In a recent Maclean's, National Editor Andrew Coyne again dissects the issues at stake. He again points to Watergate as a time when democracy worked in the U.S., largely thanks to journalists but also due in large part to the interest of the American public in what happened. My father (who spent much of the 1970s making dire statements about Nixon during evening news broadcasts) would have disagreed that John. Q. American Voter did right in the 1972 election, thanks to Woodward and Bernstein. However, the break-in and cover-up were investigated; Nixon eventually did resign. "Evildoers" were sent to prison.
Coyne's piece might serve as an effective warning to journalists and an equally effective scolding to the politicians (mostly the current Prime Minister) who have the power to decide just how far the investigation into former Prime Minister Mulroney will go. But it's really too early to tell. Coyne may yet be seen as an idealistic windmill-tilter.
I'm rooting for him. I hope that politicians, who assuredly read Macleans (or at least what their staff members mark for them), acknowledge the legitimacy of his criticism of their performance to date. I hope that journalists, who may profess to find the length of his piece the most impressive thing about it, get beyond jealousy and accept the challenge to dig a little deeper into the matter.
Mostly, I hope that John Q. Canadian listens to this:
...[T]he public interest in ethical government has no statute of limitations. We need to know if we were played for suckers, and if we are still being played for suckers. That’s not just a challenge for the inquiry, but for all of us reading about it and watching at home. This is a test of our democracy—this is our job—and we need to be up to it. It’s long and boring and hard to follow? Tough. Do your job.
If Canadian politicians, journalists, and citizens all accept Coyne's challenge, they will not only serve their own interests and protect their own democracy. They will also serve as the best sort of example to their neighbors to the south, where 300 million people (including politicians and journalists) have been played for suckers since 2003 and have known about it for almost that long--yet no one seems to be even a bit miffed. To those in the U.S. today, "evildoers" are shadowy figures who live in other places--not those walking among us as elected officials and cabinet members.
Coyne is right. It is the job of the citizens of a democracy to help protect that democracy. And what a great job it is, too.
