that focuses on passionate love, deep fulfillment, equality between sexes, positive, mutual com- mitments. Feminists feel that they have clearly defined what pornography is, and what healthy, sexuality is. When the general public can also com- prehend these two ideas, then perhaps they'll have a greater understanding of what the pornographybattle is all about. Then perhaps they can understand that there is nothing unattractive about a nude woman in a magazine, but pornography does exists when that woman is shown as a a subject of sexual degradation, when she is depicted as a brutalized, abused victim. Pornography and erotics a fine line separates the two, yet that important distinction has made a great deal of dif- ference in the world we live in today. + ++ People can make a difference when it comes to fighting for a cause. Last month a Milwaukee mother started a organization - Citizens Against Movie Madness. It opposed a Christmas horror film, Silent Night, Deadly Night. The film featured an axe -murderer dressed as Santa Claus. Last week the Movie Madness protests paid off. Tri-Star Pictures discontinued television ads for the show, and cancelled further release ofthe movie. And so (for another year at least), Christmas will not be subjected to any fur- ther crass, obscene commercialism from Hollywood. In 1985? Some brilliant money hustler will come up with an equally tasteless idea and we'll probably fight for Christmas' dignity again. + + + Tonight (November 28) the Clinton Hor- ticultural Society will feature the delightful wildflower slides, taken by the late John Plumtree. His unique photographic collection will be shown at St. Paul's Anglican Church, Clin- ton, about 8 p.m. The Horticultural Society will also be ser- ving dinner at 6:30 p.m. Do join them. + + + Spring fever? Well this 16 C weather cer- tainly does confuse this December ready country. People and nature alike are enjoying this warm spell. Winter boots have been shoved in the back, of the closet, winter car maintenance has been delayed and green thumbers are out in garden again. Kathy Bromley of Blyth called to say that her lilac bush is budding. People are out washing and waxing cars, the snowdrops are blooming Is this late Indian Summer or early spring? Are we coming or going? Ah, a winter of '82-'83, wouldn't that be nice again! ? By Keith Roulston Olde tyme transportation wo-"right" sides The national media attention for the Dr. Henry Morgentaler trial and acquittal has once again focussed the nation on the tragic controversy where there are two "right" sides, each accusiig the other of being.evil. It is easy to see how a jury can agree to Dr. Morgentaler and his defenders of the right of the woman to end a pregnancy she doesn't want to continue. The Pro -choice side sees the tragedy of a woman being sentenced to 20 -years supporting ' a child because of one mistake, sees careers hindered, lives changed. Dozens of tearful stories can be told of the effect of an un- wanted pregnancy on a woman's life, of the humiliating experience of having to go before a hospital abortion panel. • The Pro-life side is made up of many fac- tions, from evangelical religious fanatics to more thoughtful people who worry that ac- ceptance of widespread abortion, like ac- ceptance of capital punishment, cheapens mankind's respect for life. Once you agree that one human has the right to end another life that it finds inconvenient, these people argue, what is to stop the deterioration to the point we are willing to accept that other inconvenient individuals such as retarded and abnormal babies or senile and bedrid- den old people can also be declared non- persons and disposed of as humanely as possible. • Even most Pro-choicers will agree that abortion is a tragic final solution. An un- wanted pregnancy is the result of a failure of men and women to take adequate birth control measures. Yet a faction of the Pro- life coalition undermines its public support by arguing against ary form of birth control and sometimes even against family educa- tion classes in schools. The Pro -choice argument is the ultimate extension of the liberal view that mankind can build a perfect world where we can con- trol our own lives and bring ourselves com- plete happiness. We should no more be slaves to our biology than workers of 100 years ago should have been slaves of greedy factory owners. With the Morgentaler, victory, the Pro - choice side now points to four different ac- quittals of Morgentaler and to polls that show a majority of the population is in favor of abortion on demand, to argue that the government should get busy andtrewrite the law to allow free choice in abortions to any woman without any screening process. Yet the argument that because a majority is in favor makes it right ignores all the times .the majority has Supported wrong causes. Nine- ty percent of the German population sup- ported Hitler and willingly turned the other way to pretend they didn't see when ..he - undertook his "final solution" of ridding Germany of the inconvenient Jewish population. But the Pro -choice side is right when it says you can't enforce an unpopular law. Prohibition was a noble effolt on the part of reformers and politicians to rid society of ' the evils they saw excessive use of alcohol causing. Their efforts didn't solve the pro- blem they set out to. People drank anyway and all they did was create a lot of other evils as criminals stepped in to "fill the need". Abortions were happening before the laws ever allowed legal abortions at all. Dr. Morgentaler and others will continue to challenge the law and sympathetic juries, hearing the sad stories of women (with no one to represent the destroyed lives of the babies) will continue to acquit them. There will be no end to abortion until there is a fundamental change in society, until human beings are willing to take respon- sibility for their own actions, even if it means changing their plans for the next 20 years. Someday, if we really do progress toward the better society as liberals believe, Dr. Morgentaler'and his supporters will be seen not as heroes of progress but as well- meaning but misguided representatives of a barbaric time in history. In the meantime, there is little those who deplore abortion can do, but work sure that men and women have as few unwanted pregnancies as possible so there will be fewer abortions and work to bring about a change in attitude in all of society. r Sugar andSpice By Anne Narejko Let's stop whining AREN'T you sick to death of the gloom and doom the media is imposing on us? I am. Let's have a little light and cheer in the country for a change. - • Sure, our' economic situation is a mess. Of course, we have high unemployment. Naturally, inflation is not wrestled to the ground, but has us pinned two rounds out of three. • But this is happening all over the world, and we're about 500 per cent better off than most of the rest of the people in said world. Do you live on a sampan in Singapore or Hong 'Kong, existing on a handful of rice a day?ose people don't have high .mor- tgage tes, high interest rates. They have not ' g, except what native cunning and hard work feed their bellies. Does a nice lady in Somaliland or Eritrea bring you into the office and chat about which welfare' program you should apply for? Your children are eating mud, because there's nothing else. , Are you stuck in Ulster, as a Catholic, without a hope of getting a job from the Pro- testants, your children dirty, hungry, grow= i:ng as vicious as small animals who are starving? Are you black, with a good .chance of get- ting et- t gahead v a white sPoirl�"c?emn if you say anything but, "Yes, Are you suffering from "nerves" and tak- ing all kinds of pills from your very well' fed doctor, while millions of people in the world have rickets and ringworm and elephan- tiasis and bleeding bowels because they don't even know what a vitamin pill looks like? Are your little boys running around barefoot in the rain, selling their sisters for By Bill Smiley a cigarette or a cnocolate tear?? Nope, they are probably riding around on bicycles, and whining because their allowance doesn't run to more than a carton of french fries and a Dairy Queen every day. ' Are you worried about whether you should spend $50 or a little more on a wedding pre- sent when in most countries most mothers are wondering whether a cow or a bushel of maize is a suitable dowry? And they haven't a cow or any maize. Tut and tut and tut. We are in ani economic depression, many people are unemployed, our government seems to be living in Alice in Wonderland, with its ridiculous six and five desperate attempt to appear credible. But when have you last missed a meal? When have you been cold, cold, cold? When is the last time some •cop stopped you on the street and asked for identity papers? When is the last time 'somebody pounded on.your door at 4 a.m..and you shivered with fear, knowing what was coming? When have you last been hit on the head with a club for saying "Trudeau is a fink?" There's lots wrong with this country, but there is a hell of a lot more right with it, when we take a look around. We read about farmers and small businessmen and big companies going broke. Well, that's the capitalist system, and that's the system we embrace. We don't hear much when the farmers have a bumper crop and spend the winter driving south in their Buicks. We seldom hear about the small businessman who's making a quiet fortune, unless he's suddenly become an entrepreneur and is a BIG businessman. We scarcely hear a word when a huge company makes a huge profit. But now the tears are flowing, we need a Wailing Wall, located about Winnipeg, and • thousands of paper. towels to wipe up the tears. Help from the governrnent means help from. you and me. 0 Come on, Canadians, let's stop whining. My father and mother didn't whine during the Big Depression. They did the best they could, and desperately tried to avoid going on Relief, now euphemistically called Welfare. Get rid of your boat'. Sell your second car. There- is such a thing as walking. Cut your kid's allowance to zilch, and let them earn it by working. So you like steak? Eat ham- burg. Stop buying that crap from California and Florida in the winter: lettuce for $1.50, mostly water; grapes, oranges, celery, those little hard bitter tomatoes. Eat spuds and porridge. They're good for you. Dig a root cellar under your patio deck and fill it with carrots and turnips. Get a couple of chickens, and if they don't lay, eat them. Cut out those long-distance calls about nothing, and write a letter. Wear a sweater and keep your thermostat down. We can lickinflation, but not by living the way we do. We can lick unemployment, with some guts. But not government guts. There aren't any. And if you'reout of work, take your U.I. but get looking for something else. This country still has limitless opportunities, if you want to work. Ask the immigrants. If . you don't, you'll become like those millions in Britain, during the first depression, who just gave up and sat around on the dole, steadily eroding their very souls. End of sermon. But cheer up and forget the headlines. There's a place for you, if you have any guts.