The other night, I watched the US Presidential debate and like most sane people, I was pretty dismayed by the entire debacle. It was certainly a low point if not the lowest for American politics. There wasn’t a simple stretch of the truth, instead, lies spewed and the decorum exhibited was deplorable! What we watched wasn’t a debate, it was a street fight. Radicals on either side may have seen something positive but for most people sitting and listening, nothing of substance around true policy or direction was shared.
If I was an American, I’d probably align more with the Republican mandate but there is absolutely no way that I could vote for Donald Trump. He is an ego maniac and a bully. More importantly, he has caused more division in the country (by not denouncing white supremacy or supporting peaceful protests) than any other president in recent history. The man is as far away from a true leader as can be humanly possible. Being humble is not likely in his vocabulary.
So what has that to do with Canada? Well, over the past number of years, we’ve started to head down the road of mud slinging politics. An acquaintance of mine grew up in Ottawa years ago and he and his buddies would head to Parliament often to watched the proceedings. He would tell you that the decorum during that time was classy. Debates were courteous, questions were tough but there was a lack of drama. In other words, politicians acted like the leaders they were elected to be.
During the beginning stage of the pandemic, I was proud of the majority of our Canadian politicians as they put the country first and party politics second. We were in a crisis and it was time to come together. That may be waning slightly now because it likely time to start thinking about checks and balances within this crisis. However, the bottom line is that disagreement on the floor should be done with integrity. Cat calls, rude comments, stunts and interruptions are not what we as a public should accept as proper behaviour by our politicians…no matter the party!
Living in Alberta, I’m more aware of our own provincial politics. I’ve been required to attend the legislature on a number of occasions and given my history, I would not send students to watch our provincial politicians during debate. There is not a classroom in the province run by a good teacher that behaves as poorly as many of our MLAs. This is not about picking sides because I’ve witnessed rude and obnoxious behaviour on both sides of the floor over many terms. Where is the class? Where is the appropriate decorum? Where are the respectful interactions? It seems that those characteristics of years gone by are few and far between and “staging” seems to be more important than meaningful discourse.
Unfortunately it is not only being seen in the Legislature but through social media as well. Politicians (from all sides) are flinging personal insults, making rude comments and in the end perpetuating a belief that nothing is ever good on one side or the other. Social media can be a powerful tool but it can also be a devastating weapon when used improperly. I think all politicians need to do a gut check to see if their behaviours or their comments in person or through social media are leading them more toward Trump style politics and if so…cease and desist!
I think our federal and provincial politicians should be applauded for responding to a call to serve. But note it is a call to serve not be served and a call to be humble and not arrogant. They deserve our respect because of the work that they do and the tough job that it is. But they should only earn our respect when they show respect not just to those who agree with their platform but more importantly to those who do not. Canadian politicians need to be leaders and as such…it is never about themselves.
Arrogance or rude and bullying behaviour have never been descriptors of high quality leaders. So let’s try and remove ourselves as far away as possible from Trump style politics and ensure nothing less from our politicians, to act with dignity and integrity and not with arrogance and a reality show mentality. We deserve that and quite frankly they should desire it too!
