This is getting to be a habit...

Over at Raise the Hammer, there's been a sub-discussion of Christopher Hume, the Toronto Star 'urban affairs' columnist in the article I yesterday issued a 'response' to a criticism at, 'Another Surface Parking Lot in the Making?'

Within the community that's most receptive to him, Hume's attained a pretty elevated status. He's not merely a journalist writing for a newspaper about what's going on in his city. Dare I say it, he's an 'urban evangelist' of sorts, passionately trying to get Torontians to see the landscape in which they live and consider it not just for what it is, but for what it could be.

I've long been a fan of Hume's. I appreciate his reasoned voice, clearly one borne out of experience. In fact, more often it's the questions he asks than any answers he suggests that encourages me, makes me want to keep reading, keep watching. (His video segments are particularly effective.)

The discussion at RTH was prompted by me asking the question "Where's our own Christopher Hume when we need one?" Rather than clog things up over there, here are my thoughts :

As I'm viewing the CBC 'The Nature of Things' documentary 'Living City: A Critical Guide', I've been more and more reminded of Hume's place in the scheme of things, especially in the sense of the absence of a 'Hamilton's Hume'. And as I Google Hume-stuff, a few things come to mind.

Firstly, given the usual ageist anti-Boomer tenor in so much of this social-media-oriented society of ours, it's kinda peculiar that many at RTH would seem so eager to pal-up with Mr. Hume. Still, rather refreshing.

Secondly, I don't see his cachet, his 'cred' as resulting from his being an 'expert'. Any tenured university professor could be an 'expert' here, but wouldn't necessarily have created what Mr. Hume has. He's an effective social commentator. The only thing that really matters is that he effectively applies energies to bear on issues pertaining to how life is lived in our cities and how we can seek improvements. Prompted by, as he says in the program, his own experiences travelling about cities. He provides context, asks questions that require consideration...he engages. As a further compelling twist, he's able to decant a certain gentle, 'childlike' aspect within his contributions, and this speaks volumes, considering more often than not he comes across as weary, cynical and beaten-down.

To me, Hume's real strength...other than his personal scope, and the fact that he's really the only identifiable one out there in his field in the media in our immediate vicinity...is how he uses personality to present his case. Allow me to qualify that: he uses his force of personality to make his soapbox a more effective pulpit. In the same way that David Suzuki is a 'personality', and countless others have in countless fields. This isn't to say that they're necessarily loud, or forceful; in fact, 'forcefulness' hardly comes to mind. But they have identifiable voices, an element of 'presence' that has granted them their share of 'oomph'.

In terms of 'Hamilton's Hume', I don't believe that what's needed is an 'expert' so much as someone to show the way with an inimitable style. (Brian Henley is probably the closest we've come to having a Hamiltonian advocate of history and place. Lovely man, great resource, but insufficient 'oomph'. As nice a guy as he is, I don't believe Mr. Henley was ever going to fill this role, even if there had even been a mandate to have a 'Hamilton's Hume'. Which there wasn't. Though some could make the case for Paul Wilson. But maybe if either had been at the tops of their games in an Internet age, things could have been different. We'll never know.) To me, this role demands a sense of personally-driven conviction, of energy, of providing some degree of...well, leadership. You know, in the same vein as those politicians we are compelled to follow.

So; is this person out there in Hamilton? Undoubtedly. In my mind, It's entirely possible we could see our own urban 'Hero' on the scene at some point. However...

'When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.'

In terms of bringing a 'Hamilton's Hume' to the fore, I don't think 'the student being ready' (Hamiltonians) is the issue. Nor, dare I venture, the 'teacher'. In fact, I know of at least two who are capable of giving the role a go. No, I think the forum is what's missing. The proper arena in which this person can be properly featured. And this just doesn't exist at the present time.

And so...we wait.