Re: A Dance called Survival

[Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>]

At 17:32 23/02/00 -0400, you wrote:
> yes Ken - but I just work with music and
> shouldn't have to deal with all this stuff to do so...  : ) 
>                                                                                                                
> rob 
>
> "K.W.S" wrote: 
> > It is amazing the number of
> > people who read and write to this Page.It is even more amazing to
> > speculate, about the different Education, and Life Experiences that have
> > made the people who use this page who they are and write the way they
> > do. We in Saskatchewan,Canada thought all the
> > problems with government were here. Ken W
> > Sinclair 
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: rob
> > > To: sinclair@mids.org
> > > Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2000 8:19 AM
> > > Subject: Re: A Dance called America
> > >      I'm finding that there is a more-or-less
> > > complete breakdown in communication and understanding in this country and
> > > this war-time fighting mentality should be a thing of the past...it comes
> > > from government, the media, and us...if people work together they can
> > > accomplish far more... 
> > >
> > >     I have experienced several case studies in this during
> > > the past two months...and I appear to be on about it a bit...the media
> > > didn't care what Ashley MacIsaac really was up to on New Year's - they
> > > just wanted a front page screaming headline, then they struggled with the
> > > impact of John Morris Rankin's death, reporting without time to
> > > understand...for readers who can't understand the comix... 
> > >
> > >     The Government of Nova Scotia is out navel-gazing to
> > > see what we should do about our non-existant economy which brought out
> > > the statistic that there is a stunning 40-50% functional illiteracy rate
> > > in this province - thanks obviously to the members of our militant
> > > Teachers Union who take to the streets at the slightest provocation...our
> > > food supply has been paralysed for the past two days by Truckers who are
> > > complaining about fuel prices - something we're all complaining
> > > about...but not enough to force the food supply... 
> > >
> > >         I'm sorry, this is nuts - and
> > > it's because individuals can not read and write and understand...and fall
> > > into truth-traps and triggers...God help us all...no wonder nothing gets
> > > done in Nova Scotia anymore... 
> > >
> > >         But there is always hope...one
> > > thing ya'll should watch is another growing groundswell and discussion to
> > > make Cape Breton a separate Province - giving self-determination in this
> > > time of incredible change and hardship...there's the possibility of
> > > starting over and getting it right - another opportunity for a New
> > > Jerusalem...it's not even much of a stretch: Distinct Culturally and
> > > Geographically - always pushed around and told what to do by Halifax
> > > (founded by Edward Cornwallis, commander of a British regiment at
> > > Cullodan...)...or worse, Ottawa...lots of bright individuals...in five
> > > years - it may be so, especially if they draw on the recent experiences
> > > of Scotland...and do the right marketing - and if the media doesn't screw
> > > it up by being so contrary... 
> > >   
> > > Rob and others:


We are in a new Millennium.  We are also in a new age which allows
us (you and I and
millions of others) to communicate with eachother in a matter which was
undreamt of a
few years ago.  In this respect, there are no boundaries. 
Similarily, in business there
are no boundaries to amalgamations and joint ventures.  You have
recently seen Times
Warner tie up with AOL and a few days later with EMI.  On this side
of the Atlantic
Vodaphone took over Messermann of Germany.  Britain no longer has a
home-grown
car industry and this trend towards globalisation of industry will
continue apace.

In the above circumstances, independence for Scotland or independence for
Wales or
for Cape Breton are absurd irrelevancies when we look at the real
problems which are
facing the World.  70% of the World population is living at
subsistence level.  The Sahara
desert is advancing at the rate of 30 kilometers a year all the way from
Mauritania across
to Eritrea .  Our oceans are being turned into cesspits.  One
could go on and on with
the disasters which are facing Mankind.   There is only one
certainty: We cannot live or solve problems in isolation nor, for that
matter, can we expect politicians to  address
the real issues which the World is facing today.  They are looking
for votes and in order
to get those votes they will open their mouths and utter absolute
claptrap to deceive a
largely (as you have said)  illiterate and ill-informed
population.

If the Scottish people had been presented with the truth rather than a
lot of hype about
independence and national identity, they would have realised that there
was little sense
in fragmentation.  The Scots, as recent articles to these columns
have stressed again and
again, are not "little islanders".  Their contribution to
the British Empire and Commonwealth
and to the World at large has far outweighed their numbers. 
Prosperity has little to do
with isolationism (as America discovered) and it has  never
been  increased with a proliferation of 'talking shops' to allow
politicians to spout whatever brand of "ism" is most likely to
deceive the largest number of people and, ipso facto, to allow them 
to remain  in a comparatively cushy job (producing more and more
paper about less and less).

I do not profess to know or to have the answer to the World's problems
which are now
escalating out of control.  However, I do know they cannot be
addressed in isolation nor
can they be left to politicians (of whatever hew) to sort out. 
Their tools have always been
those four cardinal sins:  lies, embellishments, fabrications and
omissions.

However, our aims should be clear:   Firstly, we must protect
the integrity of our own
nation states so that others can be influenced by our example. 
Secondly, we must protect the sanctity of the planet on which we all have
to live and which we hold in heritage for succeeding generations.

With due humility.

Niven Sinclair
> > >  
> > >  
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