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Love Is In The Air -- Can We Make It Last?

More and more I hear Canadians making mean and disparaging comments about those who disagree or have different points of view. I also hear racist remarks, which is terribly distressing. It's not who we are as a nation. Some of the things said after the shooting at the Mosque in Quebec made me feel like I was at a Trump rally. And I'm not ashamed, or afraid, to say I don't like it.
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I'm referring, of course to Valentine's Day. And what a blessed relief it is to hit the pause button, take a break from hatred and celebrate love. I can't remember a time we needed it more.

But before we get into that, did you know that the Feast of Saint Valentine (or Valentine's Day) wasn't always about couples expressing their love for each other?

That only happened later, first in the 14th-century, when Geoffrey Chaucer incorporated Saint Valentine's Day into his love poem, "The Parliament of Fowls" and then, in 18th-century England, when lovers began giving flowers, confectionary and sent greeting cards.

Before that Valentines was anything but loving.

Legend has it that way back in the third century the Roman Emperor Claudius II was building up a military and thought single men made better soldiers. So he outlawed marriage for young men. A priest, named Valentine, disagreed and thought the ban was unfair, and he continued to perform marriage ceremonies secretly.

"More and more I hear Canadians making mean and disparaging comments about those who disagree or have different points of view. I also hear racist remarks, which is terribly distressing."

Yep, Claudius got pissed and had the priest killed. I suppose we should be grateful that President Trump just takes to Twitter.

Some of you may wonder why I harp so much on Donald Trump. There are a few reasons, not the least of which is that I detest everything he stands for. It just goes against all I believe in and hold dear. Plus, If he continues to head down this same path he's currently headed on, I believe he will put America -- and very possibly other countries, Canada included -- in danger.

His influence, his message of hatred and hostility, are alarmingly far-reaching and that really concerns me.

More and more I hear Canadians making mean and disparaging comments about those who disagree or have different points of view. I also hear racist remarks, which is terribly distressing. It's not who we are as a nation. Some of the things said after the shooting at the Mosque in Quebec made me feel like I was at a Trump rally.

And I'm not ashamed, or afraid, to say I don't like it.

We need to nip it in the bud before we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of a rebellion here, in Canada. We cannot delude ourselves into thinking we're immune. We have plenty of issues of our own -- like income inequality, like aboriginal issues, like the Keystone pipeline, like electoral reform -- and I sure hope Justin Trudeau's paying attention. Because the Trump effect crosses borders, we're already seeing some evidence of that. And I'd prefer us to solve our problems our way, not his.

There may be another way to counter his revolution of hate and it's Valentine's Day that's made me think of it. Maybe it's time we -- and by "we" I mean the world -- had a revolution of our own. Maybe it's time for another love-in.

What if every time Donald Trump tweets something hateful, we tweet something loving and kind.

What if we respond to every nasty act of his, by being considerate.

What if every time he points fingers, we give hugs.

What if we smile at strangers on the subway, in the elevator, on the street, in restaurants and cafes and supermarkets.

What if we always remember to take the extra minute to say "thank you."

What if we all wore little red heart pins on our lapels.

What if ...

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