The O’Toole Chronicles: Crossing the Line

“You crossed the line when you stopped treating people with respect.
You are smart enough to know that, but you just don’t care.”
— Miss Sloane (2016).

Miss Sloane was a movie that revealed the brutal lobbying war over the politics of gun reform and gun regulations. The movie is a cool, intense red-hot look at the underbelly of lobbying in DC, and the pros and cons of this nearly 200-year-old battle.

The point of this column is not to wade into the issue of the Second Amendment, I leave that to the professional political class. I cite this quote simply because it speaks powerfully to how we treat human beings. More acutely, it speaks to how elected officials treat others, including their constituents, and how sometimes those very same elected officials cross the line, leading to unintended consequences.

As I have said before, the power of the word of an elected official is beyond measure. It can loom large and have a lasting impact and impression.

I have long tutored, or reminded, those elected officials that words matter.  Whether you say hello as you enter a staff meeting or walk through the halls of Trenton – people look at you and watch your stride, manner, and language. All of which collectively create a lasting impression – fairly or unfairly.

By way of example, if you skip past a Sergeant at Arms or staffer, fail to acknowledge everyone, or abruptly power walk through a pack of supporters or constituents without appropriate kindness and grace, it has a price. The real divide, the real crossing of the Rubicon, is when these graceless bad manners mature to rudeness, and the arrogance lingers like an over-pungent dose of Paco Rabanne.

I have dealt with hundreds, perhaps thousands of elected officials, and most have the right tone and pitch. But many of these have a moment or two when the position consumes them, and a word or position comes across as arrogant. At that moment, you have lost your way and the right to the office.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

Just saying.