Along with many other Londoners shocked by the events in Charlottesville, Virginia a year ago, our family joined the rally in our city's central park to speak out against the racist and neo-Nazi behaviour that had so troubled that American city.  But we came away feeling that it wasn't enough.And, so, this past week, exactly one year later, we found ourselves in Charlottesville, taking part in the rally at the University of Virginia, where students wished to take back the grounds that that the alt-right rally and Unite the Right had transgressed the year before.  No one knew what to expect.  We arrived a couple of hours early, talked to police officials, student organizers and listened as a number of university professors with identifiable gray vests and who supported the students, strategized on how to keep themselves between the students and any provocations that might result in their harm.When enforcement officials sought to limit the area where the students could gather, rally organizers simply moved 500 yards to the east and carried on their activities there, speaking through megaphones and leading chants.  At one point, police in riot gear formed a line, beating in time on their shields with their batons, and blocking off routes to the inner campus.  Demonstrators immediately moved in front of them, chanting, “There is no riot here, so why are you wearing riot gear?”  After a time, the demonstrators moved on.Ultimately, the hundreds of protestors turned the rally into a moving, malleable organism, flowing through the campus, claiming it as a place where racism wouldn't be tolerated.  With a police chopper hovering overhead, security forces remained on the perimeter.  The feared clashes didn't happen, largely because the alt-right forces chose to offer their counter-demonstration in Washington D.C. the next day, across the street from the White House at Lafayette Park.Yet behind all the clamor and messaging, there ran deep and abiding emotions that drew an eclectic group to support the students.  Religious leaders of most faiths were there, as were civil society leaders from Black Lives Matter, anti-poverty activists, and gender equality movements – all who had personal experience with the devastating effects of racism.  Other Canadians had come down to show solidarity, as had American citizens from other states.For the 50,000 or so citizens of Charlottesville, this was trouble they didn't want.  Up until the events of last year, Charlottesville had been a beautiful college town whose roots went back to America's founding.  That was until the “Unite the Right” rally, the torches, the violence and the tragic death of Heather Heyer when a car piled into a crowd.  Now Charlottesville was a magnet for angst or interest, an open wound in American consciousness when it came to race.  Citizens felt it was a branding they never desired.  A few told us they were embarrassed by it all and just wanted to reflect quietly on what had transpired.It's a sentiment any city would understand.  But the problem of racism transcends all our communities for the simple reason that we haven't effectively dealt with it and now that open sore has become manifest.  It exists and drives decisions in every country of the world, including Canada.  It was inevitable that others would see in Charlottesville's troubles portends and possibilities of what might happen in their own.This is of special importance to our democracy and our politics.  Many expressed that the difficulties in Charlottesville were directly connected to the equivocation of political leaders – many who used the troubles for personal or partisan purposes.  That's always the trouble with cheap politics, of course, because anyone can speak out about what they're against, leaving their communities deeply divided in the process.  The long, hard work of hammering out a collective vision of what people truly want requires the essence of community spirit, understanding and intelligent leadership.  Fuelling passion through anger instead of enlightenment has become the common scourge of modern democracy - easier to accomplish but impossible to contain once it breaks its bonds.There was a common characteristic in the eyes of most present in Charlottesville last weekend – anger, to be sure, but above all a fear that society was running the risk of losing its humanity.  Permitting hate to become normalized only causes civilization to take a backward step into an era from which we were supposed to be escaping through understanding and enlightenment.The people of Charlottesville worked at keeping things from spinning out of control last weekend and their demonstrations mostly civil.  But the problems that community faces have transcended its borders and its people, for the simple reason that fighting racism isn't just their battle but our own.  What happened in that Virginia community is a politician's worst nightmare, but it will prove inevitable the more our democratic leaders strive for heat instead of light.Glen Pearson was a career professional firefighter and is a former Member of Parliament from southwestern Ontario.  He and his wife adopted three children from South Sudan and reside in London, Ontario.  He has been the co-director of the London Food Bank for 32 years.  He writes regularly for the London Free Press and also shares his views on a blog entitled “The Parallel Parliament“.   Follow him on twitter @GlenPearson.