Stepping Away for a While

I’ve been involved in politics since the age of 14. I’ve met countless people over the 12 years since then, many of whom I am proud to call friends today. I’ve had some great debates, and I’ve had some absolute pissing matches. Generally, I’ve tried to maintain an open mind to opposing viewpoints, and in many cases, I’ve allowed others to convince me to change my mind. Sometimes, I’m simply stubborn.

I’ve been proud to be a part of some very successful campaigns. From working on the late Jim Hillyer’s campaign as a social media advisor, to door knocking for Kerry Diotte’s surprise winning campaign in Griesbach, to the small part I played in the Unite Alberta movement, each experience has been invaluable to my growth as a young Albertan. In these campaigns, I was able to serve in my first real communications role, I got to watch a friend win a seat as an MP, and I got to watch other incredible young Albertans (people like Sonia Kont, Miguel Racin, Tyler van Vliet, etc) prove that our generation is a force to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately, for every good person I’ve met, there has been a gaggle of people with only negative intentions. From a self-serving “leadership” candidate’s attempt to derail the career of a fellow UCP MLA (a powerful advocate for his constituents), to the efforts of pro-division PC “activists” to destroy the reputation of Alan Hallman (one of the finest men I have ever had the joy of getting to know), to the efforts of some people on the left side of the spectrum to pick and choose portions of speeches/interviews to slap Jason Kenney (who has spent his life bettering the lives of all Canadians without any discrimination based on race, religion, gender, sexuality, etc) as a “bigot”, I have seen the very worst of people in politics.

It’s not that I believe that these people are “bad” people. It’s that I believe that politics brings out the very worst in many people. I’ve lost long-time friends over politics. I’ve watched people I respect sink to the lowest of lows. I’ve watched myself act like somebody that I’m not.

Because of all of this, I’ve decided that I’m going to take an extended break from direct involvement in politics, and that includes the usage of Twitter.

I am not proud of some of the things I’ve said on social media. No, I haven’t made any posts that could be considered abhorrent, but I have allowed the nastiness of politics to turn me into somebody that I’m not. Far too often, I’ve taken things personally, and gone back to attack the person rather than the idea. I’ve put personal attacks ahead of civil debate. I’ve pushed good people away simply because we hold differing ideologies. This is not how I was raised. This is not who I am.

Simply put, my involvement in politics has made me a worse person. For a long time, this has only affected me, but things have changed in my life. For a long time, I only had myself to live for, but that has changed.

Getting married has really opened up my eyes to who I am, who I want to be, and who I need to be. My wife deserves the best of me, but she isn’t going to get that from me as long as I’m allowing my political involvement turn me into a worse person than I know I am.

I want to take a moment here to apologize to those that I have lashed out at. To anybody that I have lashed out at or personally attacked, I’m sorry. To the friends I pushed away over ideology, I’m sorry. To the wife who deserves the very best me that I can be, I’m sorry.

I’m not going away forever, and I still plan on being involved in politics, but quietly. I will vote, and I will donate, but I will not be involved in commentary or punditry for an indefinite period of time. I will not be volunteering for or working on any campaigns until I feel that I will not allow politics to change the person that I am.

To the friends I have made through politics, I invite you to add me as a friend on Facebook. Drop me a DM on Twitter or Facebook, and I will be happy to get your number or grab a coffee some time. I’m keeping my Twitter up, but my tweets will be kept to a bare minimum, if I tweet at all.

Thank you to anybody who has read this far. It is greatly appreciated.