“Well, at least we are doing better than the States”.
It’s a common theme in Canada, especially among progressives. Whether it’s environmental protection, tolerance, health care, or hockey, Canadians often like to point out how we do better than our southern neighbours. These days, however, it’s not much of an accomplishment to say our political system works better than the American system. From a massively politicized Supreme Court, through a fractured Congress and Senate, and on to business and political elites spending hundreds of millions on campaigns and lobbyist, things are discouraging. Is this the dream of the founders of the United States? Is this what Franklin, Madison, Washington and Jefferson wanted when they authored the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights?
But it gets worse – Donald Trump. A full list of Trump’s sins – both venial and mortal – would take hours. Clearly he is rude, misogynistic and has a contempt for the truth. Disgusting, for sure, but sadly just a distraction compared to his worst side. Donald Trump is stoking racial hatred and bigotry in an attempt to gain power. What he might do with that power is anyone’s guess. For all his sophistry and lies, some things are clear. Donald Trump cheers on violence aimed at minorities and protesters. Donald Trump covers up for bigots and racial terrorists by claiming to fight back against out of control “political correctness”. Donald Trump would have the American government openly discriminate against Muslims, based solely on religion. Donald Trump has said that some protests and opinions are disgraceful and that maybe some libel laws should be lightened up. If you are going to hit The Donald, even with the truth, he wants to hit back in court.
Trump has attacked, sometimes viciously, things that many of assumed were an integral, settled part of a modern democracy: the protection of free speech; the right to protest; a free press; and the equal treatment of all citizens. Apparently some truths about democracy are not self-evident.
This is why Haligonians should be wary of Trump. This is why Nova Scotians should pay attention to Trump. This is why Canadians should care about Trump. He is a warning: peace, order, good governance, and democracy are not a given. Peace, order, good governance, and democracy are not always easy. Letting distrust, racism, poverty, and ignorance smolder can hurt us all. These forces – distrust, racism, poverty, and ignorance – have led to Trump. He is only riding a wave that has been decades in building.
I think and write about city building. Too many of us mistakenly focus just on buildings, roads, and other physical aspects of city building, but there is a complex social, economic, and cultural side to even small cities. Physical places – in villages, towns, cities – are where people come together, fall in love, work, learn, argue, share, fight and trade. Physical places are where abstract concepts – our democracy, our economy, our culture – actually unfold.
I find it difficult to think about society without thinking about the places where society happens. The truth is that physical places and their design play a part in shaping a just, tolerant, and peaceful society. As is often the case, Jane Jacob’s describes things best. In 1961 she wrote in The Death and Life of Great American Cities: ” Sidewalk public contact and sidewalk public safety, taken together, bear directly on our country’s most serious social problem – segregation and racial discrimination.” Further on she writes: “Too many other kinds of effort are also required to right these injustices. But I do mean to say that to build and rebuild big cities whose sidewalks are unsafe and whose people must settle for sharing much or nothing, can make it much harder for American cities to overcome discrimination …”.
Jacobs, in this quote, writes directly about sidewalks, but she extends the argument throughout her writings to public spaces in general. Her point is worth repeating: how can we build trust, safety, and tolerance in cities if people feel unsafe and unwelcome in public places? How can we build trust, safety, and tolerance in a country if we can’t build them in cities? Public space provides a venue where, at least in theory, one can meet truly different opinions. It allows us to find out information about other people in a casual way. When we step outside our homes, we have a chance to see how other people speak, dress, and interact, which is no small thing when so much of regular life is now filtered through TV, smartphone, or computer screens.
Like Jacobs, urban planners and thinkers have to acknowledge both the power of design and its limitations. A clear limitation is that physical design is only part of creating a just society. Second, a lot of urban planning and design has been, and still is, focused on the needs of the few, rather than the many. Too much urbanism is about creating hip, innovative, vibrant, dense, 24/7 places. Too often we focus on creating a certain type of bustling urbanism in a few neighbourhoods, instead of working on more fundamental problems like access to appropriate housing or safe, convenient transportation options throughout our cities.
The biggest limitation, or perhaps obstacle, might lie not in how we build spaces but in how we think about city building and public spaces. We think about them as other people’s responsibilities – usually as government’s responsibilities, and more and more as private companies’ responsibilities. Are these groups acting in the ‘public’s’ best interest? What messages do they send to city dwellers when they design and operate spaces? Who is welcome in different spaces? Who is unwelcome? Why?
Malls are public in that you can walk in for free and browse, shop and wander as long as you please. But what would happen if you panhandled in a mall? If you stood outside a store and protested against its labour practices? You would be booted – and pretty fast. There is a set code, set by people with a goal to make money and minimize disruptions, in many quasi-public spaces. In malls, the public areas are places to passively receive messages about how you should look and act, and how to spend your money accordingly. They are not places to discuss or raise important, divisive issues.
Divisive issues do need to be raised, argued about, and discussed. Sometimes these debates will get angry and bitter, but that’s a lot better than pretending there are no problems. I would much rather see heated, emotional debates play out on the editorial pages of newspapers, at town hall meetings, during university lectures, or at public protests, than see them play out at a Trump-like political rally. Like the mall, Trump’s rallies appear public, but only until someone disagrees with what Trump’s saying and pushes back. At that point they’re threatened, humiliated, roughed up and thrown out. Trump uses the physical space he controls to violently push back at peaceful protest and dissent.
Among many other things, a strong democracy needs public spaces where people can peacefully protest injustice and abuse of power. It also needs public spaces where people can casually meet others and build trust, the first critical step to helping people see past prejudices and racism. Critically, making these places is not just government’s responsibility and it certainly isn’t the private sector’s responsibility. It is our responsibility. We, the people, must create the physical places that help build trust, safety, and tolerance, and then we must use them. We must make sure that we have sidewalks, parks, libraries, halls, arenas, pubs, coffee shops, buses, trains, stores, schools, and offices where everyone, everyone, behaving peacefully and decently, feels safe and comfortable. We must then allow and encourage lots of groups, acting peacefully and decently, to use those spaces for lots and lots of activities, both political and non-political. Book clubs, scouts and guides, sports teams, sports leagues, hunting clubs, choirs, bands, genealogical societies, quilting circles, wine shows and beer tastings, card plays, dances, bingos, church fairs, neighbourhood barbecues, etc. etc. – these are all small but valuable ways to bring people together to build trust and tolerance within our communities. They are not only fun, they are a critical part of inoculating society against the distrust, racism, and ignorance that Trump is exploiting.
Could Trump happen in Canada? While I’d love to say no, let’s not take that for granted. Like the States, there are long-standing injustices here, most embarrassingly how our government and society treats indigenous people and First Nations. Conflicts around resource use and treaty rights have sometimes turned violent. The rates of suicide and poverty on reserves are shocking and disgraceful. While the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women will combat injustices, it will take a long time to rebuild trust between our governments, our society and indigenous Canadians and First Nations communities. It is morally right to fight these injustices, as it will both better the lives of marginalized people and it will lead to a more tolerant and peaceful society. Everyone wins. Other groups also have legitimate complaints. Many black residents in and around Preston, Nova Scotia, still lack legal title to their land, despite settling that land over two centuries ago. This doesn’t seem to be a problem in nearby communities that were settled by whites. Again, fixing these types of injustices is the right thing to do for many reasons.
Canada is a different society and culture than America, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have work to do. We have wrongs to right. We have communities desperate for both a voice and for basic services. We have public spaces to protect and nurture. We have civil society to rebuild and foster. In short, we have a country to keep building. For all its flaws, Canada is worth the effort.
I don’t believe someone like Trump can happen here, but I still don’t really understand how Rob Ford was elected Mayor of Toronto. So let’s not be too cocky. Let’s make sure their particular brand of angry, bigoted bluster is not welcome in our public places, in our communities, or in our governments.
