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The Citizen, 1994-09-21, Page 5Arthur Black THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1994. PAGE 5. Heaven on earth located near Salem Tell me, bucko - are you fed up to the teeth with higher taxes, idiotic politicians, crooked officials and nasty, pointy-headed bureaucrats? Had it up to here with radar traps, dog licences, and fines for overdue library books? Feel like you'll go bonkers if you're forced to shell out one more loonie for the GST, the PST, the VAT or the Airport Improvement Levy? If this sounds like you, I have a solution. All you have to do is stick a For Sale sign on your front lawn, cancel the milk delivery and move yourself to the Kingdom of Heaven. Heaven on earth, that is. You'll find it on a state map of Oregon, about 30 kilometres south of Salem. Actually, you won't. The Kingdom of Heaven does not appear on official earthly documents such as road maps. But it's there, nonetheless. The Kingdom of Heaven covers 14 hectares of rolling Oregon countryside. It is presided over by a balding, bearded gentleman with coke-bottle homrims and the historically resonant moniker of Paul Revere. That's Pastor Paul Revere, spiritual leader of some 200 faithful adherents and titular By Raymond Canon Unemployment, bad all over When I was in Switzerland this summer, I saw, for the first time in my life, signs which referred to the high rate of unemployment among the youngest members of the labour force. These people were prepared to work; efforts should, therefore, be made to hire them. I was reminded of this recently when I was at a celebration of the Swiss national holiday. It was suggested there that, although the published rate of unemployment in that country was about five per cent (4.6 per cent officially), the true rale was closer to eight per cent. I can assure you that, if eight per cent is in any ways accurate, Switzerland is in far worse shape than Canada since the Swiss are used to a rate of one to two per cent while the Canadians are looking at a rock-bottom rale of about eight per cent. However, the current Swiss rate of eight per cent should come as no surprise since both Canada and Switzerland, along with every other industrialized nation, arc looking al a much higher number of unemployed than is normal al the current stage of the business cycle. Thus, if you have friends or relatives in Europe, you arc going to hear them complaining about the same thing as we are. There even seems to be some truth in the oft repeated statement that the rich arc getting richer and the poor poorer. In Hamburg, Germany, the richest city in Europe when average income is concerned, there arc more millionaires than there ever have been in the past, and yet it has the highest ever number of people without work. \ head of the not-quite-yct-world-famous Embassy of Heaven Church. He hasn't always occupied this position - or in fact, this name. Not long ago the pastor was Craig Douglas Fleshman, a clerk in the U.S. Department of Transport. But one day Fleshman decided there must be more to life than a bungalow in the 'burbs, a Chevette in the driveway and the prospect of punching a keyboard 40 hours a week for the rest of his life. So he resigned, retired and re-invented himself as Pastor Paul Revere, chief shepherd of the Kingdom of Heaven, Oregon Branch. What are the advantages of living in Heaven? Well, no taxes for starters. Every April, the pastor receives his Income Tax form in the mail and immediately chucks it, unopened in the trash bin. "The Kingdom of Heaven is not of this world" intones the pastor. "Jesus did not pay taxes". Jesus most likely didn't carry a valid driver's licence either. That's why Pastor Paul tells his flock to toss their licences, tear up their social security cards, close their bank accounts and forget about car insurance and vehicle registration. Naturally, all this freedom does not come without a price tag. Every time Pastor Paul attempts to drive out of the Kingdom of Heaven in his white Dodge Dart, he gets stopped by the cops. The state troopers remind the reverend that his car isn't sporting legal licence plates. They also bring it to his attention that the driver's licence he Unemployment in the city is no less than 40 per cent higher than the national average in Germany, due mainly to the disappearance of one-third of all the industrial jobs in that city. Any chart you ever look at which depicts unemployment in Europe, the thing that stands out is the high number of people who have been unemployed for what is considered to be long-term (one year or more). Most of these come from the manufacturing sector and, while retraining can be considered as something of a solution, it is not the panacea that some governments claim for it. If you have worked for 20 years in a factory making machinery, and find yourself without a job, you have to be retrained, but for what? You may not have the skills or the inclination to be a computer specialist; it takes a long while to retrain for anything so that one can compete on an even footing. What we are talking about here are white, blue-collar workers, not first or second generation immigrants. Germany has a large number of Turks, France has equally large numbers of North Africans (from former French colonies) and there is always the tendency to blame such minorities for the high rate of unemployment. However, it is still something of a truism that such workers are generally employed in types of work that the locals are not inclined to do and, for this reason, their presence has little effect on the rate of unemployment. In studying this high level of unemployment, researchers are finding all sorts of rather unique situations. In Holland it was discovered that over 50 per cent of all long-term unemployed had given up looking for work because they had found "other activities to give meaning to their lives: hobbies, volunteer work, studying or working in the informal economy." The researchers concluded that Holland, shows them (issued in Heaven) is not considered legal by the Oregon courts of law. The pastor is unperturbed. When they really hassle him he simply goes limp and refuses to eat until they back off and leave him alone. "1 would rather lose my body" he says, "than my soul." But how to keep body and soul together? After all, even shepherds in the Kingdom of Heaven have to eat. Pastor Paul has an answer. A little paradisiacal cottage industry, as it were. Pastor Paul flogs Kingdom of Heaven licence plates and also passports to the Kingdom of Heaven at 20 bucks a pop. Lucrative? Even though they aren't worth the gold-embossed papers they're printed on, the passports are selling like, well, celestial hotcakes. Reminds me of the story of a famous American public figure by the name of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. One night on his way to give a lecture at the Philadelphia city hall, the Bishop got lost in a rather bad neighbourhood. He went up to a tough looking guy in front of a bar, told him he was a guest speaker and asked for directions to the city hall. The tough guy told him where to go then asked him what he was going to talk about. "I'm speaking about how to get to heaven" said the Bishop. "Would you like to come and listen?" "Hell, no" said the hood. "You don't even know how to get to City Hall." with its generous and wide-ranging benefits had produced "a group of enterprising and calculating unemployed people... the strategically operating welfare client." Nor is Holland alone in this; similar complaints can be heard right across western Europe. One last note about Holland; it has currently only four workers for every three people on full time benefits. Perhaps it is time that the Europeans (as well as Canadians) need to question more the assumption that unemployment and indeed poverty can best be handled by subsidies at the expense of other methods. Let me explain. How often have you heard that when somebody gets into trouble or falls into the poverty category, it is the fault of a deprived (a number of other adjectives will also fit) childhood, upbringing, etc., that the person has gone through? We then bestow benefits on them, starting at age 16, hoping that at some time in the future their situation will change for the better. For many that does not seem to work too well. While we are doing all this, could we not be spending more time studying those people who have suffered the same injustices but who have, more or less on their own, managed to rise above their suffering and make a success of their life? Why not look at the methods by which these people have succeeded and see if they cannot be applied to those who resort to some form of welfare at the drop of a hat, or who arc prone to blame others for their predicament. Poverty is frequently much more of a psychological concept as anything else. In short, the western world has brought a certain amount of unemployment on itself by the very way it has handled the people affected. It is about time we realized we arc stuck with high levels of joblessness until we alter our thinking on the subject. The Short of it By Bonnie Gropp He continues to inspire us I think most of us would admit that we are living in self-indulgent times. The Me Generation of the 80s, difficult economic times, political correctness and entirely too much concern over our own personal suffering and imagined or real injustices have combined to produce a society that often seems uncaring, unfeeling. This past Sunday, I took part in the Terry Fox Run and what a wonderful experience it was — to see such a large group of people involved in something for the sake of others and be reminded once again of the courage, selflessness and strength of an amazing human being. With the glorious day and much ambition, I began my walk enthusiastically. As my legs did get a little stiff by the conclusion and I’ll admit I'm not one of the brave souls who can ignore discomfort, my journey was completed with a little less zeal than it began. But, to have put too much signficance on any personal discomfort would have been ludicrous, I realized. When consideration is given to the determination of Terry Fox, who braved the elements and his own physical handicap while running across six provinces, an eight kilometre run under sunny skies is a humbling experience. There is not a person alive in 1980 who doesn't remember and was not moved by the sight of this one-legged athlete, running 42 kilometres a day in his Marathon of Hope. We watched from the time he began his run after dipping his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean in St. John's Newfoundland. We cheered him on as others along the route joined in behind him or as he moved alone through the rain on a dismal, dreary road. When cancer ended his run on Sept. 1, 1980 in Thunder Bay, half way to his destination, our hearts were with him. Terry Fox died June 28, 1981. Thirteen years later his name and his legacy arc an inspiration to the world. His determination and courage touched us; it was the restoration of our belief in humanity. In a world which seems too often to care less, the energies given to the Terry Fox Run each year are heartening. From the many volunteers who give their time to organize the Terry Fox Run, to people eager to participate or give financial support, the effort is done with commitment to another's vision. What began as one young man's drcam is now a reality in 3,400 Canadian communities and 35 countries. Being part of the Terry Fox Run is a very special feeling. Watching the young people cycling, running and walking, I realized many of them weren’t even bom when his Marathon of Hope began. I wondered if they would ever really be able to fully comprehend the magnitude of what it was all about. Terry Fox is a national hero, not just for his efforts on behalf of the Cancer Society, but for whai he brought to Canadians as well. He gave us pride. The people involved in keeping his drcam alive should also be proud. For a few hours on a September day, thousands unite to continue a legacy, to forget about themselves and give a little to others. The goodness and generosity he inspired in 1980, continues today al the mention of his name.