Bubble vision
The degeneracy of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is not for our masters, but the bubble of unreality is.
The writer is editorial consultant at The Express Tribune, news junkie, bibliophile, cat lover and occasional cyclist
Living inside a political news bubble does nothing to sharpen one’s perception of reality of the life outside, in the world where those who do not graze the sunny uplands of rarefied politics live and work. Thus it is that behaviour and utterances that would otherwise attract the attentions of men in white coats bearing syringes loaded with a chemical cosh, evoke little more than a bored yawn.
Take for instance the Mayor of Toronto. A big man in every sense of the word. Democratically and legally elected by tens of thousands of people who were presumably not under the influence of hallucinogens at the time they made their mark, he has trampled his way through the rule book to the wonderment of many and the utter confusion of most outside the bubble.
Mayor Rob Ford has been in post since December 2010, since when he has admitted to using crack cocaine –- “probably while I was in a drunken stupor” –- been accused of bullying and harassment of his staff, been seen drunk in his office and performing public duties and is much given to extravagant statements, political and otherwise.
All of this, one might think, was indicative of an early exit from the Mayoral office. But not so.
Despite being stripped of some of his mayoral powers he remains in post, defiant and ebullient and seemingly unable to see that outside the bubble, where the rest of the world resides, he is seen as an embarrassment, a political liability and unfit to hold any office above that of chief cook and bottle-washer on the Titanic. What is more, many of those who voted for him in the last election say they would do so again, antics and lawbreaking aside.
Take away the substance and alcohol abuse but leave in the public utterances of doubtful value or even truth in the very broadest sense the shielding cloak of all-pervasive unreality vis-a-vis the lumpen proletariat and lay the Rob Ford Bubble over a few of our own politicians. Also keep in the millions who, despite the evidence of their own eyes and ears, persist in voting to the highest offices of the land men and women who are verifiably deceitful, corrupt and intent on the use and abuse of power, no matter what.
Hope was the underpinning of the last election. One party got a drubbing, another got a third bite of the cake and a third made an entrance complete with trumpets and a sheaf of promises, most of which were framed in an unfeasibly short span of days.
The days came and went, the promises for the most part unfulfilled. The US Secretary of Defence, Chuck Hagel, was in town recently to wave the big stick and give a reality check to the prime minister, who, for his part, has promised to do his best to end the blockade of Nato goods entering and exiting Pakistan. Hagel said nothing of drones. He did hint that a lack of action might trigger an equal and opposite reaction in the blocking of considerable sums of aid — some of which the US owes us anyway.
Doubtless hope also underpinned the thoughts of those who voted for Rob Ford and will do so again. But what hope do we have for those voted into our power bubble? Will the bubble pop and reality intrude? Probably not. The degeneracy of Rob Ford is not for our masters, but the bubble of unreality is. It is no fragile membrane, but a stout and durable armour against a world outside that perceives them and their words and actions in ways other than that which they would wish or intend. Holidays outside the bubble should be mandatory for all politicians wherever they are, and Rob Ford a cautionary tale.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2013.
Correction: In an earlier version of this article, the name of the Toronto mayor was misspelled. The error has been fixed.
Take for instance the Mayor of Toronto. A big man in every sense of the word. Democratically and legally elected by tens of thousands of people who were presumably not under the influence of hallucinogens at the time they made their mark, he has trampled his way through the rule book to the wonderment of many and the utter confusion of most outside the bubble.
Mayor Rob Ford has been in post since December 2010, since when he has admitted to using crack cocaine –- “probably while I was in a drunken stupor” –- been accused of bullying and harassment of his staff, been seen drunk in his office and performing public duties and is much given to extravagant statements, political and otherwise.
All of this, one might think, was indicative of an early exit from the Mayoral office. But not so.
Despite being stripped of some of his mayoral powers he remains in post, defiant and ebullient and seemingly unable to see that outside the bubble, where the rest of the world resides, he is seen as an embarrassment, a political liability and unfit to hold any office above that of chief cook and bottle-washer on the Titanic. What is more, many of those who voted for him in the last election say they would do so again, antics and lawbreaking aside.
Take away the substance and alcohol abuse but leave in the public utterances of doubtful value or even truth in the very broadest sense the shielding cloak of all-pervasive unreality vis-a-vis the lumpen proletariat and lay the Rob Ford Bubble over a few of our own politicians. Also keep in the millions who, despite the evidence of their own eyes and ears, persist in voting to the highest offices of the land men and women who are verifiably deceitful, corrupt and intent on the use and abuse of power, no matter what.
Hope was the underpinning of the last election. One party got a drubbing, another got a third bite of the cake and a third made an entrance complete with trumpets and a sheaf of promises, most of which were framed in an unfeasibly short span of days.
The days came and went, the promises for the most part unfulfilled. The US Secretary of Defence, Chuck Hagel, was in town recently to wave the big stick and give a reality check to the prime minister, who, for his part, has promised to do his best to end the blockade of Nato goods entering and exiting Pakistan. Hagel said nothing of drones. He did hint that a lack of action might trigger an equal and opposite reaction in the blocking of considerable sums of aid — some of which the US owes us anyway.
Doubtless hope also underpinned the thoughts of those who voted for Rob Ford and will do so again. But what hope do we have for those voted into our power bubble? Will the bubble pop and reality intrude? Probably not. The degeneracy of Rob Ford is not for our masters, but the bubble of unreality is. It is no fragile membrane, but a stout and durable armour against a world outside that perceives them and their words and actions in ways other than that which they would wish or intend. Holidays outside the bubble should be mandatory for all politicians wherever they are, and Rob Ford a cautionary tale.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2013.
Correction: In an earlier version of this article, the name of the Toronto mayor was misspelled. The error has been fixed.