MacEchen was highly regarded throughout his political career and his death was greeted with appropriate respect and positive coverage in the media. However, when I scrolled through the comments posted in response to an article in a prominent newspaper, I was struck by the mean-spirited and often irrelevant tone of too many of the comments. The Internet trolls were in evidence as usual. There were complaints about MacEchen showing excessive favouritism toward his riding, being a terrible Finance Minister, and saddling Canada with a massive debt load for decades. Some veered off the topic entirely to vent their anger with Pierre Trudeau and then add disparaging remarks about the current Prime Minister.
The other death last week was of 50 year old Arnold Chan. Cancer cut short his life, but not before he made his mark in the House of Commons with a speech delivered this past June, even as he struggled with the disease. There were far fewer comments following the article on his death, but some still managed to be mean-spirited or to go off on a tangent and attack the Prime Minister.
It is both sad and immensely destructive that so many people apparently scroll through on line newspapers and other commentary so that they can spew their vitriol and hatred. They never offer constructive suggestions or propose alternatives; they simply attack the position taken and usually the person taking it. It may be some odd form of therapy for them, but it is damaging to our society. Whatever you may think of politicians, they are all that we have in a democracy. Why would good people run for office if they are to face constant ridicule and criticism? If good people stop standing for office, where does that leave a system based on representative government?
Arnold Chan’s Commons speech this summer pointed us in the right direction. He urged his colleagues to ditch the “canned talking points” and to treat the institution – and each other – more honourably. The Internet trolls would do well to read his speech, one small portion of which I quote below as a fitting end to this blog. Responding to his call would help to convert the vile trade back into an honourable calling.
It is the basic common civility we share with each other that is fundamental. It is thanking our Tim Hortons server. It is giving way to someone on the road. It is saying thanks. It is the small things we collectively do, from my perspective, that make a great society, and to me, that is ultimately what it means to be a Canadian. We are so privileged to live in this country, because we have these small acts of common decency and civility that make us what we are. I would ask members to carry on that tradition, because that is the foundation of what makes Canada great.