EDITORIAL:
To accept or to except
by Brandon Mayer
North Dundas is home to people from all walks of life – like all communities in Canada, there are people of different ethnicities, religions, lifestyles, and political views all existing happily in the same wonderful community. True acceptance means accepting everyone, even those with whom we disagree, and even those who don’t share the same proclivity for acceptance.
There are many who would disagree with that last statement. For example, there are those who would argue that we shouldn’t be accepting of our neighbours who show prejudice. However, true acceptance means seeing the good in people, understanding that views and values are formed over a long period of time and from many influences and experiences, and agreeing to coexist in peace without the need for everyone to conform to our ideas.
We are all guilty of some form of bias from time to time. The day before I wrote this, my son and I were driving through Inkerman when we got stopped at the red light at the bridge. There were a handful of people standing at each end of the bridge, wearing reflective vests and holding up signs essentially suggesting that we need Jesus Christ in our lives. They were from the Wesleyan Church in town.
My son and I were very uncomfortable, and proceeded to stare straight ahead and make small talk in the truck with the windows up. I am not religious. I respect that religion brings comfort to many, but there are countless aspects of religion that I fundamentally disagree with. I don’t understand why religion teaches the importance of selflessness and altruism, but emphasizes that God needs to be “worshipped” to extend the kindness of eternal life, only giving if he receives. I don’t understand why, in some religions, money can absolve sins. I don’t understand why a book with many questionable (and some horrendous) values is supposed to be taken as the gospel (literally) of morality, when I know my own moral values are far superior.
Despite my own views, what happened in Inkerman was wrong... on my part. People are people – there is no “me vs them”. We are all in this life, and this community, together. I’m disappointed in myself for not rolling down the windows and saying hello. It’s the small town way, no matter what each person’s unique beliefs are.
As many readers know, the Times has a column called “Love and Faith”, which features positivity and wisdom from church ministers from every part of North Dundas, who take turns sharing their teachings. I read every word of everything that appears in the Times – such is an editor’s job – and I enjoy every “Love and Faith” column. This is not my newspaper, it’s the community’s newspaper. Having the views of so many is what makes it special.
The beauty of prioritizing coexistence with others is that it can get us past differences in virtually any type of value or moral belief. Last issue, I revealed that I voted for Eric Duncan, which made one particular resident quite angry. I was told that an owner of a newspaper should stick only to the “facts”. The problem is that no media is unbiased. There are thousands of pages of “facts” for every available page of newsprint. The choice about what “facts” to report will always be susceptible to bias. This is why we can have a liberal leaning CBC, as well as a far right leaning newspaper such as Druthers, without either one ever having to tell a lie. Something tells me that if I had written an editorial supporting the Liberal Party, I would not have been accused of bias.
Common sense dictates that I have to vote for someone in an election, and sharing my own ideas, carefully labelled as opinion, was intended only to facilitate open dialogue in our great community. I am not a Pierre Poilievre fanboy – I don’t believe in treating politicians like movie stars. However, we need to be honest with ourselves about the qualities and drawbacks of each candidate and party when decided for whom to vote, and I stand by my choice.
I must defend against an assumption that the Times is a conservative newspaper. The Times is a community newspaper, plain and simple. A letter appears in this issue bashing Pierre Poilievre. The resident who complained about my previous editorial was invited to write an op-ed in response, with a promise that it would be published unedited. Our political commentator, Kerry Turner, is a lifelong liberal supporter who nevertheless sticks to the facts. Should ever want to register an opinion in print, she would be welcome to do so, as long as it was properly labelled as an opinion piece.
I have voted many ways in my lifetime. An editorial expressing an opinion on one election should not be used to label a local community newspaper that shares so much important information on behalf of so many local groups. Black and white thinking is the enemy of open-minded dialogue. Not being able to handle another’s opinion is a sure sign of closedmindedness.
The English language is filled with many quirks. “Accept” means “consent to receive”. Meanwhile, “except” means “to take or leave out”. The words are pronounced virtually the same way, but have polar opposite meanings. Some people seem to have trouble decided whether to accept or to except. The correct answer is to coexist. Engage in intelligent dialogue, float some food for thought, and accept that to except is wrong. Why fight with your neighbour over things you can’t control, when you can have a beer, a campfire, or a laugh instead? Choose acceptance, and choose to love your neighbours. It’s the North Dundas way.