Wednesday Night # 831,
February 4, 1998 was very special. In the absence of a formal agenda, debate proceeded freely on various current topics, between the relatively small group of guests.
These were some of the faithful "regulars" who over the years have become more close friends than members of a discussion group, who welcomed the chance to set the direction and tone of the evening. This environment fostered little unanimity, the force of the arguments on all sides clearly indicating that truth is seldom if ever absolute, but rather, bears the mark of the personal experience of the observer. Topics dominating the news evoked the hottest discussion.
On the support currently enjoyed by President Bill Clinton:
The world is changing. Having gone through a cycle of control by a central authority, people are now taking back the making of decisions concerning their lives. They no longer see their political leaders as omnipotent and infallible, but human beings with normal human failings, servants of their constituents rather than their masters. Students are less politically aware than in the '60s; there is greater self-awareness and emphasis on individual political power. Governments will continue to play a decreasing role in the lives of their citizens. Governments will not disappear completely, but there will continue to be devolution of responsibility to smaller units, down to the community level, in imitation of the structure of the Catholic Church. We may well see a return to the City State and with it the attraction of more talented people to government.
In connection with this, it is interesting to note the increasing discussion of the Civil Society, - a topic which has been suggested for a future Wednesday Night and on which information may be found at http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/~ccsi/csusa/csintro.htm#csalex. or our Dr. Desmond Morton
People around the world have had greater access to travel. As they interact with other cultures, they broaden their horizons and are less inclined to rely uncritically on what their government tells them. The Information Age is changing power structures as well. The shift in attitude may be at least partly due to the absence of such real leaders on the political scene as Roosevelt, Churchill, Kennedy or Trudeau.
On Italy's recent law prohibting any citizen from paying ransom to free a family member kidnapped and held for ransom. This legislation has seen the incidence of kidnapping reduced by seventy-five percent. A recent case involving the return of amputated ears to a radio station has evoked mixed reactions, as indeed it has at the Nicholsons'. One side saw the law as a case of the rights of many prevailing over the rights of the few. The other extreme saw it as an infringement of personal rights.
The cost of failures among CEGEP students is estimated at $150 million. Students are protesting the "Fail Tax" for students failing two or more exams during any semester. Here the discussion revolved around whether it was the student or the teacher who had failed. The Parent Commission (1963) destroyed education. Schools should motivate students. Good teachers are not simply the product of training, there is an innate talent required. By the same token, is society going overboard in providing access for all to higher education? Is this a good thing for society, for the students and for the institutions? No conclusion was drawn.
On Iraq, virtually every guest had his or her own opinion.
Iraq did not fulfill its part of the peace terms. Had Germany acted in a similar manner after World War II, the Allies would have moved in without hesitation or negotiation.
Circumstances were different then - it would have been an Allied Decision. The Gulf War was led by the U.S., and sanctioned by the UN.
Iraq should be threatened, but the United States should work towards the elimination of Sadam Hussein.
Sometimes, you can talk yourself into a situation that you later regret. What seems the right thing at the time can sometimes turn out in retrospect to be a grave error. One guest cited "Thinking in Time", a book about Presidential errors in judgement of this nature.
Boris Yeltsin holds the key. With Iraq owing Russia the equivalent of US$10 billion, he has a powerful bargaining chip. There is some question as to whether the United States will tolerate him emerging as a hero.
There may be a lot of behind-the-scene negotiations going on. Madeleine Albright's Eastern European background gives her a valuable perspective on the possibility of such diplomacy.
If the United States were to attack Iraq, it would constitute an unprecedented interference in the activities of a sovereign state, irrespective of the morality of that state.
Thursday 12 February 1998 The case for striking Iraq
On the opinions expressed by Claude Ryan and Daniel Johnson on the propriety of the Supreme Court agreeing to discuss the terms of separation:
The act of separation is not a marriage but a divorce. You cannot legislate culture, language or national pride. Québec, as any other province, has the right to secede. "I accept that the Québec population has the right to determine its own future, but I am not prepared to give to the (provincial) government a blank cheque to determine the rules. To date there is no other forum to determine the rules beside the Supreme Court."
Editor's Note: John Ciaccia was quoted in the next day's paper "These are the times that try men's souls. My soul is very tried"
Despite the diversity of opinion, the evening ended on a particularly friendly note. Diana thanked the guests for coming.
Reported by Herb Bercovitz and Michael Judson
Edited by Diana Thébaud Nicholson
| 
