The

I recall some_ time ago seeing a bumper sticter proclained in large letters, TECHNOLOGY IS THE ANSWER. But printed in smaller letters just be- neath it said, “but what is

the question.”

which

This has great applicabil- ity with regard to the fixed link debate taking place in the province at the present time. the fixed link is be- ing promoted as a technolog- ical solution; but do we have a clear view of the size and shape of the problem.

The question we need to ask is whether or not this is a piece of technology which is appropriate to this province and to our vision of our- selves, or whether it is a case of some Islanders being will- ing to shape our society to fit the technology. This lat- ter tendency represents one

of the most destructive as-“

pects of the modern age, for it is a tendency which is pre- pared to sacrifice human so- ciety and culture to the de- mands of the technological imperative.

As Islanders we all recog- nize that there are certain in- conveniences associated with ferry transportation, but a project of this magnitude must not be reduced to a question of personal conve- nience.

Islanders must also con- sider seriously whether or

No Gide

A quick trip to Moncton?

not it is wise to follow a line of thinking which tends to re- gard our insularity as a prob- lem, rather than an oppor- tunity. If we are to prosper and thrive in this province we must be able to recognize the advantages and potentia- bilities of our insular status.

The building of a bridge or a tunnel does not , of course, destroy completely our status as an Island; how- ever, it does represent the victory of a way of thinking which tends to regard our Is- landness as a problem and a liability. -

A knowledge of our his- tory reveals that many of the

best things that have hap- pened in this province have been the direct result of our insularity. Our very sta- tus as a separate province stems from this fact. If had been, a hundred years ago, a peninsular ex- tension of New Brunswick, we would today be a po- litical,economic, and cultural extension of the mainland. Few Islanders would want to see that happen, and yet a vote for a fixed link which many are promoting repre- sents a step in that direction.

we

—

eels femelemton tt

In the end it comes down

to this: we are Islanders, liv- ing in a place set apart by time and nature. Over the generations we have adapted ourselves to thst reality. It is one of the things that makes us what we are. If we are deeply dissatisfied with being Islanders then perhaps a vote for as fixed link is appropri- ate. But if we are proud of this place —and confident of what it has been and might

Bett

—— Sin w= Tae

be— then a vote for a fixed link is a mistake.

I like what one man in Summerside said at a meet- ing just last week. ‘What do we want to leave our chil- dren?” he asked, “a clean environment and a pride in the Island; or a quick trip to Moncton?” —

David Weale for Friends 0 The Island