Remembering Tommy Douglas
True heroes come few and far between. Many who are considered heroes are anything but. Napoleon was a psychopath. I don't much admire Churchill, although he may have been the right man at the right time. Lou Gehrig might qualify but Babe Ruth was a bit of an ass. John Kennedy was not what we thought of him at the time - once you read Seymour Hersh's "The Dark Side of Camelot" his aura vanishes.
Peewee Reese, the Brooklyn all-star shortstop, qualifies. In the year that Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier, he played second base next to Peewee. In one particular game, the players in the opposing dugout were hurling racial barbs and insults at Robinson. Peewee, a Kentucky boy who was respected by players throughout the league, quietly walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with Jackie while staring at the bigots. The message was clear. Robinson, by the way, had a lot of courage.
Charles Lindbergh, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldren & Yuri Gagarin did brave things. There are many others.
As for Canadian heroes, who can compare with Tommy Douglas? I am priveleged to have met him. As a matter of fact, my wife and I had dinner with him. It was in downtown Halifax at the home of a party member sometime in the early 70's. After dinner, we sat around the kitchen table and chatted of this, that and the other thing, but we mostly listened as Tommy told us stories, jokes and anecdotes. He was a born entertainer and we passed a most pleasant evening. This was the man who transformed our society, the father of medicare, and he was right at home at the kitchen table.
Yet, when he started out he was considered to be a danger to society, especially by those who were favoured by that society. He was a socialist and in the minds of many, that meant he was a communist. He had seen the misery that the depression brought to the prairies, and he put aside his Baptist minister's duties to serve his fellow humans, and serve well he did. As a result, the RCMP kept tabs on him, and now upon the 20th anniversary of his death, records have been released, although many pages are still blacked out. It's a sad fact that the secret police of most countries keep tabs on progressive and "left-wing" people, while seemingly allowing right-wingers free rein.
Grateful Canadians will not soon forget Tommy.
True heroes come few and far between. Many who are considered heroes are anything but. Napoleon was a psychopath. I don't much admire Churchill, although he may have been the right man at the right time. Lou Gehrig might qualify but Babe Ruth was a bit of an ass. John Kennedy was not what we thought of him at the time - once you read Seymour Hersh's "The Dark Side of Camelot" his aura vanishes.
Peewee Reese, the Brooklyn all-star shortstop, qualifies. In the year that Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier, he played second base next to Peewee. In one particular game, the players in the opposing dugout were hurling racial barbs and insults at Robinson. Peewee, a Kentucky boy who was respected by players throughout the league, quietly walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with Jackie while staring at the bigots. The message was clear. Robinson, by the way, had a lot of courage.
Charles Lindbergh, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldren & Yuri Gagarin did brave things. There are many others.
As for Canadian heroes, who can compare with Tommy Douglas? I am priveleged to have met him. As a matter of fact, my wife and I had dinner with him. It was in downtown Halifax at the home of a party member sometime in the early 70's. After dinner, we sat around the kitchen table and chatted of this, that and the other thing, but we mostly listened as Tommy told us stories, jokes and anecdotes. He was a born entertainer and we passed a most pleasant evening. This was the man who transformed our society, the father of medicare, and he was right at home at the kitchen table.
Yet, when he started out he was considered to be a danger to society, especially by those who were favoured by that society. He was a socialist and in the minds of many, that meant he was a communist. He had seen the misery that the depression brought to the prairies, and he put aside his Baptist minister's duties to serve his fellow humans, and serve well he did. As a result, the RCMP kept tabs on him, and now upon the 20th anniversary of his death, records have been released, although many pages are still blacked out. It's a sad fact that the secret police of most countries keep tabs on progressive and "left-wing" people, while seemingly allowing right-wingers free rein.
Grateful Canadians will not soon forget Tommy.
posted by puzzled @ 9:03 AM
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