Wise counsel for our new council
May they remember they must be united for the common good
On Wednesday evening Dec. 3, I was present at city hall to share the inaugural meeting of Hamilton city council. It was a well-attended event, replete with celebration and ceremony.
From time to time I meet persons who are quick to bad-mouth or denigrate our city. They are ignorant or misguided. Most of them remember Hamilton of a previous generation. The motto of Hamilton is “Together we aspire, together we achieve” and our aspirations through the years have been far reaching, and our achievements manifold.
Hamilton is no mean city. It is true that in the past our local economy depended largely on steel and heavy manufacturing industries. But in recent years there has been a major shift toward the service sector. Today Hamilton Health Sciences employs more than 10,000 staff and serves as many as two million people in the region.
Just consider, Hamilton is home to McMaster University with its world-famous medical school, and to Mohawk College, the largest skilled trades college in Ontario. We can boast of our art gallery, the third largest in Ontario and of the McMaster Museum of Art with its imposing collection.
Hamilton is the home of the Tiger-Cats and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. We are proud of our Warplane Heritage Museum and historic Dundurn Castle. We have learned to live with our environment. Unlike many other cities we can point with pride at the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Bruce Trail and the development of our waterfront.
There is also our international airport and the successful amalgamation and integration of five municipalities into greater Hamilton.
But this article is mainly concerned with those who will direct the affairs of our city. In the hours of debate may they soften the edge of acrimony with the knowledge that no one is perfect or without fault. In the heat of controversy may they remember that all must be united for the common good. In times of hesitation, may they resolve to be strengthened with moral courage. May they share this wisdom: Those who live their city best will strive to make it best.
There is a difference between righteousness and self-righteousness. The righteous are humble, the self-righteous are proud. The righteous understand doubt, the self-righteous only certainty. The righteous see the good in people, the self-righteous only the bad. The righteous leave you feeling enlarged, the self-righteous make you feel small.
We should take to heart the words of Felix Frankfurter, former justice of the U.S. Supreme Court: “One of the shallowest disdains is the sneer against the professional politician.”
And surely, we citizens of Hamilton should strive to rededicate ourselves. If our loyalties have grown dim, may we brighten them. If our values have become confused, may we clarify them. If our purposes have become blurred, may we sharpen them. If our horizons have become contracted, may we widen them. If our hearts have become chilled by indifference to others, may we warm them.
Finally, may we come ever closer in bonds of friendship and understanding and may Hamilton grow ever stronger through years of peace and plenty. Bernard Baskin is Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Anshe Sholom in Hamilton and an occasional contributor to this page.