“People want leadership.”
“In the absence of genuine leadership they’ll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone.”
” They’re so thirsty for it, they’ll crawl through the desert toward a mirage and when they discover there’s no water, they’ll drink the sand.”
This exchange between the characters of President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) and Lewis Rothschild (Michael J. Fox) from The American President by Universal Pictures has perhaps never been so timely. Although, Michael J. Fox’s speech has perhaps received the most attention over time, it may the response by Michael Douglas’s character to which we should pay the most attention
“People don’t drink the sand because they’re thirsty, they drink the sand because they don’t know the difference.”
This leads into the question, what is true leadership and how do we recognize it?
Never in the history of Canadian politics has as much advertising time been spent by one party promoting the future candidacy of another. The Conservative Party has spent tens of millions of dollars promoting that Justin Trudeau will make a great Prime Minister, just not yet. What has become, the famous “He’s Just Not Ready” ad, has certainly become part of our collective sub-conscious, the question to answer on October 19th will be whether Canadians use the conscious, or sub-conscious parts of their brains when casting their vote.
The first challenge, is to ask, how do we assess whether someone is ready or not? The biggest dilemma in choosing a Prime Minister is that there is no real job description available. Certainly, there are duties and tasks to be performed by the successful candidate, however, if we assess the education and experience of past Prime Ministers we discover there is no real formula that suggests success or failure. Exploration of other world leaders present similar yields, with perhaps one exception. We can reach the conclusion with relative certainty, that youth is not a restriction to success.
Perhaps the most interesting element that youth will bring to the equation is its propensity for disrupting the status quo. This can often be viewed as worrisome to the current power structure because the financial communities embrace stability. If the current power structure however is viewed as incompetent, corrupt or past its “best before date” the idea that youth brings a new revitalization can hold great appeal. Nowhere in history was this seen more, perhaps ultimately, with tragic outcome, than in the Presidency of John F. Kennedy. His disruption of the status quo, caused such instability that since his assassination, history has been unable to come up with a single, most likely party behind his death, and the list of potential conspirators is lengthy.
Following on the Conservative assessment that Justin is “just not ready” let us objectively assess this argument. One of the first areas that critics like to focus on is his education. I try to understand when teaching because such a dishonourable profession. Although he holds bachelor degrees in both Literature and Education, from McGill and University of British Columbia respectively, he taught mathematics and French at both public and private high schools, leaving teaching to study Engineering at Université de Montréal, he is often ridiculed and belittled, of his educational achievements.
One could argue that having spent the better part of his life and certainly a significant portion of his formative years, interacting with Prime Ministers, World Leaders and Heads of State, may have provided a very unique education and training unavailable at any school of higher learning.
As leader, Justin has taken difficult public stands on some of the most contentious social issues within our country. Justin has clearly come forward on the issue of legalization of Marijuana, despite the attacks of his critics, any realistic parent who has actually talked openly with their high school age child will tell you that it is easier to get a joint of marijuana than a bottle of whiskey at any high school in Canada. Why? Simple, one is legal and regulated, the other due to its illegal nature is promoted, by drug pushers, whose sole objective is getting the product to potential customers. The worst part of the so called war on drugs, is that, not only has it failed completely, but many of the drugs sold in our Canadian schools finance global terror networks. The very organizations that one of Justin’s opponents, speaks endlessly in opposition to, benefit and profit from his very policies. Yet with the most dangerous of naivete, Justin is attacked for a position that will put an end to the pushers in our schools and Canadian dollars financing the very organizations that put our Canadian Forces men and women in harms way.
Justin has also taken the most assertive stance of any political leader in Canada on the issue of freedom of choice. The anti-abortionists would make this about pro-abortion, however, I firmly believe that this subject is about two far more important issues. I believe that Justin may personally oppose the act of abortion. However, the position that a woman’s right to choose, is a Human Right, is a Liberal Party of Canada policy and as a party policy, Justin shows true leadership in defending a position he may not support himself, but is the position of the thousands of members he represents. After a decade of top down politics, this is a change I would expect Canadians to welcome. Perhaps the finest statement ever made by the Liberals on the issue of abortion, came I believe from former Prime Minister John Turner, who said, “I will not lead a country where the wealthy fly to New York, while the poor are driven to back alleys.”
Our country must face the issue of Physician Assisted Dying , our Supreme Court has mandated that the Government bring forward legislation. It didn’t allow time for the second longest election campaign in our history, it gave government 12 months to address this issue. The current Government has done nothing and even with an election underway has given the voters no indication of how it will deal with this contentious topic. The other party has indicated that it will ask the courts for more time. They have “talked a good game” about their support, however, they have had the same time as the government, what are they afraid of that they won’t tell us their position? Justin has come out since the ruling clearly on the side of both the Court and the Constitution. Justin has indicated that he would like a three party committee to reach a consensus on such a controversial subject, however, like other subjects that he has indicated a preference for consensus building and thereby Nation building, he has shown on other topics that if the other parties are unable or unwilling to join in that consensus, he has no qualms about tackling difficult issues alone.
The current election was barely underway, when Justin announced that under a Liberal Government, this would be the last time Canadian would vote in a First Past the Post election format. Again, consistent with his desire to rebuild a nation and not dictate his wishes, Justin has made it clear he would prefer a multi party committee strive to reach a new election format that addresses the desires of all Canadians. This type of leadership is never the easiest, it is obviously easier to follow the lead of the other two main parties on this issue; the Government, who obviously benefit from this structure wish to change nothing, the official opposition, have not told us their position, but did circulate a petition in which they indicate the position they will dictate to Canadians, a form of leadership, however, a form I think we have had enough of.
The last issue I would raise is bringing us back to where I began. The attack ads which unfortunately in our society today are very effective. We have seen the Conservative Political Machine, roll over candidate after candidate, punishing or crushing anyone who gets in its way. Until they found failure in their attacks against Justin. So their answer was to not attack him openly, just to suggest that he was not ready yet. Then the leader of the opposition, who pledged to not use attack ads in their campaign, not only brings out attack ads of their own, but brag how they had the idea for the Conservative Ads first. In spite of these attacks Justin has reaffirmed his refusal to reduce the Liberal Party and himself to this level.