Only human

Last week, letter writer and colleague Ramesh Pooran called me out on my column, which highlighted a young female politician who was forced to step down after a heated online exchange she had been involved in as a teen was revealed.

Pooran wrote that indiscretions made by young people should be given some leeway, and especially when they’re done out of passion, coupled with poor judgement. He’s right. We need more young people to be engaged in politics, with idealism still gleaming in their eyes, not yet sullied by political cynicism and entitlement.

And with other politicians falling to much less passionate and more embarrassing gaffes, it really puts things in perspective.

We’re not perfect, we humans, as much as we’d like to think we are. Sometimes we do and say things before we really think them through, and the end result can be humiliating or even disastrous.

So it would seem, from Elizabeth May’s moment of exhausted exuberance at a press gallery dinner to the poor housetraining of former candidate Jerry Bance to pretty much every time Rob Ford was in public as mayor of Toronto, politicians are human.

And while election time is also time for candidates to be on their best behaviour, it’s also time for anyone competing against them to dig into the archives and bring up the dirt. This is not necessarily ethical and it is not necessarily fair, but it does happen.

So here’s a quick guide to aspiring young politicians who want to make it to the polls without any disastrous encounters with your past. It’s also useful for anyone who hopes to have a public profession someday.

Your body is nothing to be ashamed of—behind closed doors. Urination is a new baseline, but privates going public has always spelled disaster for politicians. Don’t photograph yourself nude, don’t let anyone else do it, and for goodness’ sake, don’t put those photos on the Internet. Oh, and it’s not impolite to ask to use the bathroom.

Think before you speak. Or type. Don’t publish anything online if you’re angry or under the influence. Don’t speak publicly if you’ve had too much to drink. And talking points are a good start, but active listening is a quality all politicians should have. If someone asks you a question that requires empathy to answer, summon some.

Check your facts. If you don’t, the press will. If they don’t, the public will. Research is also an important quality in a politician. You can twist numbers, make up statistics and otherwise summon bovine excrement, but it will be sniffed out.

This is, of course, incomplete. Being in the public eye is not easy. We get that. But if you’re willing to put yourself out there, you have to be ready.

I’m sure Ala Buzreba’s career is not over. She seems to be a passionate young woman, and she will recover, if not for this election year. But I have no doubt the lesson she’s learned is a valuable one.

mihal@mihalzada.com

Updated: To correct the name of the coffee mug urinator.