The Brussels Post, 1978-07-26, Page 22ii1111111111111111111111111111
1111111111111.111111111 111111111111
/11.1111111111111 111111111111111
01111111111 SOS VIII 111111111111111
11111111111.11 1111111111111111W
1111111111111111111111111111111/
1111111111 SIN 111.11111111111
1111111111111iiiiii,
FROM THE SMALLEST TO THE LARGEST — Joan Cardiff (left) and Jill
McCutcheon ,helped to wash anything from small cars to big trucks when
the.Leos held a car wash last week at the ball park. (Photo by Langlois)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1978 \ftwimmi00,
Serving Brussels and the surrounding community.
Published each Wednesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario
by McLean Bros.Publishers Limited.
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association
‘S_
ONTARIO
GNA
Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $9.00 a Year.
Others $17.00 a Year. Single Copies 2Q cents each.
OBrussels Post
Were they really
good old days?
When was the last time you read anything good
about the world we live in today?
Judging by the conventional wisdom of our times,
this must be the worst of all possible worlds. The
family is breaking up; the deserts are spreading; our
fish have been poisoned; violence is increasing;
welfare is destroying the work ethic....
And the future--again according to conventional
wisdom--looks even worse. We are threatened by too
many people, too few resources, too many bombs,
too little ozone, too much carbon dioxide, not enough
food, an accelerating rate of change and a slowness
to adapt. Having become the best-informed society
in history about these hazards, we have also become,
in the words of University of Detroit Professor
Margaret Maxey "the most fore-warned, anxiety-
prone, exhorted, and guilt-ridden of cultures."
Little wonder many people yearn for "the good old
days", when life was simpler and easier.
What hogwash! Without denying that today's
world has problems and that yesterday's had some
values we seem to have lost, does anyone really want
to go back to those "good old days"?
When average life expectancy was 45 years?
When you could count on at least one child in each
family not surviving to Its fifth birthday?
When kitchen wastes, ashes, household garbage,
and toilet dregs were dumped in gutters and on
sidewalks?
When the major insecticide used on almost
everything was lead arsenate, and the most common
red food colouring was lead chrothate--both deadly
poisons?
When the main killer diseases were not forms of
cancer, heart breakdown or nerve decay, but
influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis, diphtheria and
whooping cough?
When women and childienvere used as beasts of
burden in mines and industries, and .education ,was
available only to the elite?
That's all within the last century, documented in
.Otto Betternan's book, The Good Old Days--They
Were Terrible.
Or would you rather go further back in search of
Eden ) to times when feudal lords could arbitrarily
ship any man off to war, or could claim prior sexual
rights to his wife and daughters? Perhaps back to an
age untrammelled by technology, When humans
cowered in caves or tents, shivering against cold,
injury, animals, ignorance, disease and malevolent
gods?
Nolo we may not yet have the Kingdom of Heaven
on earth, and Much more than material progress will
be needed to achieve it. But let's not flagellate
OurSelVes into thinking this is Hell, either.
The many hazards that pre-occupy us now do so
only because, for the first time in history, we have
the luxury of recognizing them. At any previous
time, they vvbuidl have been submerged in the
greater hazards of daily survival.
(The United Church')
What is it.about a Royal Visit that seems
to bring out the idiocy in the land?
At one time, a visit by the King of Queen
was so rare that one could expect undue
importance to be attached to many things
but in recent years, the Queen or some
member or other of her family has been in
Canada almost as much as in Britain.
Where visits used to come once in a
lifetime, now they come once a year or
more. So why all the big fuss?
Yet it happens every time. A huge
controversy blew up last week because the
French and English translations of part of
the Queen's speech in Newfoundland were
supposed to be different. Different from
what, I knew heard. While people claimed
the French portion was "softer" or
something like that, they never said how.
In the meantime the newspapers and
television across the country made a big
point about the whole thing without ever
telling us why there should be any fuss, It
looked like a major crisis all because of a
few misplaced words.
As if that wasn't enough, the Monarchist
League of Canada, headed by the wife of a
British Lord who happens to be over in
Canada working, was upset because they
said the Prime Minister was "snubbing"
the Queen because he didn't rush home
from his vacation to welcome her the
minute she set foot on Canadian soil. Of
course if he had rushed home, people
would cynically be saying that a fall
election was on the way and he was out to
get himself in the limelight as much as
possible.
' Those who support the monarchy have
had pretty good reason to distrust Pierre
Trudeau in such matters of course. Hasn't
John Diefenbaker told them often enough
that the PM is a threat to the monarchy.
I think it's true that Trudeau is in that
large portion of Canadians. I doubt it's a
majority but it is a growing minority, who
fail to see the monarchy as the glue that
keeps the country together. To them the
Queen is a gracious, glamourous, slightly
humourous lady who conies to visit now
and then reminding us of our ancient
history.1 - Yet despite the criticism Ttudeau
has taken front ntanarchists 'lately, it's
ironic that never in history has the Queen
visited Canada So much as in the Trudeau
years at the top. I think it's safe to say that
the Queen has been in Canada more times
since Pierre Trudeau became prime
minister than in the entire 100 years
previously.
Anyway, back to the point, which is that
never is so much made of so little as when
the Queen comes to visit. Perhaps it's
because the Queen usually comes in the
summer (maybe if she came in the winter
she wouldn't be so sure she really wanted
to be queen of Canada). Summer days are
the dog days of journalism. Nothing seems
tobe happening but still those big pages of
the newspaper have .to be filled. The
National News still goes on every night and
Peter Kent just can't sit there and stare
blankly at the camera and say nothing
happened today.
So a Royal visit is great for the
newsmedia. Instead of staring blankly at
the television camera and telling us
nothing happened, Peter Kent can now
stare blankly at the television camera and
tell us what coloured dress the Queen wore
today and how her purse and shoeS were
colour co-ordinated and what nice things
she said to a Mountie despite the fact the
Mountie's horse did a no-no just as the
Queen's car was passing.
Of course whenever things get dull
there's good old Philip along to put his
foot in his mouth and get somebody talking
about something other that the Queen's
clothes. But who can blame him? How
would you like to have as your prime
concern making sure that you always
walked a pace behind your wife knowing
that if you didn't, you're apt to cause a
constitutional crisis.
You know we talk a lot about the stress of
many modern jobs but I don't think many
could match that of The Queen. We talk
about the boredom of assembly line work
but what about the Queen's assembly
line,accepting bouquets that look alike all
across the country from little girls who look
alike while turning sods for buildings that.
all look alike or planting trees that all look
alike. And all the time smiling, smiling,
because if you let the corners of your
month drop, it might be picked up by some
reporter or commentator who would take it
as a sign of your displeasure the whole
country might go into a state of
aprehended collapse.
You know; if I was the Queen, I think I'd
be applauding those lawyers who want to
See the monarchy disbanded hi Canada. I'd
just like to go home to the palace and enjoy
tnyjewels and forget about all the stupidity'
that arises every time I step out the front
doot.
Behind the scenes
By Keith Roulston
A royal visit brings out idiocy