This year, July 1 was Order of Canada Day. What a racket. Louder than fireworks. It can’t go to anyone controversial, some howled. Or it ought to be a symbol of unity. And what does this say about Canadian democracy?

Calm down. It’s an award. It’s not the result of a law of physics. Prizes always reflect the composition of the committee. It isn’t the voice of God or even the electorate, which can also be disputed. As for unifying us by reflecting values we all share, what a totalitarian-sounding idea! I thought democracy was when we’re unified even though we don’t agree. What unites us is our past, our mutual respect, our commitment to try to do well by each other. Canadians are always pushing the panic button over unity but it never works because, the moment you mention it, Canadians realize how diverse they are and start worrying. I hate that Canadian-values thing.

It shouldn’t go to an activist, others said. Wow. The guy is 85 and an MD. He survived Auschwitz, Dachau and a stroke. He’s not a kid with a cause. He said he thought the reaction would be more violent, and he should know. He’s been assaulted, jailed and bombed. This time, people merely took umbrage. Maybe it means things have changed and that’s what the appointment recognizes. A priest in B.C. quit the order in response. If I had it, I’d probably quit because Brian Mulroney is a member. Choose your poison. Alan Eagleson was tossed out, but that could have been a mistake. Once you make a choice, maybe you should have to live with it because decisions ought to have consequences. We’ve had pills as prime minister, but we don’t rescind their election. It’s not about always getting it right, it’s about being committed to a process. You don’t like this one, wait till next year. Giving awards is a complex process. Henry Morgentaler is a complex guy. Complex is good. It makes life interesting and full of possibilities.

He grew up in Poland, with parents who were Bundists, which means socialists but not Marxists. That’s already interesting. He survived two Nazi camps. That’s complex. Among survivors I’ve known, many were haunted about why they endured while others didn’t — and felt the rest of their lives should somehow respond to that inexplicable escape. He never says much except that it made him hunger for justice. But someone I know who’s very pro-choice says no one can deny the dark side of abortion. And on the other hand, says the same person, so many pregnancies miscarry that, if you’re religious, you could call God the great abortionist. Did Henry Morgentaler somehow manage to combine the deathliness that drenched Auschwitz with a need to redeem, heal and save? I have no idea. But I find it hard not to wonder even if no answer will ever emerge.

Or consider the complexity of juries. Three juries of ordinary folks, in Ontario and Quebec, acquitted the doctor of abortion charges in the 1970s and ’80s. Then judges overturned the acquittals. So who had a greater sense of the human complexities involved? And it is also a jury — composed this time of members of the elites, including the Chief Justice — who gave him the Order of Canada. Were they finally catching up to the wisdom of those commoner juries?

Coincidentally, I’ve been reading the diaries of Etty Hillesum, a Dutch Jew and contemporary of Anne Frank. Unusually, she more or less chose to go into the camps and perished — partly to be of use to those she loved but also, she said, because God needed her company there. Many decades from now, she wrote, people will comprehend the horror of these times but will be unable to grasp how elements of good and hope also surfaced. What a complex, unsettling thought. It expands you just to think about it.

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Rick Salutin

Rick Salutin is a Canadian novelist, playwright and critic. He is a strong advocate of left wing causes and writes a regular column in the Toronto Star.