A message to the old men
Thank you for your service. Thank you for the countless hours you stole from your family and your own health to walk the campaign trail, attend community suppers, sit through long meetings, glad-hand, deliberate legislation, draft policy, etc.
It is worthy of appreciation and recognition.
But you can sit down now.
Male politicians of 65 plus, you've had your turn. It's time to hang up your running shoes and pick up the coach's towel.
I know you've still got the fire, your ideas still have merit, and maybe you're even better known and well funded than ever, but it's time to pass the baton. If your concern is truly what is best for the community, and not about your personal self-aggrandizement, it's time to step into the background and let someone else take the lead.
It's time for you to lend all the might of your reputation, your fundraising machine, your personal networks, your ways of working the system, your depth of policy knowledge, your inside track to someone else who is just starting out.
There is so much to know and do – more than ever in a world shaped by rapidly changing and instantaneously delivering technology. Nobody needs to start from scratch. We're all so much better off with wise mentors who know how to maintain the necessary training schedule, when to call cheers from the sidelines, when to call for a break, and when to hunker down and fight.
Your wisdom is valuable, but we don't need you at the forefront of the struggle for today and tomorrow.
It's time for you to step aside and make way for someone new, someone who is able to bring a perspective formed outside the halls of power.
It is worthy of appreciation and recognition.
But you can sit down now.
Male politicians of 65 plus, you've had your turn. It's time to hang up your running shoes and pick up the coach's towel.
I know you've still got the fire, your ideas still have merit, and maybe you're even better known and well funded than ever, but it's time to pass the baton. If your concern is truly what is best for the community, and not about your personal self-aggrandizement, it's time to step into the background and let someone else take the lead.
It's time for you to lend all the might of your reputation, your fundraising machine, your personal networks, your ways of working the system, your depth of policy knowledge, your inside track to someone else who is just starting out.
There is so much to know and do – more than ever in a world shaped by rapidly changing and instantaneously delivering technology. Nobody needs to start from scratch. We're all so much better off with wise mentors who know how to maintain the necessary training schedule, when to call cheers from the sidelines, when to call for a break, and when to hunker down and fight.
Your wisdom is valuable, but we don't need you at the forefront of the struggle for today and tomorrow.
It's time for you to step aside and make way for someone new, someone who is able to bring a perspective formed outside the halls of power.
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