Once upon a time, I wanted to change my province and try to work for an organization I believed in, to try to make a differe- ugh. Blah, blah, blah. If you want to be a hero, don't work in politics. At one time, I had aggressively pursued a career within the inner circle of provincial affairs. My enthusiasm was unmatched at the time. Fast forward a couple years and here we are.
Gone are the days of bright-eyed, anticipatory wonder, and unrealistic ideals. I've settled into a steady, loping pace at work, and although my objectivity may be a tad jaded most of the time, I feel as though I am quite realistic in terms of my expectations and my abilities at work. I mean, it's called "work" for a reason, right? It's a job. It's not my life. I need to repeat that mantra to myself silently, edging out the anxious noise that sometimes threatens my patience. This one fellow I work with has been drinking the political organization kool-aid for longer than I've been alive, probably. He is an over-achiever and a micro-manager and I've never seen him enter or leave the building, which leads me to believe that he lives at work in his office. People like this, I assume, must really not be a fan of their personal lives. I like to keep work and play separate. Clean lines.
What can you say about politicians? We paint most with a similar hued brush. Mostly, I can't fault this prerogative. I mean, the great people we know and identify as leaders already have terrific jobs that allow them this position of influence. Farmers, small-business owners, nurses, teachers, moms... you get the idea. But I am not here to dissect our judgement on politicians. Quite the opposite.
Last Christmas, my boss (who lives in the public eye on a small scale) said some things in an interview that he shouldn't have. They were not aggressive or vicious - they were perhaps inflammatory and just plain ignorant. Media and citizens alike immediately attacked him. Hate mail and phone calls flooded my inbox and my voicemail and a very stark reality smacked me in the face. The overwhelming and hateful response from offended civilians completely outweighed the transgression (comparatively) my boss had mistakenly made. I wish I could give you some sort of context without becoming too personal, but the words I read and the detestation within the boundaries of the messages I received gave me a heavy heart and I wondered, as I read each individual message, if the authors of these hostile words felt that this was a form of payback? or did this malevolence justify my boss' crime? Did their offence automatically spare them accountability for their choice of words? Is my boss not a human being as well? (Well...) It made me step back a significant amount and honestly wonder if these people had thought twice before hitting send. Does this make them any better than my boss and his poor choice of words? Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?, I wanted to reply. But instead, in my usual sparkly manner, I responded with complete formality and thanked them for their time and concern. I'm such a lady.
There was a mailer sent out from our political organization headquarters earlier this month. I have come to anticipate the inevitable and brace myself from the onslaught of nasty-grams from the very same people I had the pleasure of corresponding with last Christmas. I am always shocked, and I'm not sure why, at the blatant aggression from people who receive political mailers without consent or permission. I understand you may disagree with political mailers, and perhaps they inconvenienced you by having to walk over to the trash to dispose of them, but these mailers did not rob your house, nor did they murder your family, so please stop reacting so violently.
I'm not trying to defend anyone here - least of all a political constitution. I am just a little sad inside that people can be so malicious over a seemingly small disturbance, and the escalation of emotion over such a trivial thing (an unwanted comment, an redundant piece of mail) can lead to such animosity. Let's spread the love a little over here, because human tolerance should go both ways.
