One of the things I enjoy most about the sport of football (soccer) is that it is not involved in politics. Some may argue otherwise, but ideally sport is separate from – and often above – the gutter that is politics.
That isn’t to say there isn’t politics involved in sports. Any parent can attest to the political nature of youth sporting groups, especially in higher level competition. I’ve been the fly on the wall for some of those battles between the stands and the bench – very political.
As a whole however, sports are to be above and separate from politics. You don’t see a Progressive Conservative soccer team playing, or a Liberal Party of Canada baseball team playing. Although given the high expectations and low results of the Toronto Blue Jays, one could equate the two – but I digress.
Politics makes things messy, and not just in sports. Community groups, historical societies, youth groups, art organizations, music societies, etc. – all these groups eschew politics as much as possible. It makes sense to do so. These groups remaining apolitical mean there is inclusion, and equity, and access for everyone. Great idea. And if any of these groups want to do something in the community and need to apply for government money – no bridges were burned ahead of time.
A someone who believes that governments should stay out of our personal lives as much as possible, and so too should other people, I am a supporter of people – however different they are – from the WASP-like origins of Eastern Ontario. And I support groups that advocate for equality of people who are different. Again, no one has the right to tell me who I am or can be, so no one has the right to tell anyone else either. If more people followed that view, and that of a certain former Prime Minister whose son isn’t doing politics very well, what people do is no one else’s business.
I don’t go to many weddings. The last one I attended was for a good friend and former co-worker, and his soon-to-be husband. During the event, which was held at a public outdoor space, many of the guests with their “spidey senses” on high alert. Word had gotten around that a religious group against gay marriage was planning to protest during the festivities. Thankfully nothing of the sort happened, but many of us guests were ready to send the protestors in a different philosophical direction as the event was for our friends and their families.
There are many groups with great causes. They all opt on the side of caution in avoiding politics, and it has paid off for them. Many groups that advocate for minority rights (race, gender, sexual orientation, etc) have advanced leaps and bounds. Equality and respect for differences is far more ahead than behind. In looking to when I was a kid 30-plus years ago to now, there is a lot more equality and a lot less WASP-like institutions.
That’s why it is disappointing to see an organization like Ottawa’s Capital Pride veer off the road of not being political, and fall right into the quagmire of Israeli-Palestinian/Middle Eastern politics. The organization has been under fire in recent weeks for a statement which called the Israeli Army’s attacks in Gaza as a “genocide” against the Palestinian people. In response, many organizations, groups, and officials, have pulled their support for Capital Pride. Politics has derailed the organization in my view. According to the organization, their mission is, “to create opportunities to celebrate, advocate, educate and connect people, respecting the full diversity of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.” I didn’t see anything in that statement that said to dive into geopolitics.
I won’t dive into geopolitics either, except to say that as someone who has co-parented four children – at some point you stop worrying about who started the fight and just try to stop all sides from fighting so the house is nice and quiet – and you can go back to enjoying your coffee in peace.
There are two lessons to come out of this mess that happened in Ottawa. First, that if groups already didn’t know, don’t wade into politics – it doesn’t do anyone any good. Second, when in doubt – re-read lesson one. Non-political groups should not politick, pure and simple. Political groups can’t get it right, and they’re already living in that gutter – don’t follow them into it.
As Mark Twain once wrote, “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” The same goes with politics.
This column was originally published in the August 28, 2024 print edition of The Morrisburg Leader.