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Our compassion fatigue drives some of us to cultivate a convenient ignorance. If we don‘t know too much about the suffering of .others, we will not be made to feel uncomfortable about it. Life can be much pleasanter for us if we don‘t know too much about suffering and deprivation in the world‘s underdeveloped regions, in other parts of our nation, in our own communities and neighbourhoods. From the newspapers and from radioand teleâ€" vision we learn a great deal about suffering and distress at home and in all parts of the world. In recent years we‘ve had so much of this that many of us are now suffering what hasâ€" been called "compassion fatigue‘". Our hearts have been prodded so frequently and so insistently that they become fatigued, developing reluctance to make compassionate responses. 4 Waterioo Chronjcle, Wednesday, July 17, 1974 Compassion fatigue and the cultivation of conâ€" venient ignorance nourish us in a mood of indifâ€" ference, the kind of indifference that easily says, "Charity begins at home‘*‘, and then adds, ‘‘"and that is where I intend to keep it"‘. The complexity and confusion of our life toâ€" day, with the compassion fatigues it engenders and the convenient ignorance it encourages, causâ€" es indifference to settle rather easily on our hearts. In one of his plays Bernard Shaw said this: "The worst sin toward our dellow creatures is not to hate them but to be indifferent to them." Shaw then described indifference ‘as "the esâ€" sence of inhumanity‘‘. , Perhaps indifference, the couldn‘tâ€"careâ€"less attitude, is the great sin of our day. The great offense Now that the summer is finally upon us it‘s time we all realized the benefits of keeping our city tidy. ‘ & . Such a campaign should not be left solely to the municipal works department â€" it should start with the proprietors of the businesses in our downtown section. For the most part our core area is as pleasant and tidy as any for a city of this size. But litter is evident. With the warm weather the City of Waterloo can expect a deluge oftourists and visitors and what better method of presenting our image then with a litter free downtown core? The businessmen themselves should ensure their frontage is kept at a presentable level. Any papers or scraps should be picked up and placed â€" in the nearest litter container. And if there isn‘t one in your immediate vicinity call the city and request one! | It‘s up to each and every one of us to keep our downtown area presentable. Keep it â€" beautiful Viewpoint _ | _ Comment The election was the last to be fought under the old rules governing campaign expenses. There should be some real changes in campaignâ€" ing but the old political leopards are not going to change their spots entirely, writes John Bird in The Financial Post. ~ * One of the first things that comes to mind, both among politicians and ordinary voters, is the exâ€" cessive length of the campaigns. The new law has not set out to limit this, as such, but candidâ€" ates and parties mayâ€"not advertise between the date of the election writ and the 29th day before polling date. However, this does not apply to noâ€" inination meetings or meetings for, the party leader. We are therefore likely to get a twilight period of about a month when the election is definitely in progress, but considerably under wraps, followed by a big blast of activity for the last four weeks before polling.. . _ Published every Wednesday by Fairway Press, a division of Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo Record Ltd. 225 Fairway Rd., Kitâ€" chener, Ontario. Address correspondence to Waterloo Square, Waterloo, Ont. Telephone 744â€"6364. Limitation of campaign expenditures is not too drastic under the new law, passed in January. Parties will be allowed to spend 30 cents per elector onâ€"the preliminary lists, for ridings where they have official candidates. Similarly, the limitations on campaign spending by individual candidates are not drastic. The formula allows expenditures of $1 per capita for the first 15,000 electfors and lesser amounts thereafter. This works out at a range of from about $17,500 for the smallest constituencies to about $32,750 for the largest. â€" Tax credits for contributors to parties and canâ€" didates, as well as compulsory disclosure of the names of those contributing over $100, may proâ€" duce a mild revolution in political practices. The new law should make for more lively participaâ€" tion by party members, both between election periods and during campaigns. It should help to increase popular interest in party affairs and New election rules needed _ In Canada: one year $8; in United States and Foreign countries: one year $10 Editor: Don McCurdy SUBSCRIPTION RATES ESTABLISHED 1854 O . perreo‘ ces me dnc make parties â€" including ruling parties â€" ulezoponsive to their members‘ views.: It should also greatly reduce the dependence of parties upon corporations and trade unions and make for greater democracy in political affairs. wi; s:nâ€"m'fgaerél' c;'r;lpaltgns in the future should be less extravagant in format, which is all to the good. â€" 2o ‘ A__ i Pollutior ollution tolerated For what shall it profit a nation if it doubles its gross national product in 15 years and allows its physical environment to deteriorate at an identical rate at the same time? To what extent can we have effective pollution control â€" without seriously slowing down econom‘ growth and increasing unemployment? ~ _ How much pollution are you willing to tolerate ‘rather than accept a drop in your standard of living? _ Suppose that in this community there is a plant manufacturing plorialâ€"rods, but that its processâ€" es put polluting gases into the atmosphere and poisons into the Grand River. And suppose that the cost of controlling such pollution is economiâ€" cally prohibitive, that it would price those plorialâ€" rods right out of the market. And suppose that the plant employs 200 persons â€" your friends and neighbours, perhaps you. And suppose you own a few shares in the company. What wouldâ€" you think should be done? Effective pollution control may require some quite radical changes in our economic structures and operations. It is obvious that it will require some public controls which many industries will not like. And large sums of public money will be needed for cleanâ€"up programs â€" and that will touch the purses of all of us. It has been said that smog is a deadly mixture of smoke, fog, and legislative inaction. But the citizens of this or any community can have quite a bit to do with the action, and the inaction, of the legislators we elect, But politicians are a wily breed, and they know how easy it is for citizâ€" ens to make idealistic and compassionate noises without seriously considering the sacrifices they may have to make if those noises are to be acted on. SQVUSYNOKATE