Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

A statesmanlike response to bullying

While parents in every corner of our country are trying their best to talk to their kids about bullying at school or on the playground, all a person has to do is look at what's happening in the wake of Justin Trudeau's election as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

He had hardly given his acceptance speech and left the stage before attack ads by the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) found their way into cyberspace and the airwaves.

One ad showed Trudeau taking off his shirt to raise money for the Canadian Liver Foundation, with a voice-over questioning his judgment. Another video poked fun at Trudeau's former jobs as a drama teacher, rafting instructor and camp counsellor, along with the statement: "And now he thinks he can run Canada's economy."

Never mind that Trudeau also taught social studies and French, and that Conservative Leader Stephen Harper had worked as an assistant to a member of Parliament and at the National Citizens Coalition before his election to Parliament. The CPC attack ads were accompanied by links to an anti-Trudeau website and a Facebook page.

The Liberals obviously anticipated that this would be the Conservatives' approach, as they had witnessed vicious attack ads directed at the party's previous leaders Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff. Dion was depicted as a ditherer and a weakling, and Ig-natieff as someone who was "just visiting" Canada and as a "political tourist."

The ads worked, as neither man was able to get much traction with Canadians.

All a citizen needs to do these days is tune into the daily question period in Ottawa, where the interactions among elected officials attest to a bullying culture that has developed in the House of Commons.

Bullying is defined as repeated, aggressive behaviour intended to hurt the target either physically or mentally. Apparently bullies behave this way to gain power over another person. In the case of the House of Commons, the aggression and bullying is all about getting power.

Who can forget Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan hurling himself across the Commons floor to lean over and verbally admonish his NDP counterpart, Nathan Cullen - all because of an Opposition procedural manoeuvre that attempted to have a vote in Parliament ruled invalid? If not for Defence Minister Peter MacKay rushing over to usher Van Loan back to his seat, there could very well have been a bench-clearing incident.

After months of debate, a private member's motion put forward by young New Democrat MP Dany Morin - himself a victim of bullying - that looked to establish a non-partisan standing committee to propose a national strategy against bullying was rejected by the House in November by 149 votes to 134. Only five Conservative MPs voted for Morin's motion.

What's really sad is that only a few days before the launch of the CPC attack ads, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had genuinely expressed the sentiments of his fellow Canadians by denouncing cyber-bullying after a victimized young Nova Scotia woman committed suicide. The ads now sully the genuineness of Harper's comments.

Yet, it's not as though the Conservatives are the only ones who resort to attack ads. All parties have used the tactic at one time or another.

Most of us say we hate such advertising. Yet research shows that more often than not we end up using the same words used in attack ads to describe the person who is being targeted. We may say we don't like the ads, but parties use them because they are effective. All political party strategists believe that the targets of the ads have no choice but to respond. If there is no response, then the negative descriptors stick with the voters.

Trudeau's response so far has been to tell reporters that, "The Conservatives are going to discover that the one thing they know how to do really well is no longer working for them."

He said people across Canada are telling him that they are tired of negativity, bullying and cynicism. Instead of launching personal attacks, Trudeau suggests that partisans debate each others' ideas or vision of the country.

"I look forward to having robust discussions on ideas, on values, on a vision for this country that will contrast well."

What a novel concept. Let's hope that Canadians support his statesmanlike and mature response.

Original Article
Source: thestarphoenix.com
Author: Pat Atkinson

No comments:

Post a Comment