Left has lost appreciation

OCCASIONALLY a
reader’s attack can
launch a useful discus-
sion.

This will be the mate of
Mr. Rachis’ meandering
slain. thar F koow net what
human rights are, that Pam
ignorant of the history of
apartheid in Soadh Atrica,
and that T would cleetully
will a Third World morass
on Canada.

Untortunately Twill have
to go out ona linth and
venture into the risky bust-
ness of self disclosure.
Nonetheless | have landed
on ny readers like a ton of
bricks, and some knowledze
about my learning curve
might explain my position.

In the heyday of the polt-
cies of apartheid in South
Africa, to be of leftist per-
suasion was the only ethical
way. .

My father, an orthodox
rabbi, began preaching from
the pulpit against the evils of
apartheid +0 years ago.

He is acknowledged
today as one of two rabbis
to have stood up and be
counted before it became
trendy.

Our family also gave
refuge to members of the
outlawed ANC fleeing the
white-dominated regime.

As a consequence we
were subjected to intimida-
tion and searches from the
security forces, and we fed
the country.

On returning to South
Africa vears later, [ found 1

maiheo.

fair
comment

didn’t have my old man’s
Moric.

After an .Mrikaner official
threatencd to make my life
“difficult.” EP settled for vol-
untary humanitarian contri
butions Hike AEDS and HIV
counselling: and education.

My conmmitment to
human rights, and the tradi-
fional lett followed me to

Canada. Were the irate Mr.
Kaellis to search the micre
fiche at Cudriures West, or
The Western Jewish Bulletin,
he would tind my writings
on human rights,

So why have | moved
dong the contrived political
spectrum?

Well, exposure to the lett
in Canada has driven home
the reality that the fissures
of debate here don’t cleave
to Left versus Right distine-
tions, Instead, the distine-
tions are those of Stupid
versus Smart.

The Canadian Lett has
atrophied mostly because it
doesn’t stand for the rights
of all people, bat for the
rights of certain people only,

“The disadvantaged,” as
those on the left like to call
them, include women, dis-
abled, visible minorities and

aboriginal.

They torm the new elite.
Vhis is what Prom John
Fekete aptly christened. the

“AW piew.

The self anointed min
ions of thi. “new pier”
Aen special privileges to
certain groups, and use che
“pathos of injustice and
evelusian” to create divi
sions and inequalities in
SOCTCTY,

This kind of Lett goes
against the universal values
the Lett used ta espouse. It
goes against what t learned
in my tather’s house.

Mr. Kactlis twisted him
self into a pretzel over my
saying, Canadians don't
know what abject poverty is
when compared to Third
World realities.

Yo him f say ifvou can-
not see the difference
between the Atrican child
on the street corner begeing
for bread, and the brazen
street kids of Vancouver
with their Nikes. smokes and
tattoos who can get social
services -— then it is you
who has long shed vour
humanity.

From Mr. Kaellis’ missive
you get the impression
human rights activists are
the wedges that prevent
Canada’s poor from ending
up like Africa’s starving.

He dares to situate some-
one considered poor in
Canada on the same contin-
uum as the starving African.

It is immoral to employ
this slippery slope of logical
fallacy.

Bridge rust never sleeps

Dear Editor:

Having travelled daily
over the Lions Gate Bridge
for the past eight years, 1
have a few observations thar
may be helpful in the ongo-
ing discussion about fixing
or replacing the bridge.

First, the bridge, in its
present ‘and proposed state is
a death trap,

1 have personally wit-
nessed the
approximately a dozen head-
on accidents over the years
on the north side.

What happens is that the
traffic going south on the
bridge from the North Shore
has use of only one lane,
while the northbound traffic
has two lanes returning to
the North Shore.

Drivers heading south
will sometimes in a split sec-
ond forget that they have
only one lane and pull out
into the second lane causing
a head-on accident with the
oncoming car.

Two years ago, while
heading to my office, 1 was
travelling south through the
causeway. While looking
ahead at the approaching
traffic, I noticed a car com-
ing at me pulling a small
trailer.

The car swerved slightly,
and the trailer broke away
and headed straight for me.

While I was lucky, and
narrowly avoided the colli-
sion, the trailer slammed
head on into the car behind
me.

While no one was hurt in
this accident, | am sure that
many deaths can be attrib-
uted to the dangers of travel-
ling our most famous cross-

ing.

end result’ of

Recent comments in the
press about the porential
escalating cost of repair are
right on the mark.

I would be willing to ber
that there is much more
work te be done than is cur-
rently being propesed.

I believe that the best
opdon is to restore the
bridge and to build a tunnel.

We should use the
restored bridge travelling
south, and the new tunnel
would take the northbound
traffic.

I don’t have a problem
with a user-pay system and
would welcome the tolls if it

meant traffic efticieney.

We need to have some
vision in this province as to
what we want to see for the
next 250 years and work
together ta) finance that
vision,

I tind it somewhar embar-
rassing, When visitors tell me
that it took two hours to get
tomy house from the airport
heeause they were stuck on
the bridge.

Growth is going to con-
tinue, and we need to
address a fong-teem solution
today. Rust never sleeps,
Brian Bernstein
West Vancouver

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Sona ‘In fahtaries

These wo people are
part of different contests
and never the twain shall
meet. Phe poor Canadian
will never turn inte a
swollen bellied corpse! [f
vou dan’t know this sir, vou
Haunt an addagious gaditter
ence to Third Worke pain,

But the custodian of
compassion is invariably
quick te expose himself in
the butt) Mr. Kacllis
assamed that wheir J spoke
of viglence in South Africa
Cunparalicled outside a war
aoe), P was speaking only
of ity white causalities and
black perpetrators. You see,
the map of the human rights
crusader is stricly colour-
coded.

Truth is, the vietinis in
Soutit Africa are, tor the
most, bhick Africans.

And ves, the violence isa
result of the policies of dis-
possession. Sull, with all the
horrors it is undergoing, my
hope is that South Africa is
spared the North-American-
modelled human rights
tyranny.

Why?

The African continent
pulsates with the vigour and
unbridled energy of its peo-
ples. Canadian-style statism
would destroy thar.

Those who define human
rights in the broadest terms
because, naively, they want
to remove all adversity from
our repertoire of experience,
are the ones most contemp-
tuous of the human spirit.
When it is not mollycod-
died, it can soar to great

Friday, March 9, 1999 - North Shore News —

heights,

Victor Frankle comes to
mind wher speaking of such
transcendence. Frankle
entered Auschwitz an up
and yvoming Songs psvehia
trist. dost evervene that mat
tered, and emerged con
vinced er the human spirit’s
ability to danscend ane
hardship.

Frankle then founded the
third school of psychology
ealied Logotherapy. The
behaviours Frankle wit-
nessed in that death camp
formed the clinical bedrock
tor his theory of human
nature and need.

The man who hatched
his theory in Auschwitz
claims that while people
might not always be able to
change their predicament,
they have complete power

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ff true gr it

over how they respond ta it.

Phave no doubt that the
compassion ghouls would
clann Frankle’s therapy crucl
and inhuman. because he
won't allow patients to
Name all and sundry tor
their mistorrane,

The parient in the grips
ofa panic attack will be told
by Dr. Frankle to... intensi-
Hy his symp rom. Get that
heart racing and sweat those
palms good and proper.

The result?

Not only does the patient
lighten up, he also realizes
that if he can vary his symp-
roms, he can control them.
Now vou see why his philos-
ophy isn’t exactly popular in
North Ameri
nanny industries are con-
temptuous of human grit.

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