It was a sunny day in Ottawa on Monday and as we ambled about town taking pictures of architectural features in the older part of the city we came upon a crowd at the Parliament buildings.
Other visitors to town captured shots of the Peace Tower and eternal flame. After hearing an explanation, the assembled masses followed as the band marched up the street in full regalia for the changing of the guard ceremony. Record heat levels, as reported, were already making it a little uncomfortable for visitors, let alone the participants in full dress, adorned by the traditional head dress of the guards.
We marvelled at the interest of the crowd, which was a pleasant mix of French speaking, Asians and English. Everyone seemed interested in the changeover ceremony and no doubt it added a memory to vacations as some recorded video and digital images of the program.
Just before the band began to march, that period of time where something is coming but hasn’t yet started, an organic compost truck made its way onto the grounds. No doubt it had a pick-up to make, but we were struck by the size of the sign and the redundancy of its lettering – the same way we chuckle at organic manure signs from time to time. It’s an odd phrase.
At any rate, two fellows behind us started to kibitz about that big truck and its sign. “Ya,” one said to the other. “Another shipment for the legislators.” After a few hardy laughs – amongst themselves – they got refocused on the event. All we could think was, Do these guys really think they could rival Rick Mercer, Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert in the hunt for political satire?
Within a few short blocks of Parliament Hill are many notable institutions. The War Memorial, numerous statues, the Parliamentary Library, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Laurier Hotel – it’s basically a city rife with Canadian history. As we walked along and visited quaint shops and took photos, we mulled over the organic comments and got to thinking about a doctor friend who doesn’t watch the News, instead preferring the likes of Colbert for a reflection on current events.
If the brightest amongst us prefers reflections over facts and a measure of learned opinion, the problems of our democratic institutions are far deeper than we feel is safe. A public that is satisfied with a joke rather than a serious discussion on the direction the country is heading, is in trouble indeed. Granted there is room for humour and skilled satire, but certainly the country does not run on jokes alone.
For us, the cheap shot in the midst of kids and other impressionable folk, amounted to, well, organic manure in its basest form.
