.GlenPearson: Throwing Bad Politics After Good People | National Newswatch
It was a touching journey reading through the various tributes to Trevor Harrison, the former young Liberal staffer who passed away following a lengthy battle with brain cancer this week. Michael Ignatieff’s reflection of Harrison in theThe Ignatieff era ushered in many young keen minds to Ottawa in the pursuit of intelligent policy and perhaps a more effective politics.
When the 2011 campaign didn’t work out, there was concern among many of us that all that youthful fervour amongst the staffers would dissipate, turning them away from politics. That’s not how it worked out. Most of them, including Trevor, eventually found themselves within various positions in public service and, to this day, leave their mark.
With Trevor’s passing this week also comes a lesson. The keenness and vigour of all those minds like his are the engines that keep our politics moving, filling it with ideas, providing it a raw nobility. They are up at all hours, taking on tasks menial and significant, and always infuse their political bosses with a sense of urgency, even idealism. Their spirit is often why people get into politics in the first place.