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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-10-09, Page 44itesa'me a il, t. �` 1 '' ° jt,'also 1 Ods torspe'cn in'Goll on 'Whet _er _ or not: i., vine isdan h t#s- o er sta , a e ek �lr e as. tt 1pl� r" of w 9. cc► >na lla1� �, - "n to .i may on be fey. � 'verliirt' ;.amp .y$ yl ,,: •,,, tlsec , lthir t t ' e end'before h eco c`t►ft►cd tai lo, w� Christmas:.. ` Thanksgiving is much than that. It is a tune when when we tate a misty -eyed and retrospective look at what'we've done with our lives,what we've accomplished and what we hope to do in themonths and years ahead. �`'ttrogram each tel n the Comititt ant. 11sp :" �', al*ays;net year, 1 amtl uch of my meth vii, to. the vagari e a er. And so, I rt; u an of , a�. t. �,. � t ,� :s>:. s mi.'. -'1 ; f s '�.�t.,. ring the S and us win et. • „ , Ca. r . , r, i aj A f li ,:f o 'a. `� in •the ', � .' ,�t�lt� �;� e s� ` i�lihl�� �� suullt � y�su. er 'eve o .t e' the kidsFto ry`. mor► tnR , R o ' t. fir t e- �'s o of the laSt � ,4r!t tl`. dri ,l ,YJ' I didn't get,' around, to that 'lunch' hour picnic at the beach, in fact I didn't get around',to much of anything at the beach, least of all contracting an even tan over my meagre bod. - I didn't get around to turning my' . family. room into'a•carport, rotating the light bulbs, or unexpectedly hosing down the mailman from the cover of the trees in front of the house. I didn't get around to shopping for new '.,a n�,7 P : - r�i{'JC � : `, • s s � y,.... <; , t the�>r ve were so ht te;Tight? We ve0,g,tRalkOkinoratOheitliafo :today 'oaa re th.anktutforthe ;t le,.a s, that at Yes and daharanfu tltnto:tie fish in ourriakes and rivers. 1� ire thankful thatmen lwou d: choose to accept a t►llte posltl is while colleagues and ,ministers l ►bout therr'1 ate rg or' being :asked 'lir`less than polite terms to vacate the' Houseof Commons. ' We are thankful that it only takes 34 cents and a matter of days, maybe weeks, to send a loving word or congratulatory message to a relative 4ec Ga: r a h� o he . c;�0oak opriet re We are "thankful that American ballplayer (1y[y,`jwbile, [/Bovis � paid ,t) " 1 h Ib ll . I ea , t p ` � ' r . rt a t ilii s pinyin in a Can ball ya,rd;are,able to beat, tl4bejeepers out, of all the other American bailplayeras, ,i.. Ane} finally, we are thankful for all,of theft. above; because( it makes us distinctly f, Canadian. THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT SINCE 1848 the oaeric SIGNAL -STAR P.O. BOX EEO HUCKINS BT. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH, ONT. N7A 48E (01.4111.111101). TROUND COMMUNITYutp NEWSPAPER INBCANAOA PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED Founded in 1848 and published every Wednesday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CCNA and OCNA. Subscriptions payable in advance 982.00, (Senior Citizens 819.00 privilege card number rrequiraed] In n Canada, $80.00 to U.S.A., 500.00 to ell other countries, Single copies GOc. Oleplay, Classified advertising retee available on request. Pledge ask for Rete Card No. 16 effective October 1, 1985. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographic& error, the advertising space occupied by the er item, together with the reasonable allowance for signature, will not be Charged for but that balance of the edvertlsement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services et a wrong price, goods or eervioes may not be sold. Advertising is merely en offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star la not responsible for the lose or damage of unaellcited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing purposes. President and Publisher ROBERT G. SHRIER Editor Advertising Manager DAVE SYKES . DON HUBICK FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES...Pleeee phone [519)524-2514 Second class mail registration number 0716 Member: eNA Time to offer thanks Traditionally, Thanksgiving was a time to offer thanks and partake of a bountiful harvest from the fields. While the intent may not have changed that much over the years. the harvest and the magnitude of same has changed significantly. It is far too easy -to grumble and complain about a myriad of things. Technoglogy .has changed our lives more in the past six, seven or eight decades than was ever thought un- aginable. It seems unlikely that any other civilization will realize such growth, such ad- vancement and utilization of potential. But, while technology changes our lifestyle constantly, it also changes our needs, our. wants and our expectations of lifestyle. Our expectations are far different than those of our parents and the expectations of our children will differ radically from ours. Progress has changed our perspective. But as we approach Thanksgiving, perhaps it is fitting to reflect on those simple but. lasting values. Offering thanks for the country, a home and family. the land and the good food that it provides. As Canadians we enjoy a rather healthy, harmonious. and affluent lifestyle compared to many people in other parts of the world. Even wither our own community.. we enjoy a rather prosperous and cornrnunal existence. This weekend may be an opportune time to take a retrospective and reflective look at our lives, what we have accomplished, what we can accomplish if we utilize our resources and potential and what we can leave for those who will follow. We do have much to be thankful for as Canadians but recognizing that fact is often the most difficult part. There always seems to be more to achieve, rrrilrc to strive for, more that we need. or seem to need, to make our existence more comfortable and pleasurable Yet, we have so much if we would only tale the time to not In' Happy Thanksgiving. D.S. Minister seeks solutions This week, our own representative in the Legislature. .lack Riddell, Minister of Agriculture, launched Agri -Food Week in Toronto Speaking before a group of real estate professionals 111 (1odcrrc h Monday, the minister remarked that Agri -Food Week is not as significant in the minds of (►ntarians and ('ana- dians as perhaps it should be. It is understandable, even commendable. that the minister would attach great impor- tance to the recognition of the agriculture sector, but he also raised a valid point. Far too often, we take for granted that we have available to us, reit only the best food in the world, but perhaps at the cheapest prices. The minister reminded his audience that in Ontario, and even here nr Huron County. we do enjoy some of the best food at the best prices available anywhere 1lndoubtedly. we tend to take the agrarian sector of the local economy for granted But it cannot be ignored The minister has now embarked on a plan for a red meat stabilization program and he in- timated that even corn and soyabean growers will be losing rnone this year They are pro- blems he intends to do something about The farmers will be glad to know the minister is taking a tenacious stand on their behalf We hope he can alleviate just some of the problems facing fanners i) S Now I have seen a hard-core pornography film. There has been no change in my personality. My values came through intact. I was neither embarrassed nor upset. The film was part of the presentation of an extensive report on pornography to the Ontario Council of the Canadian Bar Association at its recent meeting in Goderich. The film was produced by the Ontario Provincial Police as a "training film" and shown by a morality squad constable, with appropriate warnings. Every person's presence was voluntary - as is the case withal] exposure to pornography. 1 found pornography silly, ridiculous, grotesque and totally lacking of erotic appeal. The repetitive dramatics of the sound -track became quite hilarious. My impulse, politely suppressed, was to laugh out loud at the whole thing. My personal preference is to leave the silly antics alone. Pornography does not force itself upon any of us. However, if one wants to do something about it, 1 suggest that the way to deal with pornography is to subject it to ridicule, to laugh the sorry business off the centre stage of public concerns, instead of elevating the subject to a serious position of a celebrated and Night digger By Dave Sitits' dangerous enemy whose mystery powers have the ability to degrade us, as we are led to believe Were the ground for pornography not constantly fertilized by large loads of serious public attention and rather emotional controversy, the growth would be more likely to wither in its course. The subject of pornography is used by special interest groups as a bogie -man to cajole, co d intimidate us to conform to their beliefs an tlitheir norms of morality - to get enough people so scared of their freedom to think and choose that they go along with demands for more and more censorship. Where does censorship stop in its erosion of individual responsibility? Pornography i can leave alone. Censorship is the enemy 1 have to watch. Thus i followed the unfolding of events at the lawyers' meeting with concern. If so many educated individuals with professional training in rational thinking allow themselves to be manipulated so easily, where does it leave the rest of us? It was the majority's unquestioning acceptance of certain propaganda pressure that worries me. An intelligent and thoughtful report, the Sugar and Spice By Bill Smile It's been a long way from there to here. Just 40 years ago, I was lying on the floor of a box -car in north-east Holland, beaten up and tied up. And half -frozen. And half- starved. Today, I'm sitting in a big, brick house, with the furnace pumping away, a refrigerator stuffed with food, and my choice of three soft, warm beds. Forty years seems like eternity if you're a teenager, but they've gone by like the wink- ing of an eye, as most old-timers will con- firm. Back then, I was tied up because I'd tried to escape. It wasn't pleasant. They had no rope, so they tied my wrists and ankles with wire. I was beaten up because I'd managed to pilfer a sandwich, a pipe and tobacco from the guards' overcoat pockets when they weren't looking. and these, along with a foot -long piece of lead pipe, popped out of my battle -dress jacket when the sergeant in charge of the guards gave me a roundhouse clout on the ear just before escorting me back onto the train headed for Germany. Served me right. i should have ignored all that stuff we were taught in training: "it's an officer's duty to try to escape," and gone quietly off to sit out the war, which I did anyway, in the long run. But the next few weeks weren't pleasant. I couldn't walk, because my left kneecap was kicked out of kilter. Every bone in my body ached. My face looked like a bowl of borstch, as i discovered when a "friendly" guard let me look in his shaving mirror. Worst of all, there was nothing to read. When i have nothing to read, i start pacing result of 18 months of work by a 14 -member committee, was largely undone by the deliberate showing of selected pornographic scenes. Several lawyers stated right there that if the film had not been shown before the vote was taken, the committee's report would likely have passed. A vaguely worded resolution from the floor, stating that the production and availability of pornography has reacher; "alarming proportions", demanded "-immediate action" including censorship. The resolution passed on a vote of 49 to 26. I found it disappointing that such an illustrious group plays so carelessly with the dangers of censorship. The committee's prepared report observed that "assuming that the committee reflects the views of lawyers in Ontario, our conclusion is that the legal profession is split in its views on pornography. No unanimity can be found in many areas and the conflicts between civil liberties, censorship and pornography remain". This is also an accurate reflection of our society as a whole. The prepared report contained unanimous proposals for criminal legislation for child the walls. But 1 couldn't pace the walls because I was on the floor, and tied up. Anyway, the light wasn't so good. One little barred window. Perhaps even the worst of all was my dai- ly ablutions. And i don't mean washing one's face and armpits. i had to be lugged out of the boxcar by a guard, since only one leg was working, helped -down the steps, and ushered to the railway. bank. Ever try to do your dailies ( and i don't mean push-ups), with two hands planted in cinders, one leg stuck straight ahead, the other propping you up, and a guy pointing a revolver- at you'' It's a wonder I wasn't con- stipated for life. One day the guard almost shot inc. I never understood why. He was a rather decent young chap, about 21, blond, spoke a bit of French, so that we could communicate in a rudimentary way. He was a paratrooper who had been wounded in France and seconded to the mundane job of guarding Allied prisoners. He hadn't taken part in the kicking and punching at the railway station, for his own reasons. Perhaps pride. He was a soldier. not a member of the Feldgcndannerie. But this day he was out of sorts. Perhaps sick of being a male nurse. His eyes got very blue and very cold, and he cocked his revolver. All i could do was turn the big baby -blues on hint and mutely appeal. It worked. He muttered something. probably a curse, holstered his gun, and shoved me roughly back into the boxcar. Why did Hans Schmidt ( his real name ) not kill me that day? Ile was fed up with a ELSA HAYDON pornography, pornography depicting an actual offence against a person, and involuntary exposure to pornography. Many people would find these limitations reasonable. There was also a recommendation for public education, in order to become more discriminating viewers and consumers. The report "preferred to err on the side of job on which rations were minimal. comfort almost non-existent, and duties boring and demeaning. There was another Schmidt in the detail. Alfred. He was a different kettle, though he, too, was a wounded paratrooper. Ile was as dark as Hans was fair. as•sour as Hans was sunny. He would have shot ore, in the same mood, and written it off as "killed while at- tempting to escape." Luck of the draw. Another hairy incident in that October. 40 years ago, was the night the train was at- tacked by a British fighter-bomber. pro- bably a Mosquito. perhaps even navigated by my old friend ])ave McIntosh. I was dozing, on and off 00 didn't sleep much, tied up. on the wooden floor of a box- car) when there was a great screeching of brakes, a wild shouting from the guards as they bailed out of the train, then the roar of an engine and the sound of cannon -fire as the attacker swept up and down the train. strafing. As you can understand. i wasn't hie and the bums in the aircraft didn't even put the train out of commission, but have you ever seen 0 man curled up int() 0 shape about the size of a little finger? That was ich. Sorry if I've bored you with these reminiscences. Rut they are all as clear. or moreso, than what i had for lunch today. Forty years. Time to complete the war. finish university, marriage, children, 11 years as weekly editor, 23 years as teacher, a year in The San for non-existent T.B.. and 30 years as a columnist. I couldn't hack all that today. But I can go to bed and say, This beats the hell out of sleeping in a boxcar civil liberties and against censorship" which is a "prior restraint". The committee warned particularly against these harmful, effects: censorship has a freezing effect upon legitimate forms of expression; it stops the product, but does not alter the attitude; it runs counter to the need for subject education; it is likely to create a black market. These are civilized, observations in a society with different values and views. It is a pity that many lawyers present- could not endorse the enlightened stand of the report and opted for increased censorship, although they were reminded by their colleagues that they were sent to the meeting by their local law societies as "thinking, rational" representatives and not as individuals following their own emotions. I left the interesting experience with my own continued commitment to oppcose increased censorship. Even in our "free:. society" we are surrounded by too many restrictions. The unfortunate trend of our times is to dictate to others how they should' live, forgetting that "the fundamental value' is the freedom of individuals to develop their, own view of life, without direction from the state or from the majority."