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"I have aworn upon the altar of God eternal hoatility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomais Jefferson wo THEK :.>< I CROW'S NEST by Michael Knell Rejoice, liberalism isn't dead With the recent re-election of Ronald Reagan as President of the United States and the sweeping to power of Brian Mulroney as Prime Minister of Canada many die liard right wingers have been jumping for joy Ioudly proclaiming that the spirit of liberalism is dead across North America. By this, I'm flot refering to the Liberal Party of Canada (wbich until recently should have been called the Pierre E. Trudeau Party) but liberalism as a philosophy of governument. But is liberalism dead? J1 don't think so. Why? that's simple. The right wingers won't tear down completely any of the many reforms or programs that are the legacy of previous liberal administrations. For example, a man I knoîw, who works for a cabinet minister who supports Frank MiIer's bid to take Bill Davis' job as Premier 0f Ontario, candidly ad- mits that rent controls will stay no matter who is premier. The aide noted that 6per cent of the people who live in this province are tenants and no one in bis right mind is goino to offend those people no inatter how badly Miller wants to dump themn. This isn't to say that whoever becomes premier next Jan. 26 won't fiddle with it. They may boost that six per cent ceiling into an eight per cent one. But I doubt it. They want to bang onto a government. After 41 years they have corne to like being on top. Tbey won't flush themselves down the toilet over rient con- troIs. In Ottawa, finance minister Michael Wilson is making noises about reducing the amount of federal money available for a wide range of universal social ser- vices. He may fiddle with the rules and he may alter the amount 0f money available but he will not.destroy the programs for fear of annoying theelec- torate. Take a look south of the border: has Reagan, despite lits self-rigliteous ravings, done anything to destroy the unuversal social programns needed by s0 many of his countrymen? No. He's changed the rules and fiddled with tbe figures but lie basn't followed the craving of the rigbt wing and brought tliem crashing to the ground. And it's my bet, you won't see it bappen. The riglit wingers would like to dump tbem and then proceed to do away with such agencies as the councils on the status of women, human rights commissions and others whose primary fun- ction is to belp the poor, the underprivileged or the uniformed. Right here in Durham Region, we have a couple of riglit wingers wbo constan- tly bemnoan the costs of bornes for the aged, road and related improvements, the cost 0f regionally funded private home day care centres and other valuable ser- vices. In fact, one member of coundil seems to be deliberately trying to put every regional employee on the unemployment line in the name of cost cutting. The trouble with the riglit wingers (and this goes for the die bard left wingers as well) 18 that wbile they have some good ideas the answers they have are too narrow and too imited. Tliey see but part of the problexu and, therefore, come Up witb only part of the answer. Liberals and liberalism will survive but its contributions are already firmly entrencbed into our society. A good friend 0f mine and her liusband, botli Tories, have told me that they will support Miler's lead for the leadersbip because be understands business. He understands its problems and they feel lie wilI be the most sympathetic to their needs. But one tbing everyone seems to bave forgotten in the last few montlis is that there is more to life than business. While business 18 the base of that pillar - it is not the entire pillar. Toc many riglit wingers spend s0 much 0f their time. re-inforcing the base, tbey don't notice that the pillar is falling fromn the top as does the giant redwood. s Nor do tbey realize that the wreckage will faîl down on tliem. r Liberallsm comes from the liberty, whicl is1 indeed tbe watch word of most liberals (notice I didn't say the Pierre Trudeau Party). Most liberals stand for some pretty sensible things: higli quality publiceducation and health care; the preservation of free entreprise (what we have in the 1980's is. wlat F.D.R. c referred to as 'privileged entreprise'); adequate pensions and liousing for Our h senior citizens; fair taxation; a tough defense policy; civil rights and women's i rights. h Now, before anyone takes this as a blaniket endorsement of the Ontario d Liberal Party or 0f the P.T.P. I want to put the record straight. It's not. Like most Canadians, I see myself as a smail " iberal. I want to build a society were 01 ail the tbings I have described can be accomplished witbout bankrupting eitlier g our government or our citizcis s And that 18 where I believçe more Canadians are at politically. t]l Do you want to hear sorrwthing funny? Well, wbo 18 the greateat iberal in d( Canadian politics today? Wliy, it's the man from Brampton - Bull Davis himself. s Take a look at lits record. Overail it shows careful attention to many libéral ideas and lie bas worked to p'ut those ideas into action. N Take heart, tbe great idéals of iberallsm are not dead. At most, they lie dor- cil niant. Best of ail, they are alive in the hearts of those who uphold theni. su As far as I'm concerned there are tliree tbreats to the average citizen today: big government, big busieý and big labor. Ail three are struggling for the he hearts and minds of each of s. Each is dangerous as either of the others. True Uà liberallsmn rejects ail three, instead it preverses the dignity of tbe individual be and allows him to build for bimself a just society witbout putting e ither hi»mlf His SOL WAY Downi town thoughts. 1 Ireep promising to write part two of a mfulti-part bligbted) are the higli rises of Whitby andt Oshiawa. series on what makes a town or a city a real Only the ultra-expensuve heavily guarded ones "place." I started out by suggesting that Whitby's work. And who can afford tliem. (But this is another ambition (added by big government funding) must whole topic.) also be supported by a wiIl to make it work; by a' Newman talks about "proprietorship. " He speaks combined business-pohitical-cutizen interest in the of private space being inside your own door. Shared project. It will take more than some trees to make open spaces are "'semi-public" and the rest 18 any downtown a "place." public. He says that the farther we get from private. Planner, architect, social philosopher Buckmin- space the fartber we get from a sense of control, and ster Fuller liad my favourite idea of what any city s0 the less we care about it. It leads to fear, van- had to be. He said mucli of it back in the days before dalims, and general neglect. It is why people wlio fear and mistrust created a fortress mentality, and have spotless batbrocms at home litter and deface perliaps before another autliority, Jane Jacobs public washrocms, even in restaurants. came out in favour of small. He said it before we Point. You can't create a sudden sence of pride in became more .concerned about the preservation of a place, eitber by Iathering it in money to life than the quality of that life. Don't misunder- "beautify" it (altliough that doesn't hurt) and you stand. I think life is worth preserving, and I would certainly can't do it by appealing to anyone's sense rather be alive and bored than overstimulate<i and of civic responsibility. Guit trips don't work. A few dead. weeks ago Ed Buffet said the people of Whitby bave I can't1 quote Fuller verbatim, but the substance a "responsibility" to shop Iocally. (The quote may was: city planning should take into account that a not be precise. It's the gist.) It makes about as city is for the "use" of everyone; that people's much sense as teiling a Canadian lielias an homes are wbere they est and sleep, but the city and "'obligation" to read MacLeans or to root-roct-root ts amenities is wliere citizens really ive. IL must for the home team . haye amenities that feed the spirit, that feed the Back to Bucky F'uller. If a town wants to lesire to be entertained, uplifted,. amazed, or just revitalize it must not only look better, it must be elegantly or interestingly fed. It liappens that more better. IL must convince people that it is. easy to get of this. variety (remember when we cailed it to; comfortable to be in; and interesting when you spice? ") in life is available in a big city than in a get there. People come to a downtown, or any imaller town. S-nall places can join in witb food for people place in a town or city because they want to he eye and the spirit. They often do. Smail places extend their ides of private space beyond their own Io better at itthan bedroom, suburbs jammed with fences. Otherwise they Wi lock into a formula that taLion wagons, mails, and power mowers. excludes most things except: scbeduled golf or Another planning autbority, architeet Oscar skiing, supermarket shopping, shopping plaza rewman wrote about what is good and bad about parking, chain store donuts and chicken, and a gooci -ties, and especiaily about developments and bealthy upstanding solid suspicion of anyone who uburbs. doesn't look exactly like everyone else. He is the avowed enemy of Higli Rise. Years ago To make it work we also bave to stop giving the ie stood witli me at St. James Town, Toronto's Great Canadian Finger to everything local that Iglyopoîis, and told me that it would one day strives to be better or different or stylisi,' or ecome a boring, inhum an, often dangerous ghetto. cultural, or even outrageous. [e was riglit. Read last week's Toronto papers. Nuala FitzGerald and I used to be asked to speak ome of the most bligbted areas (or soon-to-be- CONT'D ON PG. 7 m a/ and