Jan. 1 - Salt Spring Island Archives

Wednesday, January 1, 1986Injection ofhope givenSir,I would like to share anexperience that happened to methis week. Last summer I wrote thefollowing poem after a quiet dayspent in the garden. In the middleof the beauty surrounding me, Iwas suffering from despair at theperilous state of the world. I wrote:What can I do in this age ofdissolution?Priests and prophets wither andfade awayIn the face of the unspeakable.What solution can I utter?I shall cultivate my garden.Sow peace among the lettuces,Watch sunflowers turn slowlyAnd keep panic at bay, tangledin the bean vines.Its not much.But its all I can come up with.At the moment.Two Saturdays ago at theFulford Inn (one of five places inthe whole of Canada), we were ableto watch a satellite linkup of sixcountries on five continents. Live.Face to face. The globe had shrunkso that a distinguished audience inTanzania could listen to and watcha choir of children singing inStockholm and applaud theirperformance. Ravi Shankarplaying in India could smile at hisaudience in Mexico. The master ofceremonies in San Francisco couldshare a joke with his counterpart inGreece.The leaders of six countries—Mexico, Argentina, Greece,Sweden, Tanzania and India—were presented with an award fromthe Beyond War foundation fortheir efforts towards peace. Ineffect they are saying to thesuperpowers: "There are more ofus than there are of you. Yourpossible deployment of nuclearweapons will destroy us too. Wedeserve and demand a voice."Each country has pledged to puttheir resources to work for thisend. Thanks to the Beyond Warmovement and Paul and ArleneSadler and the Fulford Inn inparticular, we were able to witnessthis historic linkup.This fragile interwoven systemwe call earth is one total organism.All living beings are vital andprecious. I knew this in my garden.I saw it in the faces of my fellowhumans around the world onSaturday. It may be perilouslyclose to midnight but we do havethe power and love to hold thehands of the clock back. And evenswitch it off all-together.SUE YARDLEY,Fulford.GULF ISLANDS DRIFTWOODLETTERS WELCOMEDriftwood welcomes letters to the editor on matters ofpublic interest and topical concern. However, we reserve theright to edit submissions for clarity, brevity, legality andtaste.Please try to keep your letters brief, and sign your fullname. Unsigned letters will not be considered forpublication.Address your letters to:The EditorGulf Islands DriftwoodBox 2S0, Ganges, B.C.VOS 1E0Bird count participants'did a tremendous job'Sir,I wish to thank all thosewonderful people who took part inthe annual bird count for thenorth-east part of the island (StarkRoad north along Walker Hook,North Beach, over to North EndRoad, and down the east side of St.Mary Lake, taking in the north endof the Lake and Suffolk Roadarea).You all did a tremendous joband it was a pleasure to work withsuch a dedicated and interestedgroup. Many thanks.Our group counted a total ofSir,Allow me to express my thanksto the many people who supportedmy recent candidacy for theSchool Board, and to congratulatethe successful Trustees. I intend tocontinue to monitor the educationsituation here (as best I can fromthe outside, at least) and commentthereon in your pages.Perhaps you'll let me haveanother go at the Lord's Prayerquestion. My original article(October 16) was not intended toslight any particular belief, and if Ihave hurt the feelings of ChristianScientists by including them in the2,260 birds, representing 59different species. At first dawn thebirds were in hiding but eventuallywe were rewarded with sightings ofthe "regulars" and some"newcomers" like: four lovelyTrumpeter Swans, two red-neckedGrebe, 90 ring-necked ducks, 18black-capped Chickadees, sevenKilldeer (running along a lovelybeach), and 10 Red Crossbills. Allin all, a very successful day.Thanks again and 1 wish you allgood birding in the New Year.MARGARET PRAGNELL,Ganges.same sentence as witches andatheists, then I apologize. I merelywanted to cover all my bases asobjectively as possible. The letterof Mr. Skinner (October 30)accuses me of missing the point,but I did make it: the dropping ofthat troublesome sectionentirely—and not just becausefreethinkers object, either; as Mr.Skinner says, the casual recital inunfeeling boredom of prayer givento the faithful by the founder of thereligion must surely give pain tothe truly devout.1 admit the general universalityof the prayer, as pointed out by theletters of December 18, but non-Education systemneeds leadershipSir,British ..Columbia and itseducation system is at risk. Overthe last eight years as a schooltrustee in Greater Victoria, I havebeen witness to what one mightdescribe as a deliberate assault onour B. C. education system by theSocial Credit government. Thisassault has placed our economic,social and cultural well-being ingrave jeopardy and threatens thefuture of our children and youngpeople.An integral part of any positiveeconomic strategy is thedevelopment of an effective andaccessible education system. Intheir book, The Next CanadianEconomy, Dian Cohen and KristinShannon make the statement that,"In the next economy, people arethe source of wealth andinformation is the currency."This statement highlights theimportance of a good qualityeducation system. It alsohighlights the reality that we havein B. C. today a government whichis committed to an : outdatededucation philosophy. Aphilosophy which is regressive,reactionary and inappropriate tothe challenges that confront us.Lacking vision, the currentgovernment has created anightmare for all those involvedwith education in B. C. Systemsand people under severe stress andDebate on school-prayer issueoverlooks selection of versionChristians may still object, andatheists and agnostics surelycannot accept it. As for the"wickedness" of removing theprayer from the schools (LauraCudmore's letter of December 4), Iwould have thought that its framerwould resent its misuse.But my other points still apply: ifthe prayer is used, whose version?and how "recited"? And if that partof Section 164 is followed, why notmore of it? Contrariwise, if it is notfollowed, why is the School Boardnot enforcing the law?MURRAY SHOOLBRAID,Ganges.subjected to constant change andattack do not perform well.Cutbacks at all levels are rapidlyeroding our education system intoone of the most inadequate inCanada.I was appalled to read the recentcomments of George Morfitt,chairman of the UniversitiesCouncil of B. C, blaming theschools for the drop in universityenrolment. The main reason thatmany students are not attendinguniversity is that they cannotafford to do so. In fact, we have thesecond-lowest participation rate inCanada, and the worst system ofstudent assistance. U.B.C. lost 800students from its anticipatedenrolment in 1984. The other B. C.universities also lost hundreds ofstudents who applied, beenaccepted and failed to register.Contrary to Socred appointeeMorfitt's comments, these werebright, academically-talentedyoung people.Besides removing local decisionmakingfrom elected schoolboards, the last vestiges ofcommunity control of colleges inB. C. were removed in 1983 and allcollege boards are now made upentirely of government appointees.Unlike school board anduniversity spokespeople, thesecollege board appointees havebeen conspicuous by their silencein the face of severe cutbacks to thecollege system.While mouthing the words cooperation,consultation andpartnership, our provincialgovernment has acted withconfrontation, dictatorship and ina manner which can only bedescribed as undemocratic. Thewords have been right, the actionshave been all wrong.What is needed in B. C. today isnew leadership with an alternativevision for this province. A visionwhich includes a first classeducation system based on theprinciples of universal access, oflifelong learning. A system thatpromotes excellence andcreativity; social and culturaldevelopment; that empowersindividuals in our society to takecontrol of their lives. We need agovernment that will make acommitment to creating such asystem through democratic, cooperativemeans and not throughconfrontation politics.CAROL PICKUP,Victoria.It may be timeless, but it's far from being a voidAt year's end, it is traditional todevote spaces like this to a listingof events expected to befall us inthe next 12 months. Failing that,pens are often turned to a reviewof trends born in the past yearand likely to loom larger in 1986.We shall not yield to thetemptation of tradition, however.In the first case, looking-aheadarticles strike us as belonging toone of two categories — thetrivial, which is found in the 200New Year's Predictions of supermarketmagazine fame, and thelearned, which you will find inHubert Beyer's piece on page sixof this week's Driftwood. I haveno desire to legitimize the formeror stumble through an imitationof the latter.The second accepted approachto year's end articles — a reviewof trends past — is covered inboth the regular pages of thisedition and in the editorial byFrank Richards, on page four. Apale echo of either would notserve to twig one additionalmemory.What, then, is left us if the pasthas already been placed under amicroscope and the future calledup on a crystal ball for all to see?All the bases would seem to becovered.Ah, but we are neglecting thepresent, that little sliver of timethat so often falls between thecracks at this time of the year.Caught between looking back andpeering ahead, how many of usfail to stop and take stock oftoday?Most of us, probably, becausewe defer to the season at hand.For two weeks, our day-to-dayroutines and responsibilities aretossed aside for the sake ofcelebrating Christmas and NewMy WordbyDuncanMacDonnellYear's. In that, we are creaturesof a wonderful habit that leaves uslittle time for introspection.Which is not necessarily bad.In fact, it just might be the wholepoint of the matter.This will take some explaining.A by-product of our approach tothis time of year is the sense ofunreality that steps into thepicture. Let's admit it — webecome different people. Some ofus make merry for days on endwhen such conduct is not ournorm, others shame a year oftight budgeting by spending lavishly,and still others are uncommonlynice to everyone.The holiday, then, sees many ofus doing things and acting inways that run counter to ourconventions. I do not mean toimply that such conduct is hypocritical,only that it is different.The question is why.I believe it is because theseason is not so much unreal as itis timeless. Bound by tradition, itis a period when nothing mattersas much as the enjoyment of themoment. It is, if you will, a timewhen we forget time.If we act differently, it isbecause we are more inclined torelax and wallow in the immediate.Which has to do all of us a lotof good.By forgetting, for the moment,events that marred the past yearand worries about what we will besaddled with during the onelooming ahead, our senses aregiven a much-needed rest. Evenour day-to-day worries are thankfullylost in the magic of theseason.And the beauty of the break, ofcourse, is that we tend to appreciateit more because it comes butonce a year. We all need avacation of mind and spirit, achance to slip into neutral or atime to sleep in each morning fordays on end, but the luxury wouldbe spoiled if we indulged moreoften.So reflect on the past or lookahead, if you must. But take amoment to enjoy this season, thissliver of time, while you still can,and cherish it for what it is.Starting tomorrow, it's business asusual for another year.