“I quit” has a really bad rap these days. We value persistence, stick-with-it-ness, marriages that last until death do you part, the gold watch. And so we should. Our country was built on the Protestant work ethic. “Kids these days,” we say. “They give up at the slightest inconvenience.”
On the other hand we know Kenny Rogers is right. “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away…”
So when Adam told me he was not going to run in the fall election it felt a whole lot like quitting to me. But only for the first few minutes and then Kenny Rogers kicked in.
For anyone who doesn’t know the context: Adam is my son. He’s been a politician for the past 16 years. First as a municipal councillor and then two terms as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
We all know reasons why many politicians don’t quit when we think they should. Some elected leaders get caught up in the adulation. Even though it is likely that less than half their constituents support them the strokes from their followers becomes their cocaine. What would they do without it? Some elected leaders lose themselves in the political game. Pretty soon the social issues, the people, the environment, the things they used to care about take second place behind supporting their party and getting re-elected.
There are so many other snags that catch the hems of politicians and don’t let them go. “What else will I do?” “I only have a few years left I might as well take one more run at it.” “They need me.” “I’m the only one who can do the job.” “I can’t afford to live on a pension.”
From what I’ve seen most elected officials start out with a burning and honorable motivation—to make the world a better place. Most of them are driven by a few big ideas. They are like young people with placards—enthusiastic, idealistic, optimistic—champions for their cause(s).
Then their optimism and eagerness wanes and, as my father used to say (I never knew he was quoting Shakespeare), they become hoisted on their own petard. And when a politicians’ enthusiasm wanes they become the very thing they became a politician to change.
Other than the narcissists who never lose their zeal for the limelight and there are plenty of them in politics…there they are. Tired. Less able to ignore harsh criticism. Less interested in the issues and more interested in making themselves comfortable. And why wouldn’t they? It’s a hell of a job. And that’s when it’s time to quit.
Because politics is not the only way to change the world. It’s not always the best way. There are two or three or four sides to every table.
It didn’t surprise me when Adam said he knew it was time for him to step away from politics. When he was 14, he worked in the dish pit at the Brentwood Inn. He came home one day bright-eyed with a new realization. “I just figured out why so many people at work are grumpy and discouraged. They think they are dishwashers. I am washing dishes.”
Good job, Adam. The past 16 years have not been about the glory or the fight or the followers or the party or platform and the microphone or the adrenaline. They haven’t been about being a politician. They have been about doing the job and you will find many, many, many other ways to make the world a better place.