The Extreme Right Continues Its Jack Layton Barrage Of Abuse

Given the recent spate of classless comments about Jack Layton by people like Christie Blatchford, Jonathan Kay and Barbara Kay, I have come to the conclusion that there is something deeply threatening to the far right in the life and death of Jack Layton.

For much too long, the extremists of the right have been busy convincing us that the only worthwhile nightly news is how the stock indices fared and what the future holds for interest and mortgage rates, with tales of human achievement and suffering a distant second in both import and impact.

So successful have they been, we are frequently left with only cynicism and despair over the prospect of change, leading us to express ridicule and suspicion of those working in public service who proclaim their desire to advance the common good and not simply their own careers.

Jack Layton was a constant challenge to that bleak worldview. Affable and approachable, he was a leader with a strong set of social values who was also a realist. Rather than rely on the reflexive impulse to vilify his political opponents, he sought compromise and co-operation. His influence on the Paul Martin budget of 2005 to halt corporate tax cuts and increase social spending is ample testament to that.

By refusing to stereotype those who opposed him, he humanized the opposition, standing in sharp relief to a minority government with a leader happy to call him 'Taliban Jack' when he stood firmly against the abuse of Afghan prisoners of war captured by Canadian troops.

Indeed, the civility he attempted to bring to the House of Commons was without question a reflection of his deep humanity. To be able to look beyond labels and party affiliations, to be able to recognize the humanity in the men and women opposing his agenda in Parliament, showed all of us how there is a better way, a way based on shared humanity and shared needs and goals, with concern for the collective outweighing the thrall of selfish pursuit.

This is the true legacy of Jack Layton. If, like him, we can see that we share a common bond and a common fate, then we can, as he says in the final paragraph of his final letter, “be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.”

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Christie - blah blah blah - Blatchford

I read Chrisie Blatchford's reprehensible column yesterday on Jack Layton, and since the comment boards are ablaze with outrage over her remarks, allow me to briefly add my own thoughts about people of her ilk:

I have come to the conclusion that the right is unable to recognize the genuine grief over Jack Layton's passing because it challenges too sharply its notion that the only things of value are bottom lines, profitability, and the unalloyed 'joys' of unfettered capitalism and materialism.

To be shown that human beings are more than simply economic entities is just too much for the conservative mind.