Brigette DePape: Silently speaking truth to power

Brigette DePape: Silently speaking truth to power | rabble.ca
Excerpt:

Brigette was fortunate to have found herself in an unusual position -
privileged yet powerless. On the one hand, she was honoured to have
been selected as a Senate page, a position difficult to attain and one
coveted by students dreaming of political careers. But for someone with
Brigette's integrity and passion for justice, the excitement of being a
page soon wore thin. At some point she realized that it presented a
creative way for her to turn a completely powerless position into an
opportunity to express her political views with the hope of raising
awareness and mobilizing toward change.

In an age when newspapers have the power to influence voters by
endorsing politicians who put business interests before public interest;
in a society where a political party is given a majority government in
spite of demonstrating its disregard and disrespect for the
parliamentary process; and in a society where the acquisition of a
hockey team gets more media attention in one day than many issues of
significant public relevance get in a decade, Brigette selflessly and
brilliantly played the card that she had available to her, in spite of
the unknown consequences to her as an individual.

In this single act of peaceful defiance, Brigette has become a symbol
of hope for many who are concerned with the direction the Harper
government may try to take us in. She has sent a signal to her
generation, and to all of us, that we have an important role to play in
changing that course. And she has re-energized the progressive but often
cynical members of her parents' generation to continue to press for
change. Brigette stepped up when we needed a shot of hope and optimism.