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UC Chimes: On the video tape

ney, sometimes we have to ignore or overlook certain issues that are not directly related to our life.

ney, sometimes we have to ignore or overlook certain issues that are not directly related to our life. Although everything might somehow be directly or indirectly related with our living in the broadest sense, the reality is that we cannot do much about certain things and matters. Examples would be current issues such as the Senators scandal and Toronto mayor Rob Ford's personal misbehaviour of taking crack cocaine that are currently dominating the news.

As a former resident, when Rob Ford was elected as a mayor by a large majority of voters, I looked forward to a change and reform of the old bureaucratic administrative systems to a fresh and new way of management of the city of Toronto which is the fourth largest city in North America. Up until the breaking of the video scandal, many people in Toronto gave him good credits for accomplishing the promises that he made in the election campaign .

So far our society has progressed to be more open, tolerant and accepting of an individual's behaviour and private life regardless of what and how they are, as long as they do not directly relate to that person's public position. This kind of double standard, which separates personal matter and public responsibility, is a common phenomenon nowadays under the protection of the laws of privacy, human rights and freedoms. So Rob Ford's video scandal has become a good model case that raises many reasonable questions such as "Does a private life really not relate to a public life?" or "Should people have a right to know about a personal life before choosing their leader, especially for political figures?"

When I watched the surveillance video of Rob Ford's suspicious behaviours, which the Toronto police department had provided to the media and later the other one, I admired the modern technology of restoring the damaged videos and the detective skills of taping the secret videos. On the other hand it was shameful for me to see the childish behaviours by the mayor of the biggest city in Canada.

After facing with these current scandals of public figures, I feel that not only is it hard to separate a private life and a public life completely but also it is difficult to hide and to keep secrets in any private life nowadays due to modern technology. Jesus said, "For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light" (Luke 8:17). This Jesus' saying has become so true now. Vassula Rydan, who has been known as a modern prophet in the Roman Catholic Church, said that in heaven God does not judge each individual, rather He lets them watch their video tape of their whole life.