I didn’t need another crystal-waving podcast girl telling me to align my chakras—I needed a worldview so opposite from mine it short-circuited my brain. So I hired my mayor. A conservative, Jesus-loving woman with a Fitbit and zero tolerance for my carefully worded excuses. She didn’t give me macros or squat videos—she gave me truth. And in doing so, she reset my entire trajectory.

I used to believe the U.S. was a Christian nation, that English was our language, and that cops were heroes—because that’s what I was taught. But when the lies fell apart, I didn’t rebuild the same life. I built something better. Softer. Stronger. Not a tower of dogma, but a foundation of truth. They can keep their FOX News fever dreams—I’ve got a wrecking ball and a damn good view.

If it were up to me, a Thin Pink Line #FREEBRITNEY flag would be flapping over Atascadero City Hall by now. Civil rights are civil rights, whether we’re talking conservatorship abuse or rainbow regulation. But while we’re busy clashing over flags and ribbons, actual public safety issues get buried under comment thread chaos. Is it activism or a distraction? Depends on whether you want justice—or just really dramatic lawn décor.

If George Floyd’s murder didn’t make it clear, our society is boiling over with racial tension — and it’s spilling into local school board meetings. In Paso Robles, a white-majority panel made tone-deaf decisions about ethnic studies in a district where most students are kids of color. We can’t fix what we refuse to acknowledge. Ethnic studies aren’t radical — they’re reality. And our kids deserve the tools to build a better future than we did.