Harper

Based on today’s public opinion, there’s only one thing worse you could do than hunt and kill a cherished lion… and it’s to vote for Harper.

Proclaim you may have voted for Harper in the past and before you can log out of your Facebook account the abuse will start. The posts will be relentless. You will be called stupid, uninformed and ignorant. You will be told you have allowed a murderer to desecrate Canada. You don’t care about science or children or the arts. You have harboured the most evil man to ever lead our country.

And that will only be for the first five minutes. The haters are just getting warmed up.

If you’re transgendered or have religious beliefs or just want to show your breasts in public, you can scream about your rights and people will defend you. You might even be regarded as a hero. You can speak your truth and even if people don’t agree with your choice it is now accepted that you should not be persecuted. But if you voted for Harper you must keep it a secret or become a target for hate.

I’m constantly told Harper is a bully. If I don’t agree, you will start to bully me.

How ironic.

How did we ever come to this? Who do you think you are?

I feel like we’ve wandered down the path and followed the US’s style of politics. We are no longer able to have a conversation. The lines have been drawn. I vote with you or I am wrong. When did we lose the respect for each other?

The diarrhea of verbal slams against our Prime Minister are boring. Trust me: I know how you are going to vote. But guess what, you have no idea how or why I will vote the way I do. You never ask, you just yell.

Twice in the past four years I have been afraid of losing my job because of how I voted. That is not the accommodating, kind and inclusive Canadians we are known to be.

Silence has been my refuge.

Seriously, how did we ever come to this? I know some people will blame Harper.

A few months ago I promised James Moore I would stop being afraid of the backlash. Mr. Moore was making a tough decision to quit politics; I admired his reasons and respected his stance. My promise was to not hide my opinion or choice.

But a respectful dialogue is required.

Here’s the other point I think gets lost. I always vote locally. I try to meet the candidates in my area and vote for the person I like best. End of. It’s how I’ve always voted and how I will continue to vote in the future. How can you argue with that?

I have a good reason for not hating Harper. It’s personal and not up for debate. It’s something he did years ago and also the reason I looked into his eyes, shook his hand and said thanks.

Now I will sit back and let the mudslinging begin.

Oh, and before you start… a fact that should never be forgotten, I love Canada.