If the Liberals win the 2015 federal election, will this country be governed by Justin Trudeau 鈥� or by Justin Bieber?
It鈥檚 hard to tell who鈥檚 who anymore, given Trudeau鈥檚 adolescent behaviour. First, it was calling then-environment minister Peter Kent a 鈥減iece of s鈥斺�� in the House of Commons. Then it was smoking pot, an illegal drug, while serving as an MP tasked with upholding laws 鈥� and helping to enact them. Now, the man who wants to be Canada鈥檚 next prime minister used the F-word at a boxing event in Gatineau, Que., on the weekend.
鈥淚 will tell you, there is no experience like stepping into this ring and measuring yourself. All that 鈥� your name, your fortune, your intelligence, your beauty 鈥� none of that f鈥攊ng matters,鈥� Trudeau said.
It was only Monday that he finally said he regretted using the word, and only after his wife, Sophie Gr茅goire, chided him for it. Good for Gr茅goire, but it鈥檚 too bad Trudeau doesn鈥檛 have the class to realize that if you鈥檙e the leader of a federal political party and aspire to be prime minister one day, you conduct yourself with dignity and decorum in public.
You need to understand the difference between the way you act during a public appearance and your behaviour on a camping trip with close friends.
Trudeau continues to disappoint with his behaviour. He鈥檚 42 years old, and he acts and talks like a kid. We know that Generation Y, or the millennials, or whatever they鈥檙e calling themselves this week 鈥� the cohort born about 10 years after Trudeau 鈥� has made a fine art of prolonging adolescence far into their 20s and 30s.
Not long ago, a woman whose boyfriend was turning 32 told me that at his birthday party, the 鈥渂oys鈥� would be playing video games all afternoon. And I鈥檝e seen the Facebook postings of young mothers who think it鈥檚 the cutest thing ever that their three-year-old used the F-word loud and clear for everyone to hear at the grocery store that afternoon. 鈥淟OL,鈥� they write, 鈥渨e鈥檝e got to cut back our use of it in front of him.鈥�
Yes, it鈥檚 the most riotously funny thing in the world that civility and good manners are no longer things to be taught to children, while what was once an abyss between proper language in public and profanity has shrunk to the size of a mere crack in the sidewalk.
Corinthians 13:11 says: 鈥淲hen I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.鈥� Nowadays, when you reach an age at which past generations considered themselves men (or women), it鈥檚 perfectly acceptable not to put away childish, or at least adolescent, things 鈥� including wasting one鈥檚 time getting high, and the public use of obscenity.
But at 42? Sixty might be the new 40, but 42 appears to be the new 12.
An even greater weight than ordinary adulthood rests on Trudeau鈥檚 shoulders. He wants to be the prime minister, but his behaviour is distinctly not prime ministerial.
91原创s have a right to expect better of someone who wants to be a world leader.
Yet, Trudeau remains pretty much unrepentant. After the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office publicly chided Trudeau for his poor judgment in using profanity in public, he responded by saying the Harperites shouldn鈥檛 take him to task for his judgment because of the judgment they鈥檝e shown in the Senate spending scandal.
The Senate affair has nothing to do with how a potential prime minister conducts himself publicly, but Trudeau鈥檚 response is worrisome. It shows a refusal to take responsibility for his behaviour, as well as an attempt to mitigate the matter by deflecting attention to someone else鈥檚 unrelated actions 鈥� both characteristic of the immature thought processes of a person who has a lot of growing up to do.
Trudeau needs to understand that 鈥測our name, your fortune, your intelligence, your beauty鈥� 鈥� none of that matters if you don鈥檛 set a higher standard for yourself and start acting like the statesman you supposedly aspire to be.
