The Weak Man's Imitation

IT WAS OBAMA’S LAST STATE OF THE UNION address, so he threw out the challenge to the entire chamber – “Fix our politics.” That sent all sides scrambling to lay blame on others for the sorry state of the political order in the United States. Yet the reality is that they are all to blame. With the present campaign under way there are virtually no signs that anything will get fixed.Which isn’t really what people hoped for in Canada. Our national election behind us, following a decade of dysfunctional politics in Parliament, there was a subtle hope that the nastiness of Question Period and the relationship between the parties would show signs of improvement.With Parliament resuming this week it had the sad feeling of deja vu all over again. The new House Speaker, Geoff Regan, ran for the position by saying he would fight for a more civil House of Commons. I know Geoff fairly well. He meant it and had refused to throw the mud when he was an MP. So, when he heard the chirping in the Chamber, he stood, saying that it wasn't a good sign that he was hearing noise “from more than one side.” He attempted to add that the Commons was the “crucible of democracy” and that while vigorous debate was natural, incivility was not. Even as he tried to finish, the Conservative caucus heckled him, which no doubt was discouraging to more than just the Speaker.We had hoped for better and we still do, but this was a bad start. And it wasn’t just the Conservatives. Although the NDP had earlier circulated a petition calling for an end to heckling as a “counterproductive behavior,” the party leader and his followers pitched right in to the melee. Nor were the Liberals quiet, despite their promise that as a government they would, “restore dignity” to the House.This is where we come in … the sooner the better. We have to weigh in just as pollster and writer Bruce Anderson did recently when he composed a column for the Globe and Mail titled, “The Speech I Would Write for the Next Conservative Leader.” He believed that it was time for the Conservative Party to have an honest conversation with itself if it ever hoped to win back the favour of the Canadian people again. Anderson’s words, especially the following, proved powerful:

“We’ve forgotten what it’s like to try to persuade someone of something … Spending our days attacking others to energize our base produces immediate rewards, but the bill comes due eventually … Somewhere along the way, we confused the idea of being passionate about our ideas with being obnoxious to people outside our party. Regular people don’t live their lives with their knuckles and teeth bared, and they don’t like people who do … So let’s regroup and aim high.”

Well, they didn’t elevate their conduct this week and will have a difficult time growing support if they maintain this pattern. And if the other parties continue pitching in, democracy itself will be the ultimate victim. We have to act as Anderson has done, by speaking up, by writing our local MPs, and insisting on better if governing is to get better. Heckling isn’t free speech, and Parliament shouldn't be the bigot’s last sanctuary.In his Passionate State of Mind, author Eric Hoffer wrote: “Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.” True, and if the “imitation game” continues on into this winter session, feebleness will once again hold our politics and our civil spirit in its grasp.