On this day that marks the death of the leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons in Ottawa, the CBC has dedicated several hours to commemorating his life, political contribution and personal legacy.
It is the comment of Brian Topp, President of the New Democratic Party that struck me. When asked what he will take away from the experience of working with Jack Layton, Mr. Topp commented:
"Jack always talked to men and he left that image in my mind, and I will try to learn to do that, as I pay respect to his legacy."
Imagine a political leader talking to men about violence committed by men, about the need to respect women, about the importance of being a male member of the human race....it is almost inconceivable!
And, in that moment, we saw, perhaps for the very first time in Canadian public life, a demonstration of the importance Jack Layton placed on the definition of masculinity in a world gone mad with hard power.
Jack's departure letter, composed on Saturday afternoon, a mere two days prior to his untimely death, with a few of his closest associates including his wife Olivia Chow, also herself a Member of Parliament for the NDP, closes with these words:
My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
Here is a national political leader unafraid to acknowledge his optimism, his hope and his love...as important qualities in any attempt to "change the world"....
Sounds almost triumphal, certainly spiritually uplifting and undoubtedly unexpected coming from a male, in the current cultural climate in North America.
And there is not a person alive who knows Jack Layton who would permit his being dubbed a "wimp"...
He was a partisan, a fighter for justice and equality and fairness in the Canadian political debate, a champion of individual rights of gays and lesbians, of the underclass, of First Nations people and of those who needed a helping hand to make their way out of dependence.
For all of his many gifts, talents and indomitable spirit, Jack Layton undertook one of the most challenging and important tasks for any political leader in the twenty-first century...challenging and mentoring other men into their highest ideals and their best in all relationships.
And he not only used these words; he lived their importance in being able to bring people of different ideologies and points of view together to accomplish practical goals in the larger public interest.
Would that more men than the NDP President can and do hear and accept the challenge that Jack Layton posed for men in Canada and in North America.
Such a level of acceptance of that challenge will change our schools, our families, our corporations and our political discourse...and all of that change will be for the higher good of both men and women.
