From Platitude Central

Kim Campbell once famously said that  "an election is no time to discuss serious issues." Given the paucity of substance emerging thus far from declared candidates in both the Ontario and federal Liberal leadership races, I suspect that same 'wisdom' applies to leadership aspirants.

In the time leading up to selection of the next round of political saviours, it is my intention to track those platitudes regularly in order to chronicle the sad state of political discourse in this country; regrettably, it is a discourse debased not only by the ever-ready opportunistic attacks by opposition parties, but also by our own refusal as citizens to face up to unpleasant realities.

To begin this series, may I recommend perusal of Thomas Walkom's column in today's Toronto Star? In it, Walkom explores the utterances of young Justin Trudeau, the likely soon-to-be anointed next messiah to lead the federal Liberals out of the political wilderness (please forgive the cliche - it just seems so apt here).

The gist of Walkom's criticism is the platitudinous nature of Trudeau's utterances thus far, and of course it is a criticism that too readily applies to all current leadership aspirants on both levels of government:

Youth unemployment? Trudeau spoke firmly against it and said something must be done. It’s only when the reporter checked his notes later that he realized the candidate had never quite said what.

Medicare? The existing system, said Trudeau, is not sustainable. A serious conversation is needed. Otherwise medicare will die from benign neglect.

The most specific he got was in talking of the need for [m]ore emphasis on prevention. More home care. But all without more federal money.

And so the dance of triteness goes on, I suspect with more than a small cadre of media members and the electorate willing to have 'sweet nothings' whispered in their ears.