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You despise the government. but wGn't elect an alternative, since you despise it even more. You are caught by inflation Of course you do. You're a good Canadian. You believe in individual litter- ty, acid rain, dirty movies and sexual ir. responsibility. ti doesn't' matter which group you belong to, or whether you're somewhere in between. you all have much in common. On the other hand. Do you go for a swim It midnight, sing a song at dawn, smoke marijuana. drink fairly heavily, march in proteaiparades. live in sin, abhor cenghor ship and capital punishment, and contrive to do something that will offend friends and neighbours? _ Is your life a cultural wasteland? Do you do the same old things, talk to the same old people on the same old subjects all the time? Are you scared to take a risk, smile at someone you‘ve never seen before, do something the neighbours will mutter about? Do you want a decent tombstone, not flashy, but dignified? Of course you do. You‘re a good Canadian. You believe in personal de- corum. censorship, the family as a unit, and capital punishment. Calls for action on the economy You are already very well aware of the drastic cut-back in housing starts in this country which has been brought about by uncontrolled infla- tion and excessively high interest rates. Your government's minister responsible for housing has con- firmed the seriousness of this situa- tion, which has resulted in massive unemployment not only within the building industry but in allied man- ufacturing and service trades as well. The very survival, let alone existence, of many of these busi, nesses depends very heavily upon the health of the housing industry. It will not be difficult to appreci- ate why the current drop-off in housing has had so tremendously an adverse effect upon those engaged in lumber and building materials retailing. Lumber and building ma- Writer gets the run-around Following is a copy of a letter to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau: I would be willing to bet that if I called these same plumbers and told them I wanted a new bathroom installed or some other major ren- ovation done they would be over to give me an estimate before I got the phone hung up. For three weeks now I have been trying to have these repairs done. I have called four plumbers. The first one at least came and looked at the problem then promptly said he did not have time to do the work. The second one said he would be over at the beginning of the following week and never showed up. The third one said he usually only works on construction sites and the fourth one never called back. I am at my wit's end. Isn't there someone out there in the trade land who needs work? I read in the papers regularly about the slump in the building trade and the economy as a whole and still no one wants the work. Whatdoesoetettavetodotogeta plumber to come'over and do some repair work? The problem I have is with the shower and although t1xing it won't make anyone a millionaire, I'm sure the plumtter's fees would be enough to put a Ace roast of beef on the table. Iamttotisureiftttisiswtserel sttouidttedotugitttuttneedthe opportunity to sound off. Jo Anne Kass Short St. Waterloo BILL I SMILEY _ We urge you, Mr. Prime Minister, to demonstrate to the taxpayers of this country that your Government warrants the right to remain in office. No one can afford any further delays, Let us have some action now! Things cannot be allowed to con- tinue as they are. Action is needed and needed now. The members of the Lumber and Building Materials Association of Ontario believe it is imperative that the Government of Canada take immediate, corrective measures before our country suffers complete economic collapse Imme- diate action must be taken, for instance, to force the lowering of mortgage rates in order that thou- sands of Canadians faced with the possibility of losing their homes, as your own Minister of Housing has pointed out, will not do so as well as to make it possible for thousands of other Canadian families to attain their dfeam - more than their dream - their tight as Canadians, to home ownership. Only the Government in office can take the necessary steps to prevent the chaos which will _ inevitably follow, if a sound fiscal policy is not soon restored. We cannot stress too strongly that no stone be left unturned by your goverment in bringing inflation under control with the least possible delay. Too extensive a damage has already been wrought as a result of the government's deliberate de- pressing of the economy through exorbitantly high interest rates - especially while the government itself continues to follow a run-away spending policy. Most lumber and building materi, als retailers are small. independent, businessmen providing a much needed service while, at the same time, contributing to the welfare of their respective communities. You, of course, do not need to be reminded that small business has long been the backbone of our nation's economy. business environment which is ge- suiting in an alarmingly high num- ber of bankruptcies and other tttttsi- ness failures. association, olooa with their coun- terparts in sect of the other pm- Ine/ees across cm. are anoerrusse- Lumber and building materihls retailers, have bud no alternative but to drastically reduce both staff and inventories, in the hope of being merely able to "hang in." You wonder vaguely, if you're old enough, what became of the Canadian dream: 'The twentieth century belongs to Canada." And if you read the papers and analyze the news. you realize that, while Canada still has a high standard of living, we are very low on the totem pole when it comes to production, strikes. economic stability, peace, happiness and. goodwill toward men. t If you're very young, you don't give a dlddle. There', lots to eat, warm clothes, and the old man will kick In a decent allowance so you can teed the slot lunchbox with the” war games. You feel frustrated, in this land of wood and water, not to mention nuclear power, because, if you are getting on in years, you see everything eroding around you, and if you are short in years. you see nothing but a stone wall between you and your aspira- tions. You are basically anti-American. though if you were asked why, you could not give an answer that was articulate. and high interest rates, whether you are a 60-year-old farmer trying to keep the place going, or a Ito-year-old punk trying to maintain his habit. ' Vice-president LBMAO Toronto The theme the UN. has selected tor the International Year of Disabled Persons is full participation and equality. This phrase sums up the disabled person’s desire to function in their community on the same basis as their non-disabled neighbours. Many things are required to make this desire a reality. Jobs. adequate transportation, accessible buildings and services, housing, assistive devices are some of the important things required. A necessary pre-condition is a change in public attitude. Disabled and non-disabled people must learn to accept one another without self-consciousness. and for this to happen the opportunity must be created for people to meet and interact. When the disabled person is viewed as a whole person with needs and aspirations shared wih non-disabled people, the goal of U.N. for 1981 will be that much closer. Although the only differences between dis- abled and non-disabled people are the specific disabilities and the adjustments these disabili- ties necessitate, the majority of people with disabilities are hindered from becoming ful- filled human beings because society denies them two basic needs _ a realistic and positive identity as sexual beings and the opportunity for sexual expression and fulfi0ing sexual re- lationships. There is a widespread misconception that adolescents and youth are well informed on sexual matters, that they have integrated sex into their lives much better than did former generations, and that they are having a great time with sex. 0n the contrary, they are often confused and guilty about sexual relations they have or do not have. They are hungry for accurate adequate information about sexuality and want very much to be able to talk about sex openly and honestly. Sexuality for too long has been denied the importance it plays in our lives. Human sexuality is a psycho-social phenomenon which affects our own sense of self, our relationships with others, our family structure and our social settings. Young people with disabilities have the same basic needs and potentials for sexual expres- sion as any other group of people. The same confusion about choices and decision making and the same desire for intimacy, affection and risk-taking are a part of a disabled persons' sexual expression. In the area 'of sex education then, handi- capped people, many of whom are incarcerat- ed in institutions which have unclear, if any, policies on sexuality. receive little or no guidance at all on feelings and sexual Until recently, it has been assumed, even by many well-intentioned care givers, that a person with special needs did not require the same access to information on sexuality available to others. The disabled have a sexual life too By SHARON was»: " This is nonsense. of course. Canada has been going through this mlasma ever since IMT, and before. Maybe the guy at the helm is ttlirtd-fohderd, and maybe we have scraped a few rocks, but the ship's bottom is still sound, and we haven’t hit the big reef yet. If we do, we can always scramble into the boats, and become the new Boat People of North America. This isn't a doom and gloom column. It's merely a look at our nation today. It is so rife with suspicion, fear of nothing much, anger uWer nothing much, that we are becoming paranoid. From the Prime Minister, through the head of the Bank of Canada, right down to your local alderman. you' have lost trust, and feel that the ship is heading for the reef with nobody at the helm. But if you're a young adult,ttust about ready to launch into "real" life, you‘re so bewildered about unemployment, and escalating university fees, and the in- creasing shadow of the computer, and the wealth of choices of a future (all lacking in security) that you can become so de- pressed you drop out, or dive into a stream and fight against the current. We’ve had the Much-Canadian no." Ct2CTTijCET2 WATERLOO CHRONICLE, neonate", MOVE” tt, 1.1 - not , Sharon Nogradl is Family Planning Coor- dinator with Waterloo region 's Department of Health and Social Services. The workshop will be followed by a Family Planning Network Day next Wed., Nov. 18, in which resources 'in the community will be shared and recommendations for future pro- grams will be solicited. The overall goal of the workshop is to provide continued support and sex education for people with disabilities and for parents and professionals involved with them. Recognizing the need for sex education for disabled people. a group of concerned profes- sionals and parents decided, after several meetings, to hold a workshop for parents, professionals and consumers on the topic of Sexuality and Disability. A one-and-a-half day workshop was held on Nov. 6 and 7 at the University of Waterloo. The agencies involved included the Rotary Centre. Waterloo Region- al Health Unit, Waterloo County School Board (McQuarrie Memorial School and Cameron Heights), Social Planning Council, parents, and March of Dimes. 2. Provide needed support and information to people with specific disabilities, their parents and professionals who are involved with them. Under the pretext of "protection," their families, friends, doctors, nurses and teachers deny them information and opportunities for sexual expression., Some even explicitly dis- courage them. . The question now becomes how best to: 1. Change negative social attitudes and prejudices which deny or discourage people with disabilities from opportunities for sexual expression and fulfilling sexual expression and fulfilling sexual relationships. Except for extremely serious cases. some forms of sexual pleasure are always possible. Because the disability may affect the sexual or reproductive functions in some way, they must be prepared, educated and reassured about their own special sexual problems, as well as, normal sexual concerns and problems that all of us are confronted with. Parents and professionals are generally unprepared to provide the sex education that people with disabilities need. Disabled people may receive valuable medical help but it is unlikely they will receive support in develop ing their sexual interests. Dr. Sol Gordon in his book, Sexual Rights For The People.“ [lappe- To Be Ila-il- capped (WM). says, "the debilitating impact on a person's life often results not so much from the disability as from the manner in which others define or treat the person." behaviour and consequences. Marty services in the community are often provided in segregat- ed settings, renecting assumptions that people with special needs have neither the inclination nor ttie interest or ability for human interac- Walk to work. Take a bus to the city instead of your gas-gobbler was parking fees. Learn to do your own elementary plumbing and electric work at night Pull in your belts. Dump that extra car, the boat and the cottage. If you look at it objectively, they're just a big pain in the arm anyway. spa-an. réwhrdlng life. white ideas are - important than physical canton. Afterymi, he said. tism thing with us for generations, John A. MacDonald almost put the country on the rocks, financially and politically, but he dared to take a chance, and had vision. We survived a terrible depression, and came out smelling of roses (and the stench of our dead young men), in two world wars. Cheer up, you dour, gloomy Canucks. When you have to settle for one meal of ground wheat a day, and have to huddle around I charcoal brazier to keep warm, then you can whine, though few will listen, Just as few of us listen to the people of the world who are doing just that, right now. Let's stop numbing. and get back to a