All the tributes,kind words and out pouring of grief in honour of Jack Layton were indeed worthy tributes to a man that clearly connected with something inside of us, however they will be meaningless without real concrete follow up. With provincial elections in five provinces (Ont,Man,NL,PEI,Sask) slated for this fall the opportunity to do so is upon us.
Beyond the obvious path of voting for the most progressive option, to truly honour the man and his vision of a better Canada we must do much more.
We must let the candidates and political parties know that we demand more of them. When they descend into negativity as they surely will, we must loudly and forcefully let them know that we expect them to offer positive solutions to our problems and debate policy instead of resorting to personal attacks. This means picking up the phone,a pen, pounding the keyboard , showing up at all candidates meetings, attending events, engaging them at the door and more importantly taking to the streets to make certain our voices are heard loud and clear.
We must also hold the media to account demanding more of them than just the latest poll results and the echoing of party talking points. We must demand that they ask the questions that need asking and to keep asking until we get the answers we need, using much the same tools laid out above.
Just as importantly we must engage our families, friends, and coworkers in discussion. Let them know that contrary to what they have been told these past few years that, yes, we can afford to, and must take care of each other and build a better and more inclusive society
If we do these things this fall and beyond then win or lose we will have at least done what Jack would have wanted us to do. That to my mind would be the highest tribute we could pay the man
