Fortunately, most nations of the western world have maintained a clear separation between church and state. We see many nations where lack of that separation causes many problems for both the quality of governance as well as for religion.
At the more local levels - school boards, county and municipal councils - the process of separation has been at times a contentious issue, and in a few instances there remain a few vestiges of the old links between the civic and faith realms. The elimination of scripture readings and the Lord's prayer from public school classrooms has been achieved, although we continue to hear a few individuals complain about the change - in most cases because they do not really understand the reason for it.
A few years ago I was asked to speak at an in camera session of a county council (not Huron County). I was shocked when the meeting was opened with everyone being asked to rise and repeat the "Our Father". I can imagine the commotion that would arise if someone on that elected body were to make a motion that this practice be eliminated, yet it is clear to me that such a motion is long overdue.
Here is my reasoning.
County councils, like all municipal councils, are created to serve their entire community. To maintain a tradition of opening each meeting with a Christian ritual is a clear signal that this court is giving special and discriminatory recognition of a group of people of a particular religious tradition. All other religious groups are thereby diminished in the status they enjoy within that community. The situation also suggests that "this council is not prepared to welcome non-Christians as members of this body even if they are elected by their community".
We live in a pluralistic society made up of people from many faiths as well as those who follow no religion, and our laws and charters guarantee that none of us should be discriminated against for the orientation choice that we make. Those who do not subscribe to the religion "favoured" by their local government may well feel that they are regarded as a sub-class of citizens.
I am proud of the fact that most Canadians have accepted the separation of religion and governance in most regions and in most respects, and they understand the reasons for supporting this ideal. Many years ago working in other parts of Ontario, I experienced many heated debates on these matters, but those days have passed. Today virtually everyone understands and accepts the nature of our current society. They understand that the debate was not a pro-church versus anti-church debate, but rather a move to eliminate significant signs of religious intolerance in our local government operations.
About a remarkable Ontario village
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Re-Inventing Blyth - Again!
It seems clear now that Blyth Public School is doomed.
No manner of argument, debate, discussion, pleading caused even a ripple of interest or concern in the Avon Maitland District School Board. The board's feeble gestures of consultation and review of the process of closing schools have so far proven to be empty pretences and false imitations of democratic community consideration.
Closing the school in a community tears the heart out of that community. As an educator, I am sure that the closure will have a negative effect on the education of our children. The long term effects on the community are daunting. They could include loss of businesses, reduced property values, loss of inflow of young families who will shy away from a community with no school for their children. The presence of a vacated school has the same effect as a business district with many vacant retail buildings; it could be seen by many people as a sign of a dying community.
Blyth will survive. Our children will get an education of sorts. But the village will be diminished. We will not forget the sense of abandonment when we recall what the school board, people who were supposed to represent us, did to us, and the fact that the majority of our own municipal council turned their backs on us in the end. Well at least we have a little better idea of where we stand.
Most disappointing is the fact that only a small fraction of members of the community showed up to express their outrage at this attack on our community.
What we need to do now is figure out what we can do to overcome the loss that we are about to experience. We need ideas, creativity, and lots of discussion to come up with a vision of new Blyth. We need dozens of ideas to be discussed, studied, compared, evaluated, weighed, until we come up with a handful of great prospects from which we can choose one or two or three that stand out as WINNERS! Along the way we may come up with a few additional ideas which will be easy to implement, not too demanding of time and energy, and which will contribute to the new community.
By referring to the "new Blyth", I am not implying that we throw away what we already have. We must build on those great assets that we have developed and fostered.
No manner of argument, debate, discussion, pleading caused even a ripple of interest or concern in the Avon Maitland District School Board. The board's feeble gestures of consultation and review of the process of closing schools have so far proven to be empty pretences and false imitations of democratic community consideration.
Closing the school in a community tears the heart out of that community. As an educator, I am sure that the closure will have a negative effect on the education of our children. The long term effects on the community are daunting. They could include loss of businesses, reduced property values, loss of inflow of young families who will shy away from a community with no school for their children. The presence of a vacated school has the same effect as a business district with many vacant retail buildings; it could be seen by many people as a sign of a dying community.
Blyth will survive. Our children will get an education of sorts. But the village will be diminished. We will not forget the sense of abandonment when we recall what the school board, people who were supposed to represent us, did to us, and the fact that the majority of our own municipal council turned their backs on us in the end. Well at least we have a little better idea of where we stand.
Most disappointing is the fact that only a small fraction of members of the community showed up to express their outrage at this attack on our community.
What we need to do now is figure out what we can do to overcome the loss that we are about to experience. We need ideas, creativity, and lots of discussion to come up with a vision of new Blyth. We need dozens of ideas to be discussed, studied, compared, evaluated, weighed, until we come up with a handful of great prospects from which we can choose one or two or three that stand out as WINNERS! Along the way we may come up with a few additional ideas which will be easy to implement, not too demanding of time and energy, and which will contribute to the new community.
By referring to the "new Blyth", I am not implying that we throw away what we already have. We must build on those great assets that we have developed and fostered.
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