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Page 10 THE HERALD Wednesday May Editorial Smell the roses To borrow a line from a Mac Davis song isnt it about time we allstopped to smell the roses It seems that no matter which direction a person turns in this day and age some sort of a crisis rears its ugly head and the resultant confrontation because all escape routes appear to be barricaded just frazzles the nerves even more National unity and the economic recession not withstanding if societal and familial interaction doesnt improve drastically in the next little while what we have left wont be worth bothering with anyway Some may say the aforementioned issues are intert wined interchangeable and all part of the intricate machinery that keeps our apparent merrygoround of life leading nowhere turning and turning We beg to differ but with qualifications Despite disclaimers even from some citizens Canada has a uniqueness that invites envy from all parts of the world We are a peaceful yet proud nation that has chosen through the years to solve our internal disputes through reason rather than the sword Not many other nations on this fractured planet can boast the same record There have been some blemishes granted but for the most part Canada has a human rights record which has been lauded on the international stage People of different color different cultures and creeds have flocked to Canada because they recognize its uni queness and physical grandeur Canada has survived and yes even flourished through two world wars and a neardevastating sion Canada has also survived political change and politi cians some may say hacks masquerading as politi cians more concerned with their own personal well- be ing than the wellbeing of the country Canada has managed as a nation to make it into the 1990s because its people have always stuck together worked together helped out each other and even defend ed each other and color language or religion be damn ed This is what is missing in Canada today To paraphrase and reverse a quote from a speech delivered by the late United States President John F Kennedy individual Canadians appear to be thinking not what they can do for their country but what their country can do for them Unfortunately this is negative and selfdefeating For without the parts you cannot have a whole And similar ly without the whole the parts are useless This thinking seems to have filtered down to even the personal level Its no longer how can I help my neighbor but what can my neighbor do for me We are seeing the same thing in families Children out for all they can get and taking advantage of their parents or parents treating their offspring like chattels demanding the children perform the most menial of tasks Perhaps if we all backed off and the roses even in a perceptual sense our country could get back on track and forge ahead into the future Respect for others especially the young will be reciprocated in kind Appreciation for a job welldone does wonders for a persons selfesteem Compliments dont cost anything but can reap huge dividends Rather than griping about things we dont have perhaps we should appreciate more the things we do have and strive to hang on to them especially our children Pride in ones neighborhood ones community can be infectious and can bring people closer together as it should be when times are hard The solution to Canadas problems lies with the strength of ti country its people By working together we will survive Take time to smell the rose that is Canada The Halton Hills HERALD Home Newspaper of Hills Established 1 A Division ot Canadian Newspaper Company Limited Street Georgetown Ontario L7G 3Z6 K ROBERT Publisher and General Manager 8772201 COLIN GIBSON BOBBISH Managing Editor Spall Editor Dummll Liu Pol AOV EH USING DAN TAYLOR MANAGER loll Retort Cillg Tali Kim PRODUCTION DAVE HASTINGS MANAGE A III on Will on Slu CLASSIFIED CIRCULATION Mul SUBSCRIPTION RATES ill moo I Canada 00 par ill Foreign lOOOatamonlr I By copyright on ill origin malarial by 111 mptoyH publlttitd In IMi Nil loin I SL MJH mount paid lor dually by Ilia aeranliamaril In which hi or lucri atrot li CABLE LAST THURSDAY NIGHT HELLO CALLER THANKS FOR CALLING GARTHS WORLD WHATS YOUR MESSAGE FOR BRIAN OR DON ON GOVERN- SPENDING HE LLC MR TURNER PC YOU AND BRIAN EVER REALLY TALK HELLO MY NAME IS THINK TOUCAN 1 PROBABLY GUESS WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT S MIST WORSB WITH EVERY BUDGET AND WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS WHEREAS ITALL6CINGT0ENP Turner talk a success HaltonPeel MP Garth Turners foray into television was a qualified success Mr Turner invited myself and former Georgetown Independent- Acton Press Managing Editor Hartley Coles to par ticipate in the electronic form of his more commonly known Town Hall meetings A talk with Garth Turner was the name of the show that aired last Thursday on Cable Mr Turner explained to me and Mr Coles before the schedul ed hourlong program went to air he hoped this type of forum would encourage more public participa tion as compared to the number of people that make it out to his Town Hall meetings We soon found out theory and reality dont always mirror each other According to plan the show started off with and I questioning Mr Turner on any topic we wished In front of us but out of sight of the cameras was a board of three lights When a light lit up that meant a caller was on the line Excited when he first saw the light shine Mr Turner immediately cut to what eventually became a familiar line Ben- Hartley what do you say we answer another call Mr Turnerwent to engage the line early in the program but in stead of a voice the line was dead- He trjed again and again and then a third time but nothing Needless to say the three of us were a little surprised To make a long story short Mr Turner left the phone calls and Hartley and I continued our ques tioning Unbeknownst to the viewing audience a technician was on the floor underneath our Bens Banter by Ben Dummett seats trying to fix the phone It soon became evident it would take some time to fix the phones so as they do in televisionland we cut to a commercial I must say Mr Turner handled himself well in a situation in which a Id of might have panicked Twenty minutes later the first caller got through Prom here on in the calls were frequent show ing the programs potential Questions from both the public and Hartley and I focused on the economy immigration and the constitutional crisis facing Canada today Surprisingly at least from my perspective only the odd question focused on the unpopular Goods and Services Tax As for the questions on the economy Mr Turner provided the expected answers All were variations of the debt and deficit having to be reduced or else Canadians can expect higher and higher future taxes and slow economic growth deficit is deferred taxes and not just a line in an accoun ting statement Mr Turner told one caller On the question of immigra- t tion Mr Turner agreed with those callers who said criminals of nonCanadian origin should be extradicted immediately Mr Turner said he was urging the minister of immigration to change the legislation so this kind of action becomes the norm Mr Turner predictd the legislation will be changed this fall I asked him if he would con sider introducing a private members bill He said he would if the minister takes no action The callers seemed to favor Canada staying together as long as Quebec doesnt ask for special privileges Mr Turner said a na tional referendum would be ap propriate to decide the issue once English Canada decides if it is willing to give up anything and what Quebec wants Mr Turner said a referendum today would do more harm than good Most of the callers seemed quite knowledgeable about the Canadian political scene However in some cases they spent too much time telling us what they knew as opposed to asking a question Given the unpopularity of the government I thought there would have been a lot more angry callers For those interested in lashing into the government Mr Turner was fair and let them give their But correctly he show ed no tolerance for foul language One caller was allowed to go on and on but as soon as he used the word ass he was cut off I agree with a suggestion that the program would have run more smoothly if a moderator had been delegated to answer the phone calls That way any technical pro blems wouldnt be a distraction to the programs main participants