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.]

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Unlike Ford, Harper, Wright and Duffy are smart enough to know better: Christopher Hume

The most shocking thing about the latest Rob Ford scandal is that it’s not shocking.

Though he is clearly unsuited for the job, by now Torontonians have grown almost blasé about the mayor. He and his regime are as disastrous as they are embarrassing. Another day, another outrage.

And while Ford turns Toronto upside down, the news from Ottawa, if anything, is even more mind-boggling. Last week we learned that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s now-departed chief of staff, Nigel Wright, casually paid off Senator Mike Duffy’s “inappropriate” expenses, all $90,000 worth. Then Harper and his acolytes tried to pass off this unbelievable ethical lapse as an effort to save Canadian taxpayers’ hard-earned money.

Ford can be excused to some extent because he seemingly simply doesn’t know any better. Whether or not he smokes crack cocaine, he lacks the ability to function as mayor of Canada’s largest city.

Harper, Wright and Duffy, on the other hand, are not stupid men. Their actions may be dumb, but they are smart enough to know better. Except that their time in power has made them lazy. But they, too, have been done in by the belief they can do as they please and that Canadians either don’t care or can be easily hoodwinked.

Not so long ago, such behaviour would have been unthinkable. Now it seems normal; that’s the tragedy of Toronto and Canada.

Both Harper and Ford will eventually be consigned to the Green Bin of history. Both will be recalled with a shudder. What, future generations will ask, were they thinking?

What indeed.

Surely neither man would have been elected except at a time of deep public cynicism. It is commonplace now to hold politicians in contempt, to mock their self-serving behaviour, naked ambition and willingness to say or do anything to win and hold on to power.

But that doesn’t explain everything. After all, we elect them. We put them in office and keep them there for years. True, most Canadians don’t bother to vote nowadays, but that, too, is a choice. And even today, knowing what we do about them, both Harper and Ford could be re-elected.

Lord Acton would have reminded us that power corrupts, absolute power absolutely, and certainly no one would argue with that. Still one wonders how Canada turned itself into a hick town of a country run by characters just in from the back 40.

It was painful to watch our prime minister and chief environmental scofflaw, Boss Harper, squirm in New York last week as he tried to talk his way out of his antediluvian attitudes to climate change.

It was just as excruciating to witness Sheriff Ford’s efforts to deal with reports of a video of him apparently smoking crack. The man has yet to mount any defence beyond, “ridiculous.”

Through it all we remain so polite, deferential and glad to be of use, that a good many Torontonians lined up to denounce the media that did them the favour of revealing the mayor for what he is, an overgrown man-child who does what he wants, the city be damned.

Harper, by contrast, knows what he’s doing. He knows his actions are reckless, but to him ethics are a nicety leaders can’t afford.

Neither Harper nor Ford respect government, its institutions or the positions they hold. Both believe themselves exempt. To them, Canadians are gullible or too preoccupied with getting by to hold them responsible.

As bad as things may be, Canadians are terrified they could be worse.

Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Christopher Hume

No comments:

Post a Comment