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Page 4, Terrace Bay-Schreibor News, Wednesdoy, August 29, 1984 he Last Word The Terrace News is pvolished every Wednesday by: Bay-Schreiber Laurentian Publishing Co. Ltd., Box 579, Terrace Bay, Ontario. POT 2W0. Telephone: (807) 825-3747. . oe eevebneecenceeesssessnees es LYNNE Badger BPHE MANAGING EDITOR. ADVERTISING SALES. .... 0.0... cece ee eeseeecesess Vivian Ludington 'SUMMER ASSIST. - + Registration No. 0867. "DEADLINE: Friday NOON Twigs "Subscription rates: $12.00 per annum (lo: ANT. 000-2 eseeeneeceesennceeceessees Sandra Phillips BR oe esses concen cresneneecessesss Mary Melo $18.00. "per annum (out-of-town). Second Class "Mail ie 'by LYNNE BADGER | Up went the posters, then the flyers showed up with hand-shakers and knocks on the door. We hear their voices on the radio and see their faces on the television and in the newspaper. Party leaders and local candidates are household names as everyone discusses their chances of becoming elected on September 4th in the Federal Election. : Vivian called today to tell us that the P.C.'s have taken over Ottawa by the looks of the posters and buttons in abundance. It's a little more subdued here locally but the upcoming election is certainly evident and the local riding of Cochrane-Superior should provide a close race. I'm excited about the whole thing. Not because I'll get a free lunch if I have predicted the right candidate to win, but just because I can vote. It ae <a ~~ 'hoose by whom we wish to be governed. A 'tight ¥ .. -@ther countries do not enjoy. millions of people in parties with di We have political differing philosophies from which to choose. Each party has a leader with particular qualities that appeal to different people and in our vast riding of Cochrane-Superior, there are three ' candidates with differing backgrounds, aspirations and priorities. It is all very overwhelming when you stop to consider which you will choose. Each candidate has provided information about himself which has been made available to most people and now it's time to choose. You have a right to vote for one candidate. Whether you vote secretly or let the whole town know who you are supporting, make a choice. Give it some thought, then, at your designated poll, on September 4th ... VOTE. Collecting Images of God f by SHARYL MARRIOTT-LOWRY _.. Terrace Bay Community Church, St. Andrew's United Church Ihave just'started a new hobby. I think I shall call it "collecting images of God."' It has been, up to now, a fascinating pursuit. So far, God has come out of people's minds as an "old man who sits in the clouds and won't let nobody have no fun,"' "a mischevious spirit who runs hither and yon throwing hail down in one spot and rain in another," decor for a wedding, and a deity that looks a lot like George Burns. As far from reality as these images may be, there is one that struck.me as odd this week. Imagine God, if you will, as the Holy Babysitter. Sound strange? Perhaps. But picture also the common sight of parents who drive their children to church on Sunday morning and return in a 'couple of hours to pick them up. Picture also those people who breathe a 'sigh of relief when, during service, the children are shooed downstairs without a thought of finding out or sharing in what they, the kids, do '"down there." And finally those who say "when they grow up we will teach them. to understand religion", or finally, "we will make time for God (and the childreri) next year." In each case God is a babysitter, either on the spot or waiting on some holy telephone to be called. - Gently, I ask us to consider our views of God in relation to our children. 'What can they learn of themselves or God in an hour on Sunday morning? If we are not there, or if we do not share, what do they learn of us? How can children decide about religion, or God, if they are not exposed to it with the love and care we put into the rest of their living? When is a child old enough? When do we start making time for God, for them, for ourselves? I know one-seven year old who can explain the mystery of the Trinity by his own invention, better than a doctor of systematic theology. You know yourselves, even three year olds know the difference between alive and dead, spirit and body. We, living here, are richly blessed in this life. Some of us have chosen not to include a recognizable dimension of the Holy in it. But, do we have the right to decide for our children, to deny them any part of their heritage, divine or secular? Answer this question and maybe, just maybe, I can delete one tarnished image of God from my collection. Steady on there, fellow Cana- dians! You can't quit now, after coming this far! Think of the Olympics! Think of all those Valiant men and women mara- thoners, digging down deep with- in themselves and finding that extra something to finish the race! : What race do we have to worry about? Why, the election of course. When you think about it, the televised Olympics were pret- ty good training for our Federal Election. They got us accustom- ed to mind-numbing stretches of television coverage; they expos- ed us to hours of brainless com- mentator drivel -- just the sort of anti-toxin we needed in order to withstand the political ads and speeches that have been raining down upon our ears. Most of all, they got us used to looking at an endless succession of Barbie and Ken Dolls with blow-dry hair and piano-keyboard smiles. In the Olympics they were colour com-' mentators; in the election they're the candidates. Trouble is -- it's not just the Canadian Federal election that we've got to get through. The dust will have barely settled from that one, when Mondale/Fer- raro and Reagan/Bush will square off for the American Tag Team match south of the border. And then, scarcely two days after the Americans seal their fate for the next four years at the ballot box, Ontarians are going to be whipped to the polls again! Yes. If rumour has it correctly, the residents of this province are going to be asked to slog to the polls on November the sixth, to make an X for the provincial party of our choice. Mind you, the reeves, mayors Three elections | grim prospect and town councillors of Ontario's municipalities have given us the year off. We don't have to weed through that lot until 1985 -- and thank God for that. Three out of four is grim enough. Imagine! By the time Christmas rolls around this year, Ontarians will have been blitzed by three major, separate election campaigns! We'll be signing our personal cheques with an X! The mere sight of a lawn sign or a campaign brochure will reduce grown adults to whimpers and moans and arms thrown over the eyes! : All of which convinces me that Sue Mullins is a woman with an idea whose time has come. Sue Mullins? She's a politician. A state rep down in Iowa. But she's pushing an idea I've never heard any other politician espouse. She's trying to pilot a bill through the Iowa legislature that would... ban -political candidates from telling lies about each other. What? Election campaigns without lies? Why, that's ... un- democratic, isn't it? Unheard of, at the very least. 'Mullins' bill provides civil penal- ties -- fines, in other words -- for any politicians who lie about their opponents, or about their own record. What's more, the fine would be donated to the cam- paign chest of the maligned opponent. Nice touch, that. There is one tiny burrpatch in this Best Of All Possible Solu- tions of course. How does this Bill become law? It has to be passed by a nest of politicians,. that's how. If politicians asa group excel at anything, it's survival. Ever heard of any survivalist who would knowingly, willingly and voluntarily shoot himself in the temple? that. > Fg 4/ a J .* Now, I know that honest politic- ians are not unheard of. But even the most rosy-spectacled optim- ist would have to admit that such a creature is in the minority -- if not an endangered species. I think one of the earliest obser- vers of the scene -- Sam Slick -- said it well. Taking a look at the 19th century Canadian political landscape, Sam_philosophized: ***Politics makes a man as crooked as a pack does a pedlar, not that they are so awful heavy, neither, but it teaches a-man to stoop in the long run."' Mind you, that's not my favour- ite quote about Truth and Politic- ians.. My. favourite one runs: "I know that you believe you under- 'stand what you think I said, but: I'm not sure you realize that what . you heard is not what I meant."' © Richard Milhous Nixon said: