This Election Is About Trust

By Rupert Johnson

Since the resumption of the Duffy trial a couple of weeks ago, I have watched with amazement and bated breath, the shenanigans and earth-shattering spectacle of this particular trial. I have been bombarded with an unprecedented litany of gross denials, glaring contradictions and questionable bits and pieces of evidence,  all alleged designed to mislead the Canadian electorate.

This daily charade of events should probably be characterized as Duffy-gate, Wright-gate, Harper-gate, or Novak-gate to use a denigrating term out of the American scandal handbook. No wonder a significant number of people have become disenchanted and cynical about our political leaders and their army of functionaries.

With all the goings-on, I am reminded of the noted Greek cynic and philosopher, Diogenes who, to the amazement of all onlookers, carried a brightly-lit torch on a cloudless, sunlit day through the streets of Athens desperately searching for an honest person or politician. Needless to say, he did not find anyone that matched this description.

Let me be abundantly clear, unlike Diogenes I am not indicating that all Canadian politicians are untrustworthy, but I can say unequivocally that a significant number seem to fall under the Diogenian umbrella of untrustworthiness.

It is indeed true that with all the grandiose promises and usual hoop-la, insincere politicians are unable to deal squarely with the matter of trust. Many are totally unable to stare the trust factor in the face. You can easily see their shifty eyes when they are presented with the truth.

Let’s be clear, trust is at the very core of this election campaign. It was Albert Einstein who said: “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”

Voters should, therefore, ask themselves: Which political leader is most credible and trustworthy to run a transparent, forthright and ethical government? Our current Prime Minister looked Canadians in the face and promised to clean up corruption in government following the Liberal Sponsorship Scandal in 2011. But instead of fulfilling this promise his government is now embroiled in a similar scandal and there is no end in sight. Ask yourself: Is this trustworthiness?

It is very evident that the current federal government is wrapped up in a multitude of shady underhand tricks. In view of overwhelming evidence it is indeed time to clean up the Augean Stables of corruption. This will be Herculean task of massive proportions, but the cleansing can be done and must be done. It is, therefore, time for a CHANGE!

Glowing policies and dazzling promises may dangle in front of the electorate, but if trust is lacking, everything will come to naught. Trust denotes the firm belief in a person’s truthfulness, reliability, and credibility. It is the unshakeable confidence in a person’s word and general character. It is the strong base on which a person’s character is built. When that trust is breached, the entire edifice or superstructure come tumbling down.

It is a firmly established ethical rule in our modern society that the head of an organization must take responsibility for the conduct and actions of his/her subordinates. No leader should be allowed to evade this responsibility.

We should all remember the prudent words of Fred Hilmer who said: “Leadership requires five ingredients—brains, energy, determination, trust and ethics. The key challenges today are in terms of the last two—trust and ethics.”

Rupert Johnson can be reached at: r.b.johnson@sympatico.ca.