Out in Left-Centre Field

A few days ago, one young woman, barely out of university, dared to make a peaceful act of protest that astounded and shocked a nation.

Brigette DePape's quiet act of civil disobedience was all the louder for the way in which it was conducted: holding up a "STOP HARPER" sign on the floor of the Senate chambers in the midst of the Throne Speech. Her actions didn't have the glamour of high-flying political manoeuvering, nor did they have the in-your-face anger of protests like those at the G20 in Toronto last year. She was just a lone person, with a handmade sign; the difference lay in where she chose to stand.

I guess Brigette's actions strike home a little more than usual for me, barely a month removed from university classes in my own right. I can't help but marvel at the way that a quiet protest on the floor of the Senate could achieve such a balance of right and wrong -- as the best acts of protest ultimately do.

Right, in that she has a point: Stephen Harper's Conservative government has consistently hit unprecedented heights of obsessive control over everything from the business of Parliament to mere photo-ops and anything in between. Dissent has become a crime in Parliament -- not just to the Speaker's right, either -- and Mr. Harper has willfully led the charge to greater anger and divisiveness for his own gain.

Every so often, someone has to come along and remind us that debate and dissent are essential and healthy parts of democracy. If this is what it takes, then so be it; Ms. DePape is to be commended for that.

Wrong, also, in that she paid fundamental disrespect to the institutions through which our democracy functions. Her protest flagrantly disregarded the decorum of Parliament; how many of us have been taught that it is rude and improper to interrupt someone (in this case, the Governor-General of Canada himself) while they are speaking? Both parliamentary procedure and common manners took a beating at the hands of a girl and her octagonal sign.

Furthermore, Ms. DePape and her fellow parliamentary pages are meant to serve as neutral, non-partisan intermediaries; how much of that trust will be shaken by her actions? Her superiors were right to fire her from her position; Ms. DePape's example has eroded trust in the neutrality of the page service, no doubt primarily with regards to the government that her words targeted. Worse, any other employers seeking to fill positions that require scrupulous neutrality may never turn to her in the future.

But then, in some ways, what else could she have done? Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett's suggestions included taking the protest outside, to the lawn of Parliament -- who would have noticed? The focus was on the Senate for the Throne Speech; no one on the streets of Ottawa would have taken more than a momentary glance. The best protests are those that grip our attention and make us force ourselves to watch.

Ms. DePape must have known that such a high-profile act would cost her a coveted, well-connected job; it must have been worth it to her. Whether you or I think she had genuine political concern or just a desire for attention, it is undeniable that she showed extraordinary bravery in voicing her opinion. Her actions have, at least in part, touched off a debate that we needed to have about the need for courage and engagement where we, as a nation, only see complacency.

At the same time, as stupid as we were as a nation to hand Mr. Harper an unfettered, four-year-long majority mandate, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about acting on it. The Conservatives won the election; there is no changing that fact, and there is no point complaining about it. Far from needing an "Arab Spring", as Ms. DePape says -- an entirely absurd comparison, given that people in the Middle East are fighting dictators and paying with their lives -- we need to work together to ensure that abuses of democracy are never allowed to happen, and if they do occur, to hand appropriate punishment to those responsible.

Democracy isn't just something we take out for a little fresh air once every two, three, four years. It requires us to get off our asses and make our voices heard on the issues that matter to us. It requires us to keep the people who we elected responsible to the people they represent. It requires us to be vigilant, principled, and above all, courageous.