I work in a little store and people come in and want to talk about the president. Donald Trump does not care about political correctness and uses Twitter as his playground. People are obsessed with him and he loves all the attention. His provocative leadership style has turned civil society on its head.

What is happening online with Trump reminds me of a time I worked in a sales office managing a group of people. I had zero tolerance for troublemakers. There is always one. A toxic person allowed to run rampant can completely disrupt the flow of a business. 

I understand why people feel compelled to react. Don’t we all have a little anti-establishment in us? But have we gone too far? Some people think so. This culture online is like the wild west. You will be attacked by a swarm of bees if your opinions are different. To make matters even worse, media groups are profiting from division and discourse and people are being paid online to stir the pot. Did you know that hurling insults is a new sport in North American society?

As hostility escalates censorship starts to creep into the conversations. I fear for the future of free speech and who the gatekeepers will be.

There was a time I was not the least bit interested in politics. I wish I could go back in time, but I find myself looking up words like nationalism, populism and all the isms to understand what is going on in the world. I have a strange fascination with all of it, but I am thoroughly disgusted as well. It is very confusing.

A writer thinks about the person they want to be and the kind of country they want to live in. At this point in time I have this unquenchable thirst to know what the issues are.

Am I the only One?

Column by Carrie Wynne