Standing Firm When the World Says “Follow the Narrative”

What has happened to us? How did we come to a place where honest discussion and the free exchange of ideas have been cast aside? If you don’t agree with the narrative you are diminished, denigrated, and labeled with whatever name will silence you: nutjob, election denier, conspiracy theorist.

And now, when shaming, shunning, or name-calling doesn’t work, is the next step assassination?

I know what it means to stand against the crowd, even when that crowd is my own party. When Governor Brownback and Republican leadership reneged on their promise to roll back Sebelius’ one-cent sales tax, I was told, “Charlotte, you have to vote with the governor.” No, I didn’t have to—and I refused.

When Johnson County Chair Ed Eilert came into my office demanding I wear a mask, I said no. I did not have to—and I refused.

When the BOCC brought in a consultant from Texas to bully me into “supporting any and all decisions” of the Commission, I reminded them that even U.S. Supreme Court Justices issue minority opinions. No, I did not have to—and I refused.

The crescendo came when county legal counsel hired an outside attorney to investigate me for “ethics violations” because I insisted on bringing a videographer to a Corrections Department training. The presenter, the Gault Center from Washington D.C., dripped with leftist, anti-police, DEI/WOKE ideology. They were so terrified of being exposed that they canceled their in-person training and switched to Zoom at the last minute—too late for me to participate. My insistence cost me $6,000 in legal fees and the county about $10,000, only for the whole thing to quietly fade away.

Yes, I have felt the hard heel of “follow the narrative or else.” Choice liaison assignments vanished. Committee seats were pulled. But in the end, that freed me to do what I was elected to do: represent the people, not the system.

But today, we are near—if not already beyond—the tipping point into violence. We CANNOT allow this to become the norm. What happened to OUR Kansas VALUES? The friendly attitude of “we’ll hear you out—even if we don’t agree”? When did mob rule replace civil discourse? When did disagreement on transgender ideology become grounds to call someone a hater?

Charlie Kirk couldn’t be shamed, bullied, or silenced. He refused to abandon the truth: girls are girls and boys are boys. For that, he was assassinated?

We, Christians know personally SOMEONE who DIED on that HILL

Charlotte O’Hara
Republican for Kansas Governor, 2026