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Endless surveys show a majority of Canadians hold a jaundiced view of politicians, suspecting they oper- ate in a twilight zone located some distance from the straight and nar- row. Why then did his drunk driving charge warrant front and centre coverage when it's obvious our cho- sen have feet of clay just like you and me. Some elected put their Iwives aside in favour of greener pastures, spend our money on Lac- ish living and, yes. fess up to having a drinking problem, We derive goulish pleasure in seeing the great brought down ypocrisy drips from the HGordon Campbell affair as if any of us could pass scrutiny in a fish bowl, let alone the B.C. pre- mier. The call for Campbell's head came from several sources. the most obvious being MAUI). and the citizenry at large who under- stand that no person has the right Is Vista Hills development approval a prime example of unconscious decision-making? ast (week) in Kitchener, the I respected and eminent Inhn alston Saul spoke to an appreciative audience of over 600 people. A key point he made was that the blight on modern western civilization has been the tendency In unconsrmus thought and, therefore, unmnsrinus decision. making. In other words. fateful decisions have been. and continue to be, made on the basis of inadequate. unqualified, inaccurate. and incomplete information romid- ered only within a narrow context. He cited a variety of examples where unconsciously made deci- sions have transpired into disas- ters, Consider: mad row disease, global warming. the First World War. contamination of the blood supply. depleted cod fish stocks, and many more. He might have mentioned the RIM Park/MFP financing deal had he been a Waterloo resident; or You said it , DO YOU THINK SPACE TRAVEL SHOULD CONTINUE? QUESTION to put others' lives at risk. He should pay the price for his stupidi- ty like thousands of Canucks who annually lose their licence. a good chunk of their account and even their freedom when they've been hard learners But to make an obviously special case of this individual smacks of something more than just paying for a crime; it suggests that we, Inc and Josephine Public, derive ghoul- ish pleasure from seeing the great brought down. Oh the theatre that the ()J. Simpson trial was, filling the air. waves for over a year as we ate and breathed the circus. Then. there was the Lady 19i fiasco which came down to a drunken chauffeur and not buckling up. Our lives are so empty we fill them with the stum- blings of the rich and famous, Sad. perhaps he lust politely omitted that faux pas. Waterloo city council has agreed to more fully investigate the future of our public library expansion, Hurrah! However. council has just made what John Ralston Saul would call an unconscious decision. Allowing the Vista Hills development to pro- ceed is a decision made without full assessment of all the informa. tion. Indeed. the environmental assessment will barely be complete before the developer is poised to begin building houses, Translation: all of the develop- er's expensive preparation work will already be complete prior to the released assessment. This development has the potential to contaminate the Waterloo moraine, a natural aquifer that provides most of the area's drinking water, That's right, it's our drinking water we're talking about. It's not a library building. It's Ilpl And don't forget. the premier's "Why not? Accidents happen. If there were no accidents, there would be no way to make things better." "Yes. The benefits on! weigh the risks. Bene- fits like exploration and discovery. " Kathryn Knifton mE CHRONICL] Ray Sweidan COMMENT transgression made good copy, what with the Iraqi and Palestinian situations playing like broken records. If the media could be found to be bringing healing to the situation instead of stroking the fire, a case could be made for the blan- ket coverage. It's difficult not to be cynical about politician bashing when the likes of William lefferson Clinton and Mel lastman plow through the scandal. emerging on the other side lo the cheers of the faithful and their money. too, as in the case of Bill who commands $250,000 per speaking engagement. Perhaps Gordon Campbell can find some solace in the words of economist John Kenneth Galbraith who said, "thing is an admirable in politics as a short memory." All of these are important issues but they pale next to decisions made about our water, The aquifer naturally recharges the level of groundwater No one has conrhr sively determined how the increased salt and other effluents will affect the aquifer. Yet this deci- sion will forever affect the water requirements of the inhabitants of this region, Think broadly and consider 'What. really. are the potential costs linked to this decision? Do you know all you need to know to pro- ceed with this? Can you live with this? not the development of our uptown area. It's not even several million dollars of wasted tax dolr tars. Councillors, have you and your advRors and the advisors for the developer made a conscious deri- sion? "Without it, no one would have ever walked on the moon." "lt's always been a risk, so yes" Christine Robertson. Niharika Bhargaua Ryan Barman Jim Newton. New Dundee In his recent State of the Union address, President George W. Bush -- with a straight face and with no apparent attempt at irony - referred to the United States of America as "God's gift to humanity". There are, of course, plenty of reasons to dispute such a statement. While the majority of those reasons relate to America's colonialist foreign policy(currently on display in the pending war on Iraq), I'm going to suggest that Mr. Bush turn his attention inward [or perhaps toward a mirror) before mak- ing such a bold assertion. How can the US be "God's gift to humanity" when it continues to apply the death penalty, the ultimate abuse of human rights? Bluntly put, by clinging to the death penalty, the United States is turning itself into an international pariah. Since the United States reinstated the death penalty in 1977, an average of two additional countries per year has abolished the death penalty. while the United States has executed over 800 people (300 of them in Texas, and over half of those under Bush's watch). A majority of countries in the world have progressed to the point where they no longer apply the death penalty, either in law or in practice. Even China is now discussing an end to the death penalty. A couple of times each week, I get an e-mail appeal from Amnesty International. asking me to send a letter to the gover- nor of Texas, or Virginia. or Oklahoma. or any of the other death penalty states. I take the time to write and mail the letter because I firmly believe that every one of us has a responsibility to stand up . . . ! and be counted when we know some- l AN() 1 l ll ll R (; thing is fundamentally wrong. But, i , i frankly I'd really like to stop writing l VIE“ ; those letters, I look forward tO the day l F', » l when the United States finally fulfills l ’ l Mahatma Gandhi's famous prescrip- E : tion for western civilization: "I think it _ would be a good idea." l a $Er, In spite of prevailing American public opinion in favour of the death penalty, there is hope. Mexico has taken the US, to the International Court of lustice. seeking to enforce the provisions of the Geneva Convention when one of their citizens is charged with a capital offense. Maryland's Attorney General has called for the penalty in that state. And, Wisconsin Senator Russell Feingold has introduced two bills - the Federal Death Penalty Act. which would abolish the federal death penalty. and the National Death Penalty Moratorium Act, which would place a moratorium on execu- tions hy the federal government and encourage the states to do the same while a national commission reviews the fairness of the administration of the death penalty. In 2000. then Illinois Governor George Ryan declared such a moratorium on executions after evidence was uncovered prov- ing that at least I? death row inmates were actually innocent __ including one who was just 48 hours from being executed Ryan, a staunch proponent of the death penalty when he came into office. then appointed a commission to look into the cases of those who had been sentenced to death. 011 Ian. H. in one of his last acts in office, he commuted the death sentences of all l6? death row inmates to life imprisonment and pardoned four people who had been proven innocent In doing so. he incurred the wrath of pundits. prosecutors and advocates for crime victims, hut he deserves to be commended for his courage. In announcing his decision. Ryan indicated that "the legir lature couldrit reform it. lawmakers won't repeal it. But l will not stand for it. I must act,., I sought this office, and even in my final days of holding it I cannot shrink from the obligations to justice and fairness that it demands. There have been many nights where my staff and I have been deprived of sleep in order to conduct our exhaustive review of the system. But Ican tell you this: l will sleep well tonight knowing I made the right decision." By any standards, George Ryan is a severely flawed hem (he did not run for re-election due to several ethics investigations). hut he is a hero nevertheless. But, as Seattle Times columnist Neal Peirce points out, "history doesn't necessarily select saints to move us forward," Opponents of the death penalty from around the "world have started a campaign to have Ryan awarded with the next Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, If he wins. he would be the first American winner of that prize since 1997, when Jody Williams won it for her work in the campaign against land mines. Isn't it interesting _-_ not to mention dir tuthing - that Americans get considered for the pre-eminent international peace prize only when they oppose key policies of their government? God's gift to humanity? scottpiatkowskNFmgers,com abolition of the death