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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-12-12, Page 19Page 2—Crossroads--Dec. 12, 1984 The Time to Begin In both Canada and the United States, now there are governments in place that do not need to worry about' elections for quite some time. Governments should use this opportunity to meet the real challenges of this decade. We need primarily a pro- gram of action which has shape and coherence. Rather than random, scattershot proposals, governments must begin to tackle the great problems, which, if left alone, could seriously under- mine our future. First of all, there is the crisis of government itself. We seem to be dominated by "a political process which values image -making and the techniques of marketing a candidate over proven ability to make proper Canada's Business o®aoo0000e401,e00000000a..o0,11 Arad ...oaa000m.o.000ea000m0000°a November,1984 Dear Sir: I'Ve been a general practi- tioner and ophthalmologist for 40 years. During that time I've worked in remote by Bruce Whitestonc decisions or knowledge of real needs. If we fail to cope with television and commun- ications in general, we will continue to pick leaders for the wrong reasons and, therefore, suffer according- ly. At the present time, we have a system for being led by people who "look good" on television. Unless we refine our political process, we will be plagued by the failures of governments. This means that our con- vention system for choosing leaders, and the way we pick nominees in ridings, must be altered. The doing then must, -start with our economy, so that unemployment will recede from its current shameful level. Clearly, we must do something about the huge, overhanging debt that has been allowed to accumulate HEY KSI LEARN TO DRAW WIN DANNY C I�UQHK1 1 D4Nfr''Y iqh 1. Here's Danny's complete drawing. 2. Finish what Danny,started. 3. Now try it yourself! over the past two decades. Otherwise, the economy cannot continue to expand as there simply will not be enough credit to sustain pro- tracted growth: New initiatives are necessary to promote Canadian exports and to reduce nontariff barriers confronting us. It is vital that we now act to insure our access to world markets. As well, there are all kinds of general problems which must be tackled, and now is the time to begin. For in- stance, the over -use of the automobile has blighted our countryside and has led to a slaughter on the highways that is almost akin to a war- time battlefield. Obviously, public transportation should be greatly expanded so that dependence on the private car is diminished. Pesticides have changed the cultivation of crops, but have damaged the soil; land conservation seems to be all but ignored, Out soil is a resource which is being destroyed also by over - cultivation and poor tillage. regions delivering babies on kitchen tables, performed eye surgery in- primitive refugee camps and practised in cities with the most modern equipment. I've had the satisfaction of treating thousands of people and even saving a few lives. But, one of the greatest thrills of my life was to hold a small card with the name of a third world person whose sight I had restored with a mere $25.00. Operation Eyesight Uni- versal, based in Calgary, offers Canadians a unique opportunity to help the 40 million people in third world countries Who are blind. Even a small donation can have astonishing results. Twenty-five dollars will pay for a cataract operation, ten days in hospital and new glasses. The surgeon per- sonally signs a card which contains the name, age and address of the patient, and the card is mailed to the donor. Operation Eyesight was formed in 1963 in answer to an appeal from Dr. Ben Gullison, a Canadian medi- cal missionary, to save his eye hospital at Sompeta, India from, closing due to lack of funds. From a few hundred dollars that first year, voluntary contribu- Moreover, the excessive tions have grown to over $21/2 reliance on drugs for raising million in 1983. This money is livestock has entailed used to treat patients and dangers which we are Just train native eye technicians, beginning to comprehend. doctors and nutritionists in Government action here is 17 countries. Operation Eye - urgently needed.sight trains people in their Above all, we must begin own countries where they to adapt to the information are familiar with the condi- age. The competitive in formation market place in the computer age will allow small groups of people to decide all kinds of things for themselves. The structures, values, and relationships of a society organized in large and often inefficient organiz- ations must be questioned. University learning, for example, often will become a matter of hitching oneself from anywhere, Into an in- formation network. Building big new structures will become increasingly out- moded. It is not going to be easy to achieve any of this. How- ever, advantage must be, taken of the respite from elections, so. that govern- ments can think and. plan before they act. For too long, we have had governments which have only responded to crises, and then their re - .actions were anything but far-sighted. Leadership by. governments that truly know what, governing is all about is essential. Bee from Japan pollinates faster There have been only three intentional introduc- tions of pollinators into the United States from other countries: the honeybee, a fig wasp and in 1978 the hornfaced bee from Japan. In comparison tests be- tween the honeybee and the hornfaced bee, the Jap- anese import pollinated 25 apple flowers for every one for the honeybee. In- creased pollination means higher fruit yield. Children to decrease The number• of primary - school -aged children (5 to 13 years old) — 30.7 million in 1981 — is expected to de- crease to 29.6 million in 1985 but by 1995 to rise to 34.4 million. crossroads Published every Wednesday by Wenger Bros. Limited as the lifestyle and entertainment section in The Listowel Banner, The Wingham Advance - Times, The Mount Forest Confederate and The Milverton Sun. Members of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspaper Association, and the Ontario Press Council. Controlled distri- bution in Ariss, Arthur, Drayton, Harriston, Moorefield, Palmerston, Bloom- ingdale, Breslau, Conestogo, Elmira, Heidelberg, Linwood, Maryhill, St. Clements, St. Jacobs, Wallenstein, Wellesley and West Montrose. , Display and Classified advertising deadline — 5:00 p.m. Thursday week prior to publication date. Advertising and Production The Listowel Banner 188 Wallace Ave. N., P.O. Box 97, Listowel, Ont. N4W 3H2 Accounting and Billing The Wingham Advance -Times Josephine St., P.O. Box 390, Wingham, Ont. NOG 2W0 The Listowel 'Banner 291-1660. The Wingham Advance -Times 357-2320. The Mount Forest Confederate 323-1 550. The Milverton Sun 595-8921. 6 CONWAY ER! tions and can immediately begin curing vision prob- lems. In 1983 alone over half a million people were treated and over, 70,000 were given back their sight. Since 1963, Canadians have generously given over $10 million dollars to Operation Eyesight but we've barely scratched the surface of this immense problem. Over forty million human beings in the third world are blind — 75 per cent of these could be cured by cataract surgery. Also, over half a billion have eye diseases that will lead to blindness unless suitable medicines, better nutrition and preventive programs are given. Service clubs, businesses, •churches, schools and in- formal groups often raise money for mobile operating units and other specific pro- jects. On occasion, schools or individual classrooms chal- lenge other schools to fund- raising competitions. Two years ago, when my wife died, our family decided to ask for donations to Operation Eyesight in lieu of flowers. It was a great satis- faction to our family and friends to see pictures of a special mobile eye clinic given in her names (Dona- tions are matched by the Canadian International De- velopment Agency.) Many Canadians show they care by using donations as gifts to loved ones on birthdays, at Easter and Christmas time. Donations as memorials when a loved one expires which causes re- birth of an individual with new sight, new hope and faith in the goodness of people, does much to ease the sorrow of those who re- main. You can give a Christ- mas gift this year to a friend or loved one, that they will never forget. The gift of sight for a blind person in the De- veloping World! Write to Operation Eyesight, Univer- sal, Box 123, Stn. "M", Cal- gary, Alberta T2P 2116! Yes, Canadians do care! I hope you and your readers will contribute to this very worthy and well run organization. Sincerely, J. T. Cruise, M.D. (Victoria) Why mistletoe's small According to early Chris- tian legends, mistletoe, once a tree itself, shrank in shame after Christ's cross was hewn from its wood. Scoop for German paper When America's Founding Fathers signed the Declara- tion of Independence, the first newspaper to break the story was Philadelphia's German -language Philadel- phisch Zeitung. 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