This lunacy must stop.

It’s interesting how the mind works. When something profound happens in the world I’m sure I’m not the first person who can remember exactly where they were when it happened.

I remember being at my Auntie Donna’s house when Princess Diana died. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, I was at my house with Keiran, up early with my three-year-old. I was here at the Pass Herald when I heard about Michael Jackson’s death. I was getting ready for the Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon races when I watched the video of the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.

The last assassination attempt on a US president was Ronald Regan in 1981. 

For quite a few editorials I have been talking about the vitriol people in government are experiencing, whether it’s municipal, provincial or federal politics. I’ve often wondered if it is the result of COVID and some people losing their humanity when they were housebound or is its social media. It’s easy to be a keyboard warrior when you are sitting at home behind your phone or computer.

Perhaps it’s the mess this country is in financially where people are struggling to heat their homes and purchase food. 

I’m not sure what it is, but I will tell you it’s nasty.

My first term of Council was wonderful. People came in an brought their issues to me so that I could help them. It was mostly cordial conversations or, if the person was angry, we could talk it out until they calmed down.

This term as been completely different.  For example, we have a person in the community who came to a public input session at council and frivolously accused council of stealing a million dollars from the town coffers. Imagine her surprise when the auditors came to council and confirmed, while she was in the building, that no theft had occurred.

I had a man from Calgary, who was upset that his fence was on a municipal road and had to pay an easement fee or removal of fence, threaten to drive down and ‘deal’ with me. 

Perhaps I’m altruistic, perhaps naive, but I ran for Council to truly make this community a better place than when I started.

I had a young family seven years ago and there were things I wanted to see changed in the community, so I ran for Council.

What I didn’t expect was the vitriol that came with this job. People just seem mean now.

When I saw Donald Trump almost assassinated it showed me that things are getting out of control. Whether you like or dislike a politician is a matter of opinion. You can vote them out in the next general election. What you don’t have the right to do is harass and intimidate them to get your own way.

What you don’t get to do is shoot at them or mentally abuse them over social media. 

This lunacy must stop.

Similarly, the anti-Semitism going on in this country is a microcosm of what’s happening in the world in general. 

Hating people because of their religion, their politician ideology or the colour of their skin in never okay.

After being shot, Donald Trump put his fist in the air and said fight. He wasn’t saying it as a call for violence, but a call for fighting those who oppress. He thanked God for sparing his life. It was refreshing to hear someone thank the Lord for his intervention. I ask that you all take a moment and just be kind and when you think about telling off a politician, imagine that those words coming out of your mouth were directed towards someone you love. How you would feel then?