And so a new year and a new semester have begun. Hopefully everyone had a fun but relaxing break. As promised, I did some leisure reading and finished watching season one of House of Cards (among other shows that I had neglected because of…well you know, law school). Surely, there is no need to describe the plot. Suffice to say that House of Cards is, generally put, a political drama. It is a story of ruthless politicians who will do anything in order to attain and retain power.
When it comes to politics, the show implies that nothing is free, that every favour has a price, and that friendships and allies are only as good as the next unfilled favour. In House of Cards, an important ally is the media. Supporters can be won through positive portrayals of a given politician, but most importantly, enemies can be destroyed through damaging exposés. Consequently, while the media can be a politician’s best friend, it can also be his or her worst enemy.
Even when no political contacts exist, the media searches for information because breaking the next big story is what drives it. In the show, loyalty seems to be irrelevant or nonexistent. Yet, things are different in real life. A duty of loyalty has been placed upon journalists, just like it has been placed upon many other professionals (at least in theory). Doctors owe it to their patients, lawyers to money (just kidding!), and journalists owe it to their audience. For journalists, this duty entails presenting information in an objective manner without regard to their personal opinion or that of others. Their purpose is to search for the truth without regard to any personal agendas, and to present the truth as it is without distortions, embellishments or omissions.
Watching House of Cards would not have given rise to this piece had I not heard in the news that Rob Ford was first in line to register for the upcoming municipal elections. My first reaction was pity because his move looks a little desperate. I wonder if he knows that winning the elections is not about who registers first. But then fear struck me as no other individual has registered (at least on that first day) as a contender. Certainly, elections are not democratic when someone wins by default. And then, the reactions to the media reports followed. Ford’s public statements regarding the worthiness of his candidacy continue to be based on the assiduous premise that he has saved “taxpayers’ dollars.” Similarly, his brother Doug Ford (who is apparently running the campaign) continues to deflect attention away from his brother’s dishonourable behaviour, focusing instead on the “saved dollars.”
Unlike the politicians in House of Cards, no journalist seems to be on Rob Ford’s list of allies. Although Ford seemed to have a good relationship with a few media outlets, such relationships came to an end after the drug scandal. Most importantly however, is Ford’s feud with the Toronto Star. From day one, the Star has focused on Ford’s slip-ups, almost as if the newspaper has made it its mission to cause Ford’s downfall. The news uncovered by the Toronto Star may indeed frustrate Ford’s plans of being re-elected.
Ever since Ford admitted to having used illegal drugs, one of the questions has been whether such behaviour is even relevant. While some people find it deplorable, others feel like it is part of his personal life and instead invite people to focus on what Ford has done for Torontonians.
There is no easy answer, when a question is framed in terms of matters of personal vs. public life. It is often difficult to say where the line must be drawn. For instance, judging objectively and putting moral or religious values aside, it is hard to say whether politicians who cheat on their partners (a very common example) are unworthy of holding office. While adultery may say a lot about a person’s character, it does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that the person will act dishonestly in every single aspect of his or her life.
Certainly, life is not black and white and so things should not be oversimplified. However, it is impracticable and unreasonable to say that drug use is strictly a private matter. Firstly, consumption of illegal drugs is, by definition, criminal behaviour. If a mayor’s criminal activity of another nature would not be tolerated, why would we tolerate illegal drug use? Second, stating that drug use impairs or affects a person’s ability to perform daily activities, including their job performance, is stating the obvious. Even if (as some say) Ford has managed to do his job as a mayor despite the drug use, now that the cat is out of the bag, Toronto has become a joke around the world. It is hard to imagine that Ford’s behaviour has not had an impact in the credibility and worthiness of the city as a whole.
In House of Cards, journalists assist politicians in destroying the political careers of their enemies. They do it for their own good and without regard to their audience. Torontonians should certainly be grateful to those diligent journalists for doing their job, namely, uncovering information that is of great significance to all of us. However, there are those who have decided to make a circus of the situation. Attention should not be given to them. We have a very important decision to make and must not welcome meaningless distractions.