Zurich Citizens News, 1970-05-28, Page 5THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1970
Moratorium sounds deadly
Have you been to a morato-
rium lately? Have you taken
part in a demonstration, or a
confrontation? Do you have
charisma?
Sorry to be so personal, but
I read and hear these words
bandied about so much these
days that I just wondered how
things were at your place,
They are part of the jargon
of our times. Isn't it amazing
how the English language can
take such a beating and
emerge greater and finer than
ever?
Prime Minister Trudeau has
charisma, according to the pap-
ers. At first I thought it was
something like acne, or maybe
a bowel problem. It turned out
to mean something like style,
flair, elan, magnetism. But the
new breed of newspaperman
will never use an old tested
word if he can come up with
something as charismatic as
charisma.
"There's no such thing as a
meeting any more, with two
parties holding opposing ideas
getting together and trying to
resolve them. Now it's a con-
frontation, Like two bulls meet-
ing in a pasture and knocking
their skulls together, while the
cows look on, chewing their
cuds.
A demonstration used to be
an exposition, explaining some-
thing, probably with sensory
aids. You might show, or dem-
onstrate, for example, how to
make rotten egg gas, or how
two and two usually make
four.
But today, a demonstration
is against something, not for it.
All you need is a placard, a
crowd, and you are demon-
strating. It doesn't make lin-
guistic (there's another one)
sense. If you are protesting
something, be a protester, not
a demonstrator.
A moratorium sounds like a
cross between a crematorium
and a mausoleum. At any rate,
it sounds pretty deadly, and
usually is. How would you like
to spend the rest of your life
in a moratorium? Some people
act as though they would enjoy
it thoroughly.
I have before me a letter
from an editor referring to the
"upcoming issue" of a maga-
ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS
zine. What does that mean?
What she means is forthcom-
ing, or next, I wonder what the
"downcoming" issue would be
like,
Each decade seems to have
its new slang, idioms, catch
words. A few of them stay in
the language, like rough dia-
monds in a sea of silver,
through their sheer power.
We don't shed too many
tears over such sayings as: "I
love my wife, but oh you kid,"
from the '90s. Nor do we
grow lugubrious over the dis-
appearance of such inanities
from the '50s and '60s as:
"That'll be the frosty Friday."
Or: "You better believe it."
Or: "Would you believe ... ?"
How about "cool" and "man"
and "way out" and "groovy?"
Do you think some bird or
chick will be saying in 1984:
"Hey, man, that's cool. Let's
groove. You're way out.?"
Somehow I doubt it.
"Hippie" is already a term
of opprobrium to the real hip-
py. "Swinger" is now used only
by middle-aged people who
would like to be. "Cat," as in
"cool cat," is hanging on by
the skin of its teeth.
And then we have "jet set"
and "beautiful people." I was
at a press club party recently
and it was rather sad. All
these chaps with their new
sideburns and matching shirts
and ties, and striped pants,
hoping they were beautiful
people when they should have
been home watering the lawn.
But most of all, perhaps, I
PAGE FIVE
Zurich Womens Institute Discuss
Pollution Effects at May Meeting
Mrs. Edith Huhner convened
the program for the Zurich Wo-
men's Institute May meeting.
The talented singers, " The
Swinging Sisters" Misses Grace
and Lynn Swartzentruber and
Christine Plantinga, highlighted
the program with singing the
theme song "Pollution, '
Mrs. Len Prang read excerpts
from the speech which was given
at the Institute Officers Confer-
ence in Guelph, by Everett Biggs,
who is Deputy Minister of the
Ontario Department of Agricult-
ure and Food. He stated that if
pollution goes unchecked, our
life style, our standard of living,
the things we have done to im-
prove the health and welfare of
our families, will be seriously
despair of the people who sim
ply surround themselves with
a cloud of verbal garbage ev-
ery time they open their
mouths.
Young people are worst, but
you can see and hear universi-
ty professors, politicians and
lawyers hedging themselves
about with such inane things
as: "Well, like, you know, uh,
it's pretty obvious, you know,
like, there's no denying, uh,
you know, etc."
Why don't they just say, "I
think it's a lot of crap," or
something equally plain? Or
would that not be a viable
approach?
affected, The misuse of pest
and weed control chemicals
has a detrimental effect. It
causes air pollution, damages
neighbours crops and vegetation.
Water pollution, the most
visible type, was the first to
attract public concern, it caused
death to fish, Air pollution sim-
ilarly is not absorbed rapidly
enough.
Gases or radiations make the
air injurious to humans, animals,
crops or property. Basically,
what we are doing is up -setting
the balance of nature.
The Ontario Government has
provided funds for research at
the University of Guelph. To
curb pollution, it will be nec-
essary that everyone realize that
pollution is our concern.
Miss Grace Swartzentruber read
a copy of her letter which she
mailed to Prime Minister Trudeau
asking what she could do to curb
pollution. Mrs. O. Swartzentrub-
er read the reply letter.
Mrs. M. Brokenshire conducted
the business. A bus trip was
agreed for September, touring
to Niagara Falls and. Adelaide
Hoodless homestead.
An invitation was read invit-
ing ladies in the community to
attend the forum " Calorie Count-
down, " at Clinton on June 17.
The roll call was " What future
has a farm child." All answers
favoured the farm child has a
better future than a city child.
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