This past year, my political leanings have earned me a lot of new titles.

Not necessarily ones I wanted, but a lot of them. They include the garden variety of bitch, kook, nutjob, crazy, and stupid. Then there were those laced with profanity. We’ll skip those. But the ones that really offended me, were ones like racist, intolerant, woman-hater, and redneck.

How did I get these? From the outset of the  last Canadian election, I campaigned for the Conservatives. I did so proudly, and will do it again.  But somewhere along the line, being Conservative became a very dirty word. I was made to feel that my political opinion was not valid because it did not align with the left.  I was made to feel unwelcome in a lot of social circles I had once enjoyed. Because, I supported a side that was  deemed evil and dictatorial,  I was made to feel I could not speak my opinion in public, because I clearly knew nothing.

This became even more pronounced when the American election started, in earnest,  in 2016 and I announced from the outset, that Donald Trump would win. At first there was a the “pfft, whatever, you’re crazy” (there’s that title thing). As we moved through the ranks of those who dropped out that quickly became “how could you support this candidate? You call yourself a woman?” I’ll point out I never said I supported him, only that he’d win. And when the night came, and the ballots were counted, and he won, the insults really started coming. “You have to be a racist to be happy about his winning. Fricken redneck!”.

In fact, I was smiling, because I’d said it all along – who doesn’t smile when they are correct?

People are really mean! They truly are. Sure there are good ones in the world. There are some truly selfless people out there. But the majority of people, only care about their immediate little bubble. Anything outside their personal space, is either unimportant or fair game for trashing. This reminded me of something my mother used to say.

People should be kind to one another. Now, I know, anyone could have said that. But my Mom used to say this in a variety of contexts and depending on the situation, “kind” might have a slightly different shade that what most people think of when they hear that word. In this one, she meant that people should respect the choices of others. You don’t have to agree with them. You don’t even have to like them. But you DO have to respect them.

I met a fabulous woman, we’ll call her Ginny. She has supported the Republican Party for as long as she can remember.  I should mention she is in her 80s.  She is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest person. Huge heart. Loves everybody. But after the American election, she felt targeted and even hated for having her opinions. She was ridiculed out loud, relentlessly and publically for her choice.  She was made to feel stupid, for being committed to the constitution of a political party.  There was nothing right about the way she was treated following the election outcome.

And, that’s when the lightbulb went off for me.

People need to do what’s right, regardless of your political stripes. People need to work together, not against each other. They need to do what’s right for the good of everyone, not the few. My Mom was right, people need to be kind to one another. Respectful, helpful, and most of all, fair.

So that’s what I have set out to do here. I will advocate for the right thing to every level of government. Those who wish to agree with the message are welcome to not only support me, but follow me, share my ideas – hell if you are a politician, please, PLEASE steal them!

The right thing, is usually not easy. Otherwise everyone would do it. And it usually requires patience – something I do not possess. Doing what is right, will take me across all Party lines. It will make me an enemy of some, and, hopefully, the envy of enough to make a difference. But at the end of it all, maybe my themes will be used  to benefit a lot of people. And that is never a bad thing.

In fact, it’s a pretty good thing. One might say, it’s the right thing.