WIIITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 1985. PAGE 5 "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson THE n CROW'S NEST by Michael Knell Two church leaders give different views South Africa is a long way away from Whitby. In fact, from here it's literally at the end of the earth, not just geographically, but socially, culturally and politically as well. I don't know about you, but I was greatly interested in recent events in that troubled country and especially in the actions of two men, both of whom are universally recognized as leaders of the Christian Church. One of these men went out of his way to condemn the current racist policies of the South African government. He denounced apartied as being contrary to the spirit of Christian thought and belief. His name is John Paul, the Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman and Apostolic Church. During his recent tour of Africa, he begged all Africans to forgive the transgressions of whites - even those who for hundreds of years engaged in the slave trade. Everywhere he went he spoke out for the oppessed and warned their oppessors that their actions would find no support from his church. Another church leader went to Africa recently but instead of condeming the bigotry of South Africa's government, went to support it. His name was Jerry Falwell, leader of the so-called Moral Majority and a prominent member of America's right wing fundamentalist movement. This man even went so far as to say that Bishop Desmond Tutu was "a phoney". Can you imagine that. Bishop Tutu, the acknowledged leader of the church in South Africa (black or white), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, the highest ranking black in the Anglican Church and the advocate of peaceful change is "a phoney". I'm not going to pretend for a moment that I'm Whitby's answer to Tom Har- pur. I have neither his experience as a journalist nor his academic background in theology. But that doesn't mean I don't know how to tell the difference bet- ween those who preach the Christian ethic and those who, at least, appear to distort it for their own purposes. While I'il freely admit that I don't support any particular demoniation 1 did soak up some sort of religious education as a child. From what I can remember, the Christian faith is based on the words of Jesus Christ who has been quoted as saying such things as "Love Thy neighbour as thyself" and "Turn the other cheek" as well as other thoughts that seem to stress social justice, tolerance and brotherly love. I have a great deal of trouble reconciling the words of Jerry Falwell and his support of the South African government and the basic idea behind Christianity. Maybe I don't understand the Christian ethic - and that is probably quite ac- curate. I'm not a cleric nor even an informed lay person. But I have read the words and seen the actions and cannot see where they are compatible. Jerry Falwell will probably never read this column - he bas never heard of me and probably doesn't know where Whitby is. But people in this community wat- ch his television program. Undoubtly, some residents have even sent him a con- tribution to keep it on the air. The last time, I wrote about him I received several letters denouncing me and supporting him. But the next time someone in Whitby wants to send him money to keep his ministry alive, I would like you to think about something. From what I have read, the Christian ethic cried out for the preservation of the dignity of the common man. No where in the Bible have 1 ever read that these words are for whites only. Christ advocated, from what I understand, a society where men tolerated each other, respected each other and cared for each other. There was no color barrier drawn here. There was no discrimination. Christ dined with publicans and sinners as well as the faithful. This brings us back to those two men who traveled to Africa. The Catholie preached that apsertied must be replaced with the loving tolerance that is the basis of the Christian ethic. The Fundamentalist called South Africa's leading church leader "a phoney" and urged his fellow Americans to support that coun- try's policies by investing in companies doing business there. I'm not qualified to judge, but which do you think is more in keeping with the Christian ethic taught us in Sunday School? Like I said previously, I'm not an expert on Christian thought or in the affairs of South Africa. But I believe very strongly in something that Thomas Jefferson once wrote. When Falwell's country sprang into being, it did so by way of document that had this to say: "And these truths we hold to be self-evident. That all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Noble words. Great words. Words for all human beings, no matter what their citizenship, should live by. And those words must also become true in South Africa. Freedom means nothing unless all men enjoy that freedom. The prin- ciples of democracy and liberty are not for whites alone, they are not for Americans or Canadians alone. They are for all people, no matter where they live, no ma&ter what the color of their skin or the religion they practise. Ail I ask of my neighbours here in Whitby is to remember those words - especially the next time any of you contemplate sending Jerry Falwell money to continue his "Christian" ministry. WITH OUR FEET UP He'll write on the lighter side Of late it seems bicycle riders have turned to terrorizing motorists and little can be done in defence. You may have been victim of it yourself. You drive along a residential street, driving slowly because one never knows when a child may dart on- to the road. Then you come upon them. Children on bicycles. Whoppers, sometimes, barely big enough to handle the bikes they have. Or tykes, on scaled down ver- sions. Or teenagers, cocky on 12-speed racers. What they have in common is disregard for traffic laws and common sense. They ride on either side of the street, across lawns, over curbs, through stop signs and in front of pedestrians. What they give motorists is apoplexy. That we have not suffered from an epidemie of cycling injuries and deaths may be due more to motorists than to good luck on the part of cyclists. The police do an admirable job of visiting schools and attempting to teach traffic safety to children. But as General Custer once said, when you're out- numbered by that much everything is a holding ac- tion. The fault, of course, lies not with today's children. Parents hold the key to the child's attitude toward safety and traffic laws. And children who are taught that traffic lights may be disregarded, that jaywalking is permitted, that bicycles may be rid- den on sidewalks and roads with impunity, and that only jerks and nerds stop at stop signs and traffic lights -- these cyclists are going to give motorists heart failure. These same children may grow up to be motor- cycle statistics. There. I got it off my chest. Now let's get on with the business of writing a column. SHORT SUMMER, EH? In case you haven't looked at the calendar lately, summer is alrnost over. A week after you read this, your children will have been back to school for a full day. Jack Frost will nip little noses soon, and the leaves will turn garish colors, die and their corpses will flutter to the ground. Halloween will soon be upon us. Life will again be fraught with purpose. Adults will be planning evening courses; clubs and groups will resume normal scheduling. All very serious stuff. It also means that newspaper columnists will feel some compulsion to write about material that is im- portant. Like taxes. And elections. And radiation dumps. Summer has been different. Who wants to read about the possibilities of death and destruction while lying on a beach getting sun-fried? The local' weekly makes it to the cottage either as a fish warp or extra reading material for the john. Either way, a relaxed audience likely wants a relaxed tone. So while Michael does the serious thinking stuff up there at the top right of this page, we try to keep things a little down to earth down here. So despite the miseries of autumn, we pledge not to be too serious. About anything. PUZZLER SORE? When I first started writing this column, 1 in- cluded regularly versions of puzzles I found to be in- teresting. You know the types: The three travelling salesmen stop at a motel one night and have to share the last room available. The clerk charges CONT'D ON PG. 24