I was asked recently about divisiveness on twitter, and how I engage reasonably with a range of different people and opinions. It led me to some interesting thoughts I'd like to share, and which may be useful to anyone - even people who hate my opinions otherwise. 1/10
First off, let me say it's hilarious to be cited as a model for constructive engagement. In real life, I'm considered blunt and tactless, if not an outright asshole. But I maintain roughly the same tone here, while others crank it up to 100. There's a lesson in that alone. 2/10
The big thing is this. I don't consider twitter to be the main outlet for my social engagement. I see great value in social media. Talking to one another is good. Shouting all the time, maybe less good, but still it's something. In the end though, it's all hashtag activism. 3/10
Twitter helps us hear other ideas, if we listen, and even if we don't helps us sharpen our own if we write carefully. That's the value to me. What I'm writing this moment is Exhibit A. I hadn't really thought this through before, and I think it's useful, at least to me. 4/10
Once we firm up our own ideas and values, however, there's got to be more action than just tweeting at people with different ideas and values. Or worse, tweeting within a limited circle of people who already agree with us, and basking in the reassurance that we're right. 5/10
I am fortunate to have a job where I help people in the real world with real problems, that often (though not always) gives me a chance to apply my values directly. I volunteer on the board of a local not-for-profit, and participate actively in my chosen political party. 6/10
I'm not saying these are the things everyone should do, or pat myself on the back. I'm just saying these are real things in the real world. They help me feel like I'm doing something, which I actually am. And it's so much more important than the latest argument on twitter. 7/10
If you find yourself desperate to win arguments here, consider if twitter is really the best way to influence the world for the better. And if you view this as the most meaningful way you're trying to do that, well I'm sorry, but maybe look for something more real as well. 8/10
Doing stuff outside social media not only has greater impact, it brings you into contact with nuance, and complexity, and people you may disagree with but also can't block or shout down in all caps. And most of the time, we don't even want to. Because the real world is real. 9/10
If you disagree with my values and choices, that's fine. Go live your own. Engage and contribute however you can and feel comfortable. On twitter, we'll still disagree. But I suspect it won't feel so damn urgent anymore. Because actions matter more than words on a screen. 10/10
P.S. I've followed a few remarkable people here, whose engagement on twitter was the last way they had to reach out to the world. I don't want to take anything at all away from situations like that. I'm just saying, so long as we have the option of doing more, we should be.

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More from @JeffRybak

12 Nov
This pandemic is a chance to consider the delivery of healthcare in Canada, as it has become both more difficult and more urgent to access care. Erin O'Toole is on record favoring expansion of private options. I'd like to share some recent personal experiences. #cdnpoli 1/13
My right knee is messed up. I don't really know why, but it swells easily and I can't walk long distances. My doctor ordered x-rays and ultrasounds I got locally very quickly. That worked great. Now I need an MRI and I'm totally stalled. No idea when I'll get one. #cdnpoli 2/13
Someone pointed me at a private option where I could pay my way in. The loophole is that an employer can pay for the service if required, but I'm self-employed so arguably I could order one for my most critical employee - me. Gotta be honest, I thought about it. #cdnpoli 3/13
Read 13 tweets
11 Nov
As we argue on twitter with all our strong opinions, on Remembrance Day, I'd like to acknowledge one of the least noticed aspects of military service. When any man or woman agrees to serve they set aside their opinions, whatever they are, and accept higher authority. #cdnpoli 1/5
Almost everyone agrees we need some kind of military. We may disagree in extreme terms on how it's to be used. But unless you believe passive resistance will somehow solve everything in a world where others are not passive, we need to use force at least sometimes. #cdnpoli 2/5
Having a functional military at all, to supply the option of force when needed, depends on the willing service of those who accept civilian authority wherever it leads. They don't know in advance the orders they'll follow or even who will give them. That's amazing. #cdnpoli 3/5
Read 5 tweets
11 Nov
I argue far more with self-righteous lefties on twitter than anyone else. Some think I'm giving right-wingers a pass, but truthfully they just aren't worth my energy. Despite my centrism, I don't have enough common ground with the right to hope we'll ever find agreement. 1/10
I sometimes see commonalities between the extreme right and left. What I'm seeing now is a common tendency to give up and invite the great reset. Is there a difference between the religious right yearning for Rapture and the hard left for wholesale revolution? I'm not sure. 2/10
I know I don't want to stop trying to make what we have work somehow. Work better, hell yes. For everyone, but most of all for those who have the least. I know the ongoing unfairness in our society is hard to swallow. But look at how far we've come. It's worth saving. 3/10
Read 10 tweets
9 Nov
Here's my current take on Covid in Ontario. I was at one time pleased with Ford's leadership during this pandemic. Hasn't been true for a while. It's still nice he isn't a full-on anti-masker or science-doubter, but he isn't doing a good job of this and I know that. #onpoli 1/6
I'd love to beat up Ford more with this pandemic and score political points off it, as some are. Because I just don't like Ford, or his politics otherwise. But much as I'm unhappy with his leadership right now, I also don't think that's really the problem. We are. #onpoli 2/6
You can yell at a coach for calling the wrong plays, but if the players just don't have the stuff to win you're really just debating how you want to lose. And yes, you can try to embarrass yourself as little as possible. I guess that's all we're aiming at now. #onpoli 3/6
Read 6 tweets
5 Nov
I believe very strongly we need to start tolerating one another more, making space for one another, working hard to bridge the divide. It's a theme I've been on about for a while. And I get push-back - often very indignant and heated. Sometimes outright accusatory. #cdnpoli 1/16
A point I keep trying to make, with varying degrees of success, is no matter how much other people may bug you, even disgust you, they're simply not going to disappear tomorrow. So we need to live together. It's not a question of if, it's only a question of how. #cdnpoli 2/16
The response I've never understood is the purist one. I refuse to live with X. I make no allowance for Y. How dare you (turning the question back on me) even imply we should tolerate Z. That's offensive. They are wrong and we are right. It's simple. No compromises. #cdnpoli 3/16
Read 16 tweets
3 Nov
One of the most disturbing things I've seen lately, in American but also Canadian political discourse, is the suggestion that any amount of civility or acceptance of the other side represents appeasement and betrayal. I cannot emphasize how wrong and scary this is. #cdnpoli 1/14
Coming mainly from the left, the logic runs as follows. They have unacceptable ideas and values. Their values are an attack on me. Accepting them at all means accepting their views, and condoning the threat to me. Nothing less than total condemnation is enough. #cdnpoli 2/14
The main problem with this attitude is that it conflates accepting the idea with accepting the person. To call an idea unacceptable is very reasonable. To call a person unacceptable is problematic. After you've refused to accept all these people, what next? #cdnpoli 3/14
Read 14 tweets

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