The Citizen, 1986-03-19, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 1986.
Coming o f the
global village
On a radio interview recently, a visitor to northern Canada
admitted he suffered a unique kind of culture shock when he
first arrived. Here, amid a landscape that was totally alien to his
southern, urban experience, were kids wearing Michael
Jackson tee-shirts just like back home and people who followed
the latest soap operas on satellite television.
On a television report from France, a reporter said that when
the socialist government had come to power several years ago,
it had vowed to rid the country of American influence. Today the
government has given up and the country is swamped with
American movies, reruns of American television and of course
American rock stars.
If one cares about protecting the little things that make us
unique in our own communities or even in our own countries,
there’s much to despair in the way technology has allowed
dominant cultures to flood every corner of the world with their
influence. But technology can, thankfully, work both ways.
While the rest of the world has been flooded with American
culture, for instance, Americans themselves have been almost
totally isolated from other cultures, unless it is another culture
as filtered through the American cultural channels. Major U.S.
television networks, for instance, never show a television show
that isn’t produced in the U.S. If they see a program they like in
Britain they won’t import it but will make their own version as
they did for “All In the Family,” “Three’s Company,” “Too
Close for Comfort” and more.
While the Americans are great at talking free trade, culture is
one place there isn’t much free exchange of ideas allowed. The
Americans are much like the Japanese in trade of automobiles
for instance: there are no specific laws to prevent importing
television programs in one case or cars in another. There are
many things that prevent it.
But the same satellite technology that floods the rest of the
world with American culture, couldopen the borders of the U.S.
to ideas from the rest of the world as well. The Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation recently made a proposal that it
construct a super station in Windsor to beam Canadian
programming into American homes the way Americans
bombard us today. Given the current economic situation in
government spending, the general distrust of the CBC by the
Conservatives and their feelings of inferiority that the
Americans wouldn’t want to see anything on Canadian
television, this likely won’t happen.
But imagine a world where satellite technology made it
possible for us to really sample the world on our television
screen: now watching a British situation comedy, now an
American soap opera, now a Canadian comedy-mystery, now a
news report from an African station telling us what’s going on in
Africa from an African perspective.
Imagine what could happen if people in Russia suddenly
were able to see the rest of the world without having that view
filtered through their own propaganda apparatus. Imagine if
Americans could suddenly see news from all those diverse
parts of the world their government has been meddling in for
years, from Europe to the Middle East to Central America.
The danger of modern communications technology is that it
can wipe out individuality of local cultures. The possible
blessing, if governments willletithappen, isthatwecould have
the best educated, most understanding population in history.
Let’s hope the benefits of the latter outweigh the former.
Keeping the bargain
A visitor to the office the other day mentioned the
contradiction thatwhileagreat deal has been madeofthe plight
of the farmer, a look along the main street of most small towns
shows the death rate of small business has been almost as
staggering and little is made of it.
He was right, of course. The 1980’s have seen a complete
rewriting of the rules of small town business. New businesses
starting up have a tough time making it. Old businesses find
it increasingly hard to stand up to the problems of declining
population (particularly on farms), increasing popularity of
bigger chain stores in larger communities and the urge to
wander that seems to come over the local resident when it
comes shopping time.
The shopper who takes his or her business out of the
community has only himself/herself to blame when one day a
“going out of business” sign appears on local shop doors.
At the same time, local business people have a responsibility
to make sure they operate their businesses in a first rate manner
to serve both the local customer and the community in general.
If a modern farmer must be good at all things, the local
merchant hasn’t got it easy either. It's no good any longer to
rent a store, put up a sign, put in some stock and work happily
away until retirement. A merchant today must be aware that his
competition isn’t across the street but across the county.
Being friendly and helpful can be an edge to a local store over
a big chain but other things count too. How many small
merchants, for instance, complain about the difficulty of
competing with a chain but refuse to do any kind of promoting,
marketingoradvertisingthathavegiventhebig chains an edge
in the first place, or have the kind of convenient shopping hours
that draw people out of town. To make the community prosper
we need a bargain of faith between the local shopper .and the
local merchant. If both sides don’t do their part then the future
of our main streets is not going to be a happy one.
There are people who will tell
you that the important decisions in
town are made down at the town
hall. People in the know, however
know that the real debates, the real
wisdom reside down at Mabel’s
Grill where the greatest minds in
the town (if not in the country)
gather for morning coffee break,
otherwise known as the Round
Table Debating and Filibustering
Society. Since not justeveryone
can partake of these deliberations
we will report the activities from
time to time.
MONDAY: Hank Stokes said a
friend of his got offered a job as one
of the advisers in the Ontario
government’s new OFFIR pro
gram (don’t ask him what the
letters stand for he says. He figures
they’ve got a whole computer tied
up down at the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food coming up
with programs that have interest
ing initials.)
Anyway, Hank says, the pro
gram is to help the farmers who are
in trouble by giving them advice.
Now at the amount his friend is
getting paid by the government to
give advice, Hank says, he knows
his friend will never get in trouble.
Matter of fact, if all farmers could
just make as much per day as the
government consultants, they
wouldn't need advice in the first
place.
TUESDAY: Ward Black was say-
inghesawthe obituary of an old
friend in the newspaper this
morning. Billie Bean says he never
looks at the obituary column. Ward
says he always likes to check early
every dayjust to make sure he isn’t
there himself. Besides, he says, it
cansavev ou alot of embarrass
ment when you go to somebody and
ask how their husband is and find
out he died last year.
Tim O'Grady says that in that
case, they should start another
listing in the paper for people of his
age group. It would list all the
divorces and separations so you
wouldn't go up and ask somebody
how her husband is and find out he
moved out last year.
WEDNESDAY: Julia Flint had a
chuckle this morning at newspaper
editorials in one of the local daily
newspapers. One of the editorials
talked about how the government
needed to do more to cut govern
ment spending as the Neilson
committee report pointed out. The
editorial right nexttoit complained
that the government wasn't keep
ing its promise to increase spend-’
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tflA/ie world view
from Mabel’s Grill
ing and get the armed forces back
up to strength.
“Funny how it’s wasteful to
these people to spend $17 million
on the Katimavik program but it
makes real sense to pay some
American company $15 million for
one jet fighter,” she says.
Tim O’ Grady said that what they
should do is bring back conscrip
tion then they could give the young
people jobs and make them happy
and make the pro-army people
happy too.
THURSDAY: Billie Bean said he
heard those ads from the doctors on
the radio: you know, the ones that
say the government’s bill to end
extra billing is a “personal insult”
to the doctors. Billie said he kind of
thinks it’s a personal insult to him
when the doctor expects him to
show up on time for a two o’clock
appointment but keeps him wait
ing until 3:15 before he gets in to
see him. “The doctors are telling
me that their time’s more impor
tant than mine,” Billie says, “so
maybe they can see what it feels
like to be insulted for a change.”
FRIDAY: Hank Stokes was teasing
Ward Black about his good Con
servative government this morn
ing. “I heard Eric Neilson say that
noother government has ever done
as much for Canadian agriculture
as this one, only I wasn’t sure
whether I heard right. I couldn’t
tell if it was ‘for’ or ‘to’.”
Letters to the editor
THE EDITOR:
So, you want some opinions? I’m
fullofthem. Somewouldsay I’m...
1 believe the term is opinionated.
As always my main beef is the
lack of use of “common sense” or
“horse sense” as it was called in
rural yesterday. Let’s begin with
the preachings of so many so-call
ed “Successful” of our fellowman
that we must turn our eyes and
thoughts only toward the future,
that we should think only about
achieving. It’s quite evident to me
that many have done that and are
still doing it.
And here we are with world-wide
poverty: monetarily, mentally and
physically. Many of these people
who are “in the know” are in
control of our destinies are there
mainly due to their lack of respect
for all of their fellowmen. They take
a “forward-to-the-future”, posi
tive attitude toward life. Unfortu
nately for the majority of mankind,
our ability to attain any form of
gratification has constantly been
trampled and crushed by those
people with only stars in their eyes,
clambering over any and all to
reach the top. Not only do they lack
respect for most of their fellowman
but they lack “horse sense”.
Here are a few of my thoughts on
these people:
Our leaders -- World wide, they
are seemingly obsessed with hav
ing dominance and control, even it
it leads to nuclear anihiliation of
every living thing.
Continued on Pg. 5
[640523Ontario Inc.]
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