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Should we remember these words the next time Alberta comes crying for help? |
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Thursday, 18 June 2009 |
“Lighthouse shines beacon on culture of defeat”
A middle aged mother was sitting outside a telephone both, sobbing uncontrollably. A man approach, put his hand on her shoulder and said, “what’s the matter, your husband leave you?
“No, it’s much worse than that,” she blubbered.
“Worse than that. Is there a serious illness in your family?” he offered
“Noooo,” she bawled.
“Oh no, a death in the family?” he pressed.
“Much, much worse than that,” she gasped, choking on her tears.
“Good heavens, what can be worse than a death, serious illness or a divorce?” he asked.
“My daughter just called and she is marrying an Albertan!” With that she went into convulsions.
The rework of this old chestnut came to mind when I read the garbage printed in the Calgary Herald, under the headline “Lighthouse shines beacon on culture of defeat,” that painted Maritimers, and in this case Nova Scotians, as lazy louts. Idlers who, without a leg up from government, couldn’t exist.
The writer, hiding behind the anonymity of an editorial, was reacting to an announcement by MP Gerald Keddy of the allocation of $25,000 to paint the Peggy’s Cove lighthouse. Keddy made the announcement on behalf of Peter MacKay. Must have been a slow news day at the Calgary newspaper.
If you missed Marilla Stephenon’s excellent column on the subject, in Wednesday’s Chronicle-Herald, please read on.
“The answer is that for 40 years, nothing much has moved in that part of the world without a government grant, and the idea of citizen initiative has declined as a result. It’s just learned behaviour….” read the Calgary editorial.
Rates right up there with Ralph Klein’s “Let the eastern bastards freeze” or the “Eastern creeps and bums” who travelled west, looking for work.
Give them points for consistency as they continue to place us near the bottom of the food chain.
That is, until our assistance is required once more. I won’t revisit the hungry thirties when thousands of Maritimers responded to the plight of Western Canadians. Rather, in the very same edition carrying Marilla’s column was a five paragraph story entitled “Alberta asks for help to fight fires.”
Wildfires sparked by lightning threaten to isolate Fort McMurray. Given the attitude of some Albertans, it might be appropriate to respond to this appeal with “Sorry, we’re busy filling out applications for government grants.” But of course we won’t – we’ll be there, because we are needed.
That’s the Maritime way. The culture of caring and support.
NOTE:
Last week my column about voting and the Australian model garnered this from Professor Brian Costar. He is a professor of Political Science at Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia.
“Hollingsworth is correct to point out the high voter turnout in Australia. We do, however, have problems with our electoral roll. The Australian Electoral Commission recently advised a parliamentary committee that at least 1.2 million eligible citizens were not on the roll--this is close to 10% of the total enrolment. This is largely because the enrolment process was designed in the late nineteenth century and has not kept pace with technology.”
(Al Hollingsworth is a retired journalist and broadcaster) |
