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The Citizen, 1992-06-03, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3,1992. People win at euchre party The Other Side Cold, hard facts don’t always pay The federal government has been involved in a "feel good" advertis­ ing campaign recently that's sure to have critics howling. The government has been spend­ ing a lot of money telling us about the United Nations study that ranks Canada as the number one country in terms of the standard of living people can expect. In a time of cut­ ting budgets for nearly everything, the government is wide open to criticism for paying money to make us feel good but if the government doesn't do it, who else will these days. When it comes to "telling it like it is", our modem media are miles ahead of their counterparts of times past. Sometimes I wonder, though, if ignorance was bliss. I was reading a book on the his­ tory of Life magazine the other day and it struck me just how much things have changed over the years, particularly since the 1950s. The author of the book, a former Life editor, was talking about the cover­ age of the early days of the U.S. space program. Life managed to wrangle an exclusive contract to cover the private lives of the seven Mercury astronauts, the first men from the U.S. who would travel into space. The author, speaking with the hindsight of 30 years, was a tad embarrassed by what became a cheer-leading series of stories his magazine had written on the astro­ nauts and their wives. It was pretty bland stuff, he was saying. The warts of the astronauts were smoothed over in the Life coverage, making them all seem stolid, heroic types with nerves of steel who loved their country, their wives and their children. None of the egotism of a John Glenn, none of the aro- gance of an Alan Shepard, came through in these admiring articles. The articles were pure hero wor­ ship. Most things in Life were super positive in the 1950s. Fresh from the victory of the Second World War, feeling it was the destiny of the U.S. to lead the world to a new and unheard-of prosperity, Life publisher Henry Luce made his magazines (which also included Time and Fortune), almost unoffi­ cial arms of the U.S. government, charged with morale boosting and getting people to think in the right, Forestry Freaks see film on wildlife The Forestry Freaks held their fourth meeting at 4:30 p.m. at the Freiburger's, opening with the 4H pledge. Members saw a film on wildlife landscape. The three main things for an animal to live on are water, shelter and food. Esther Buck, guest speaker said the Wawanosh Nature Centre plants bushes that produce berries for the wild birds and animals to eat. The members thanked her for coming to the meeting and for sharing new ideas for them to put into action. The meeting closed with the 4H motto. By Keith Roulston free enterprise way of mind. The life portrayed in Life, of course, was a phony one. Seldom did the poverty of the poor and the blacks make its way into those perky pages. There wasn't a lot of realistic coverage of American for­ eign policy when Mr. Luce thought it was the mandate of his country to impose it's interests on the world because they were in the best inter­ ests of the whole world. Today we get a truer picture of life...well somewhat. There still isn't a lot of time spent covering the thousands of people so poor they must live under bridges or in card­ board boxes in Toronto alleys. But our press is diligent in digging out the flaws of our politicians. We sel­ dom have heroes like the astronauts today because somebody is sure to point out they drink too much or beat their wives, or if nothing else, fail to use the Blue Box program. We are better informed today, but I wonder if we're better off. A poll the other day suggested that the most people would vote for "none of the above" in choosing between the political leaders of Canada. We have no faith in our leaders, no faith in the future of the country, no faith in those around us. We're down, down, down. But think about it. For the major­ ity of us, nearly all those good - things we dreamed about in the j 1950s we now have (aside from those futuristic visions of us all going to work in our personal air­ craft). We have machines that auto­ matically wash our clothes. We can cook meals in minutes in our microwaves. We not only have colour televisions but we can record anything we want or have the equivalent of our own movie theatre with rental videos, not to mention the dozens of channels available on cable TV. Most families have two cars. Where in the 1950s taking an over­ seas vacation was limited to a tiny portion of the population, today millions of people criss-cross the oceans every week.- What's more, the troubling issues of the 1950s are all behind us. The dark side of the '50s was the cold war, and the very real fear that our world could end at any moment in an rain of nuclear missiles or bombs. The cold war fear is gone. There is no fear of creeping Com­ munism. The battle for integration in the U.S. has been won, even if there are still huge hurdles for 7 I I I EAST WAWANOSH OPEN HOUSE Ratepayers and Public are Invited to attend the official opening and Open House of the East Wawanosh Municipal Office at Belgrave on Friday, June 5 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Official opening and ribbon cutting at 2:00 p.m. Everyone Welcome I black people to overcome. Deadly killers like polio have been beaten, replaced with equally deadly, but more controllable, diseases like AIDs. Women have a freedom to shape their own lives that could only be dreamed of in the 1950s. If you could give a picture of your life today to someone in, say 1955, they would think you had passed on to some more perfect world. We think times have never been worse. As a journalist, I don't think I want to return to the blinkered cov­ erage of newspapers, magazines and television and radio of the 1950's and yet I have to wonder if part of the reason we’re so down in the dumps these days is that we have just too much "honesty" in our news coverage. With no heroes, with no sense of optimism about a future, with no sense of being for­ tunate to be part of a country that is a leader in the good life, we've fall­ en into a kind of black despair from which there seems no escape. Maybe our media need <o take a holiday from accenting the negative now and then and really tell it like it is: that we're fortunate in Canada to live in the country that, over all, gives us the best standard of living in the world. Against Our Will Is Against The Law 4 If you’re like most people, you’ll look at this and think rape. Well, think again. Because sexual assault isn’t only rape. It’s any unwanted act of a sexual nature imposed by one person on another. And if you think it’s always a dark alley and a violent stranger, you’re wrong again. More than half of all sexual assaults of women are committed by men they know. It can occur on a date. Between friends. Even I I I I continued from page 2 Branch participated in the Canada Day Parade that was held in Goderich. The Legion sent a colour party, pipe band and the Cadets. Results from the euchre held on May 27 are as follows: high lady, Martha Logan; high man, Harvey Sillib; low lady, Dorothy Dilworth- low man, Frank Alcock; most lone hands, ladies, Helen Dobson; most lone hands, men, Albert Quipp and most zeros, Doreen Rutledge and Jim Maclean. ANNUAL MEETING WINGHAM & DISTRICT HOSPITAL CORPORATION Notice Is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of the Wingham and District Hospital Corporation will be held in the Nursing Assistants* Training Centre, Catherine St., Wingham, Ontario on Thursday, June 18,1992, at the hour of eight o'clock p.m. for the revision of bylaws; for the election of Governors; for the appointment of Auditors; and for the transaction of such other things as may properly come before the meeting. Copies of the Annual Report and Hospital Financial Statements may be obtained at the front desk of the Wingham and District Hospital prior to three o'clock p.m., Thursday, June 18,1992. Said documents will also be available at the Annual Meeting. Memberships granting voting privileges may be purchased at the front desk of the hospital for five dollars ($5.00) prior to five o'clock p.m., Wednesday, June 3, 1992. No membership sold, after that time, on that date, will entitle the purchaser to a vote. Dated at Wingham, Ontario, this eleventh day of May, 1992. By order of the Board of Governors. N.M. Hayes, Secretary vz i\ i Ontario Women’s Directorate Sexual Assault Is A Crime * The next euchre will be on June 10. The Ladies Auxiliary will be having a penny sale at the Brussels Legion Hall Saturday, June 6 from 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. There will be a bake table and other articles for sale. The Brussels Branch is again sponsoring the Maitland Valley Bam Dance (formerly Warwick's Fiddle Jamboree), on Sunday, June 21. Admission will be $3.00/person with supper available at $7.00/person. between husband and wife. So most people don’t think of it as a crime. And often it goes unreported. But attitudes must change. Because against our will is against the law. If your life has been affected by sexual assault, find out what can be done. Contact a sexual assault service. Or talk to someone you trust. J Men must under­ stand that sexual assault is a crime. Maybe then they’ll think twice j about it. 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