To err is human... to submit is

divine.

This letter is in response to a letter in this column that com- mented on the article in Aloud Thought about Bias and Preju- dice.

I reca'] that nowhere in the ar- ticle did ~ «ay that personal re- sponsibility equates with selfish- ness. The main thrust of the ar- ticle is: if a person understands her/his motivations and attempts to know oneself, then she/he are on the road the growth. One might call that maturity but as that term has many different con- notations I prefer not to use it.

I wonder about your defini- tion of maturity being to serve the community. What consti- tutes serve? I could help out at the next community fair and still maintain a racial prejudice.

Perhaps you will recall that over the Delphi Temple were the words, “Know Thyself”. It is in this sense that I use the tern per- sonal responsibility. it is not jus- tification of an action to oneself in isolation. It is not saying an action is fine as long as I under- stand why I am doing it. It is, however, knowing why you do or think an action and using that knowledge in a responsible man- ner. It may be that in some cir- cumstances the responsibility en- compasses the community. But alas, I think you simplify too much.

If one helps one section of the community, you are not help- ing another section, For example, perhaps one believes that a dump should not be put in one’s com- munity area. One could serve the community by stopping the dump from being located there. Lets as-

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sume one succeeds. No dump in one’s area! Wait a minute, is not the earth in one’s area? Where is one’s garbage going? A dump in another community? Are one’s actions mature?

We all live on the earth and we need to treat her with a re- sponsible attitude. Your com- ment in the last paragraph about serving the community and be- coming aware of bias and prej- udice and serving those types would hardly be maturity. In fact, it would be a lack of personal responsibility in allowing oneself to be so led. I think that defin- ing maturity in terms of serving the community is an indication that one does not yet understand the complexities of life and the responsibility which accompanies that understanding.

To benefit readers who may not recall: you asked a question about the value of personal re- sponsibility if it is not directed to the social welfare of the group

and how may a person judge or determine whether they have been responsible with out the benefit of social interaction.

In reply to the first ques- tion: A social being we might be, yet we are individuals. We need to come to terms with our- selves so we can properly come to terms with others. This learn- ing process is not as simple as a lot of people would seem to im- ply. Things re not just black and white with no grey between them. Different persons in the same sit- uation need act different by their very nature. This is where per- sonal responsibility allows us to develop and us that knowledge, not for selfish reasons but t en-

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Letter to the Editor

hance the universe, including this earth, of which humans are only a minority.

The second question implies that if our neighbours do not tell us if we are responsible, we would not know that fact. As one develops personal responsibility one should become aware of how to determine this responsibility. One should serve the life force, not just a community. Serving the life force means preserving the variety of life in the universe and responding with integrity, in one’s actions, during the days ac- tivities. One.is responsible for the consequences of one’s actions.

It is not idle imaging about oneself nor deeds that solve all problems, although such a sim- plistic reasoning could be com- fortable. Personal responsibil- ity is not a game whereby you play out “comfortable” justifica- tions for one’s actions. It is a con- tinuing, well-thought out and re- searched blueprint to actively un- derstanding oneself.

It is to find out why one does the things one does and how one lives within a social fabric without bias and prejudice and without hate: Somehow you — the unsigned writer of the let- ter to the editor — misunderstand the all encompassing nature of the term personal responsibility. Your prejudice sees only the word “personal” and you react.

‘I trust the foregoing explana- tions, albeit short, has given you a new understanding of why you reacted as you did to the article on bias and prejudice and I know the world is a better place be- cause of your new found knowl- edge.

Oliver Pinion

=

Sports Editorial

As sports editor of the Gem this year I have tried as best as possible to provide all sports teams here at UPEI with equal coverage. Despite my efforts this does not always happen. In last week’s issue of the Gem some- body saw fit to voice their dis- pleasure over the way I cov- ered the CIAU Basketball cham- pionships. I feel I should clear the air in regards to this.

First off the title that ap- peared on the cover of the Gem was intended to refer to both bas- ketball teams not just the Men’s. The person who wrote in also de- scribed their displeasure in the lack of pictures accorded to the Lady Panthers. Their is a very good reason for this. There were

none. I went to the Guardian . to try to get some and they did ~ not receive any from Sudbury so there was little I could do about that.

I did however make a mis- take in the order in which I wrote the stories. I should have wrote

about the Lady Panthers first since they did finish higher than the men, however the reason why I wrote about the men first was not because I think men are bet- ter athletes or that their game are more exciting than the women’s, it was because I was in Halifax and was able to see first hand what went on and that made it much easier to write about the men. The only knowledge I had about the Women’s games was what I read in the paper and heard from other people. I did not want to write my story o the Women straight out of the Guardian as I felt that would not have been right.

This past basketball season I worked in the Athletic depart ment as their sport’s informatio! officer which is a job that involve sending out information regard- ing sports teams to all of the me dia on the Island so they are it” formed as to what is happeniné with our Athletic teams.

Continued on page 10

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