A woman on the verge Oi political history? 1 KNOW my brother must think I'm thrilled that a woman will soon become the 19th prime minister of Canada. My brother lives in suburban Toronto, likes Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra and football, and is a little confused and overwhelmed that he seems to have ended up with a sister who is (gulp) a feminist. In fact, {'m surprised he hasn’t called me up and said, ‘‘Well, you must be happy, Cathy.”* So I'm asking myself, why? Why am I not fired up that our next prime minister is of the gender that has been woefully under-represented in the political life of this country? Maybe I’m one of those apa- thetic, supercilious SOBs Kim referred to during the campaign. _ (Isn't it interesting that it's the " most honest, straight-from-the- heart comments that land a can- didate in hot water?) One reason I’m not calling up my friends to chew the fat about the big news is that this leadership campaign has left me bored and distant. Why did I get my hopes up? Why did J think that this time - things would be different? I had to learn once again that (leadership catnpaigns are designed to turn off everybody but political Catherine — Atyeo JUST ADD WATER science students and the can- didates’ supporters and immediate farnilies. Even the surprise of sccing CBC-TV’s Don Newman inter- view an old hiking buddy of mine (now an Alberta MP) couldn't persuade me that the whole pro- cess was relevant and important. We all know that the priority of the candidates is to press as much flesh as possible from Lunenberg to Lillooet and be as inoffensive and non-committal as possible; it certainly isn’t to tell voting dele- gates and the rest of Canada what they’d really do in office. The most eloquent proof of the 44 OK, I'm naive; I thought Kim was just a tad different. 99 necessity to say a lot and nothing at the same time was our prime minister-elect’s speech tu the del- egates last Saturday. ft was as if someone attached a tube to Kim Campbell and drain- ed all the boldness, passion and commitment out of her. Here was a woman on the verge of making Canadian political his- tory, and what we heard was a superb example of how to play it safe, OK, I'm naive; I thought Kim was just a tad different. Because none of the candidates could give us specifics as to how they'd cut the deficit, we got silly issues such as whether Kim's two divorces and childless state made her insensitive to family issues. All this particular brouhaha confirmed that: a) in a desperate search for a meaty issue, the media played up an issue that was relatively unimportant to most vating delegates, and b) some people are threatened by someone who has led a life different from their own. (The campaign plummeted to Read those hero stories again Dear Editor: With regard to your article on June .9, entitled ‘‘Herocs simply act out of duty,’ 1 would like to comment on the statement made in that article which says, ‘‘heroes are mostly men.”” _ | believe that this statement should be better qualified. The definition of heroism im- plied by this article — with its reference to the outstanding rescue of the man from the burning car in the Lions Bay area — is that of _a dramatic recovery of a victim . against physical odds. This definition of heroism is narrow, and allows human heroics - a dimension of activity perhaps one-eighth of its life-sized stage. A larger spectrum of heroism can be genuinely encompassed by the raw hercics involyed in just getting by in a very difficult "’, everyday life where stress, panic, pain, or a discordant relationship can be the true test of one’s char- acter and limits. It is not necessary to be noticeable to be a noteworthy hero. Take note that in this larger field of human activity, there are as many women heiges as there are men heroes. As well, there are also just as many reasons why any one of them would hesitate to rush in to rescue where angels fear to tread. Not only do women know that in general, they do not possess the physical strength necessary to at- tempt these rescues, but they also have the judgment to look quickly around for someone who does. Furthermore, when they have stepped forward to assist a stranger, women have often found themselves in double jeopardy of assault — towards themselves! ~ Wisdom underlies their hesitan- cy. The article further states that heroes are duty-oriented. It) says that heroes “‘just de what they have to do and pain doesn’t enter it.”’ For cons, women have fulfill- ed this description of the hero very well, Women have always had great fortitude in going deep into a crisis and drawing its better reality back up to a surface where all can breath easier again. Perhaps humility needs a better publicist. So read those hero stories again. Read more carefully this time. In stories, in society, there _are always women heroes present. Notice them. We are, women and men, most of us heroes, even when we ex- press our heroic ‘high value for human life,’’ and our ‘efforts to save it, in less flamboyant ways. Katherine Machean West Vancouver | Nestled on a secluded sandy beach in Tsawwassen, convenient to Vancouver; is an exclusive new residence, custom-designed and built to make the most of a spectacular setting at the ocean's edge. ‘The magnificent entrance foyer, + with its soaring 19-foot ceiling, is a dramatic introduction to the elegant custom interior of more than 5,000 square feet on two spacious levels. 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I can’t be too overjoyed that a woman is at the helm (even if it is only a summer job for our new PM) because I don’t feel | know where Kim Campbell stands on a lot of issues. Sure she wants to reduce the deficit, but who doesn’t? What programms would she cut to achieve that? She calls herself a feminist, but, as justice minister, introduced a bill that would have recriminalized abortion (not exactly a woman- friendly move). From someone who calls herself a feminist, | would nave expected some serious thougiits about the growing number of poor women and children in this country; unless these comments went unreported, the new PM wasn't placing too much emphasis on the underprivileged in our society, On capital punishment she has Getting away Dear Editor: Seldom does a day go by when the media doesn't have a news item about drunk drivers killing one or more people on the roads, or drunks killing people in homes or on the street. When was the first time or the jast time you heard of a drunk person killing one or more people and getting the 25-year sentence for: murder? A’ sober . persun | murdering another person can and does receive the 25-yea: prison sentence, The point is that anyone who had a few drinks does in fact get away with murder under our present political laws. Have you or they ever con- sideved that when the killiny®o been reported as saying that she’s not philosophically opposed to it but that it isn’t an effective deter- rent, (What the heck does that mean? Capital punishment if nec- essary, but not necessarily capital punishiment?), In a plea to us to open our minds to the unconventional, Toronto Star columnist Richard Gwynn described Kim Campbell as “feisty, funny and a bit Maxy in a West Coast manner.’’ The truly flaky of this world tend not to forge a record and a reputation for themselves in only five short years in provincial and federal politics, capping it with the top political job in the coun- try. Kim Campbell is absolutely right when she says politicians must earn the trust of Canadians, and need to include as many of us as possible in the political process. Following on the heels of one of the most unpopular prime ministers in our history, she won't be given a big chunk of time to , earn the trust of the ‘‘ordinary people" and include them in her party's agenda for this country. Since we all know Canada is ungovernable, if Kim Campbell is even 50% successful in making politics work for people again, she'll be extraordinary. And the fact that she’s a woman, and a role model, wil bes a bonus. with murder innocent people puts some food on the table of those who make a living as.a result of people dying, it amounts to a perverted, insidious, legalized, indirect form of cannibalism? People who kill while drunk do get away with murder under our Segal and political system ,” because it’s good for our economy, just like AIDS,: cancer, smoking, etc. People who die or get killed before they reach the age of 60 hate to pay taxes until they die, but because of dying so young they “don't qualify for . old age pension. . Their early deaths save the government much money. D.D. Génistigia: askatogy Saskatchewan’