Stagg Editorial- January 1994

If we get a chance to look out on a North Atlantic gale this January, we may get an appreciation of how tough and determined our ancestors were when they landed in Newfoundland and clung with desperate tenacity to the rocks and crevices that became home.

How many of us would be up to the tasks that they undertook so successfully hundreds of years ago? Could we have withstood the vicious onslaught of wind, cold and starvation that these people had to face on a day to day basis?

When we look out at our lot today we must wonder whether we could have survived without the comforts of "Big Nurse" to make sure that we did not hurt ourselves and cry.

The mocking reference to "Big Nurse" originates elsewhere but the thought is truly applicable to our own situation. Newfoundlanders cannot succumb to the lure of perpetual nursery care by government. It seems as if there is no longer any moral certainty among us as to the right of Newfoundlanders to stand their ground and make a living just where they are. More and more, the idea is coming up that Newfoundlanders are fighting a lost cause when it comes to making a living from the natural resources of the province. This is an idea that must be rejected and torn apart right away. Taking back control of Newfoundland's resources is just a first step to rejuvenating the essence of being a Newfoundlander. This may not be necessarily be done in a quiet and peaceful way. Newfoundlanders conquered the soil of Newfoundland in the 17th and 18th centuries through what were often violent and fatal conflicts. No one is asking for bloodshed in these times but an aggressive stance toward the preservation of what belongs to Newfoundland is long overdue and absolutely necessary.

Newfoundlanders must stand-up for their own land and their own territory. No one else is going to do it. We must help ourselves.

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