THE ’90s seem destined to become the decade of hys- teria. By Timothy Renshaw Managing Editor Mid-zones, middle grounds, oases of reasoned thinking are fast drying up. What we are increasingly being left with are armed camps of ex- treme reaction, outruge at every turn, uproar at every statement. For all the self-righteous breast beating of the official Liberal, there is precious little left of tol- erance. Open minds are fast being filled with the propaganda of the politically correct, or merely echo to the hollow winds of vacuity. And humor, that most precious of human resources, is only hang- ing on by its chipped fingernails. As the point man for com- plaints about the News, about its columnists and about the news stories and features it publishes, | am in some ways at the front lines of local public opinion. Much of that opinion is in- formed and reasoned, but increas- ingly, and I think sadly, far too much of that opinion is based on the new hysteria. It jumps to offence at the slightest provocation; it mounts a call to arms on the flimsiest of soapboxes. ‘And, most discouragingly, it has no capacity to see more than one side of an issue and no ability to see the humor and absurdity in the extremism to which it so readily runs for solace. In 1990, for examp’., the News took the opportunity of an April Fool’s Day publishing date to Welcome to the decade of THESE ARE FoR \."susTIN CASE IF YOU JUST WANT TO LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD...” publish a picture of a Sunshine Girl who was not a Sunshine Girl. She was, for the occasion, a male staffer dressed ir drag. The jest was met with outrage. Editorial phones turned white-hor. This time, many advised us, we had gone too far. And, admitted- ly, we had. We had gone too far because we had done something unex- pected; we had been politically in- correct. Most recently we published a humorous, but hardly outrageous, TOUSTEN".. cartoon by Bowen Island’s Mort Graham that poked fun at the no- tion of former North Vancouver District mayor Marilyn Baker choosing to fill the shoes of disgraced former premier Bill Vander Zalm. Wrote an outraged reader, after roundly lambasting the News for the sins of journalism the world over: ‘“‘Then, on May 3, you publish a ‘political cartoon’ which could be concluded to represent one of the finest bits of tacky yellow journalism I have ever INSIGHTS YOU DONT WANT / TAKE TO FORGET "AND THESE, YOU THAT THERE ARE OTHER OPINIONS" seen...’” Mr. Graham is flayed alive by the letter writer and described as a generally appalling fellow with the class of ‘ta fly maggot desperately in search of some fine putrid yellow muck cum political jour- nalism on which to feed.’” Hysteria. it is the same hysteria that traditionally greets the columns of Doug Collins. The hysterical reader would much rather read some hidden racial slur into Col- lins’ work than actually read what Friday, June 21, 1991 ~ North Shore News - 7 is being written. Many of Collins’ critics do, in fact, not even read what he writes. Far easier for them to fuel hyste- tia with preconceived notions and the opinions of others. It has always been easier to react than to think. It has never been easy to accept that there could be ancther side to an issue. And it has never been easy to accept that beneath the outraged reactiun and the professed distaste for the opinions of Collins, the hysterical reader agrees with those opinions but is repulsed by that agreement because it is politically incorrect. Television has steadily drained from us our ability to think and our ability to imagine. It has foisted upon us a ubiqui- ty of opinion that has instilled the herd mentality in the silent major- ity. The forces of homogenity would have us all be the same, would have women be the same as men, would have cultures be as one, would have us degender, desexualize and degenerate into a non-thinking, non-offensive mass. They would harness the forces of hysteria to silence the sounds of opposition; they would loose the fey pressure groups to hobble individualism and discussion; they would muffle the voiccs of those swimming against the mainstream so that a narcotic pleasantness filled the land. They would have us believe that goodness lies in being the same as everyone else. Thinking is a_ labor-intensive pursuit; it is much easier avoided. But to avoid it is to enter the age of hysteria. Dear Editor: The trustees of North Van- couver School District 44 ap- parently intend to cut com- munity school services in order to save $300,000 from next year’s budget. Residents of North Van- couver should be concerned, angry and frightened at this prospect. Concerned because the loss will affect all of us, and appears imminent. Angry because, despite board protests, not every effort has been made to avoid these cuts. Frightened because we will suddenly have to face our growing social problems with drastically reduced support services. As a 35-year resident of Deep Cove/Dollatton, 1 know how important the Seycove family of community schools has become to our neighborhood. Through the masterful guidance of Ms. Cathy Pearce, the community schools coordinator, the four area schools serve as the social, recreational and educational centres for the whole com- munity. Youth services, job training and workforce re-entry, family support, volunteer oppor- tunities, seniors initiatives and Dowt cut community schools community planning have all flourished because of the ex- cellence of her efforts. Money far in excess of school board costs has flowed into area pro- grams because she convinced funding bodies it was well in- vested. The education of local young people has been enhanced by the whole community's interest and involvement in the schools, and the bulk of credit belongs to Ms. Pearce. Seycove has become a first-rate high school by drawing strength and sup- port from many sources. The schoo! board seems to rate these programs as expen- dable. They seem to think of community schools as a lux- urious extra, and not essential to education; therefore fair game for the bean-counters. Yet of all the budget cuts being contemplated, not one is a cut in administration. In five years of attending the monthly meetings of our focal! community schools society (Deep Cove/Dollarton Com- munity Programs Society), I have never seen the delegated school trustees in attendance. Maybe they really don't know what is going on at the com- munity schools, and are not in a position to judge what is essential and what is not. They were elected to take care of our schools, not to sit around wr- inging their hands and crying “Oh dear, those nasty Socreds won't give us enough money.”’ Finally, we must think of what the loss of community schools would mean. Families and young people will continue to feel the pressures of our complex society, but much of their support services will be gone. Single parents, new Ca- nadians, and families in crisis will have to find some other resource. Youth violence, van- dalism and gang activity will have to become someone else’s concern. For the people who have worked so hard to build these schools into such special places, this is a heartbreaking uurn of events. I sincerely hope that the school board decides that community schools are too valuable to lose. I hope that the North Vancouver MLAs have their phones rattled from their very walls by voters in- sisting that more money be made available for our schools. Craig Jolinston North Vancouver We have to improve our competitiveness Open letter to Premier Rita Johnston: The age of enlightenment in our province has recently been over- shadowed by the introduction of Bill 82. Our social and economic en- vironment is affected by events and activities well beyond our B.C. and Canadian boundaries. The international marketplace in which we trade requires that we focus our priorities to improving our competitiveness. We have come to expect a high standard of living. We, therefore, must focus on ensuring that our educational system is second to none to facilitate the environment which motivates and encourages our teachers to cultivate our greatest resource — our children. Fiscal responsibility is a func- on not of controlling funds but of allocating the limited resources of money to priority items. Education must be considered a number one priority if we are to equip our children to function in this forever-changing, complex and competitive market place. Our children need an environ- ment that tells them we respect and need our teachers. We need some of our children to become teachers to continue the process of education. Which bunch of blindfolded bureaucrats and politicians in- troduced Bill 82 to tell our teach- ers and students that education is not a priority in this province? Madam Premier, while you have many challenges, we urge you to acknowledge education as a number one priority and allow the negotiated settlements to be implemented. Maureen and Colin Topley North Vancouver North Shore News Mailbox policy LETTERS TO the editor must in- clude your name, written legibly, your full address and telephone number. Due to space constraints the News cannot publish all letters. Published letters may be edited for brevity, clarity, accuracy, fe- gality and taste.