Notice how divided and angry things are getting? We need to chill.

Two of my neighbours are Floridians. Of course, I ask them about the Trump-Harris slugfest.

One says she is “utterly embarrassed for my country that a felon and a liar” is running for president. The other says he thinks Harris is “a communist” and Trump’s needed, “to burn things down.”

Wow. Americans are crazy.

But wait. Are we any better?

There was a convoy of trucks down Queen Street the other day, festooned with flags. Half of them said “F*** Trudeau.” That was sad and ugly. 

In Ottawa, the NDP leader came close to whacking a stalker who called him corrupt in the parking lot.

The Conservative PM-in-waiting has nicknamed him “sellout,” claiming he won’t pull the government down until he qualifies for a pension. (But Jagmeet Singh’s a multi-millionaire. Poilievre knows it.)

And here in NOTL, angry citizens protested outside council, as I mentioned last week.

Signs. Slogans. Threats. Cursing. The whole nine yards. That doesn’t happen often. Like, ever.

Local politicians get a failing grade as citizens split over density, tourism, heritage and zoning.

Have we all changed? The last time I was in Parliament, it was okay for MPs from different parties to actually eat or work out together.

Messing around outside of the House of Commons gave rise to an understanding we can all love the same thing (Canada) yet differ intensely how to express it.

Politics is toxic now. Politicians shoulder blame for that. At no level of government do elected people have more impact than here at home.

The feds can change tax policy, and it matters. But if a 40-unit condo gets approved beside your bungalow, well, that’s war. It can ruin your life.

“When you see decisions which are so egregious — Parliament Oak (hotel), Hummel’s hotel, Mary Street (condo) — pass through council with bogus explanations, people are starting to give up,” says Lyle Hall.

He’s a full-time hospitality industry consultant and part-time disturber. Head of the Niagara Foundation and a pervasive volunteer, he’s also a burr under the saddle of a local council he thinks folks have given up on.

“People throw up their hands, say it’s still a nice place to live, but what can I do?

“Rather than find a compromise,” he says, “the pendulum is going to swing all the way in the other direction and you’re probably going to see the folks there being jettisoned. It’s maddening, confusing, disillusioning when you hear members of council say things that aren’t true and staff responses are equally untrue — it’s easy to be frustrated. There’s a pervasive arrogance.”

For his part, Hall speaks out. He had a steamy article here last week (“Opinion: Can we be upfront about planning in NOTL?” Sept. 19). The Niagara Foundation puts its money down and rescues heritage properties.

But the efforts of other citizen warriors fade fast in the face of the build-furiously-and-big mentality of the province, plus the way local politicians cave to it.

The issue of development has the potential to tear this wee, bucolic place apart. The scenic cornrows of grapes, the river’s majesty, the horses and storybook gardens of the Old Town hide a troubling anti-establishment buzz. Animosity is growing.

The situation’s turning into “us” and “them.” Once the excavators rip through the former school and bite into the Parliament Oak turf, tensions may rise.

How to turn the temperature down?

A few neighbourhood public meetings would help. Let folks vent. Councillors spending some weekends door-knocking would render them more accessible, and humble.

Do an online poll. Ask for feedback on the NOTL Facebook sites. Make people think they matter. Better still, make them matter. 

How rad would that be?

Garth Turner is a NOTL resident, journalist, author, wealth manager and former federal MP and minister.