Thin Skin

For people who think critically rather than merely listen to the echo chamber of their choice, it should be obvious that having a thin skin is not an attribute. While this affliction can be found in both political polarities, it seems especially endemic in the far right. Those of that ilk, as discussed in a previous post,  tend to be perpetually aggrieved. Consider, for example, the vehemence with which they cite 'restrictions' on freedom of speech, the great cross they must bear throughout their tortured lives. Names like Jordan Peterson, Don Trump, and Pierre Poilievre come readily to mind. (The latter, in an article by David Moscrop, is described as Trump-adjacent, a lovely description, in my view.)

The problem with such people is their arrant hypocrisy. These particular free-speech warriors seem interested only in liberty for their own points of view. Indeed, those of the so-called woke, progressive and pro-Palestinian factions, in fact anyone with contrary perspectives are, to the unbalanced reactionaries, threats to the very fabric of society. 

I don't like perpetual whiners. They lack the fiber to deal with real life, and are manifestly unfit for public office. In the following, former Global News reporter Rachel Gilmore takes them to task for their feckless character. Young PP comes in for particular scrutiny:

A federal election is not far off. Going into it, I can only conclude that angry 'man' Pierre Poilievre is not up to the high office he so hungrily and shrilly aspires to, the reports of faux news sites notwithstanding.

In Ontario, We Are Not A Happy Family

Here in Ontario, it is Family Day, but all is not well. We have an unnecessary election pending, the premier has cloaked himself in his Captain Canada regalia, and he has done everything he can to buy votes, plunging the province into even deeper debt while education, housing and healthcare, to name but three deep, go vastly unnourished.

Yet according to polls, despite his malfeasance, Mr. Ford will be romping to another electoral victory, thanks both to the current crisis with the Amerikans and the fact that the march to the ballot box is in the dead of winter. Apparently, despite all the talk about rising patriotism and supporting our country, voting is not part of the calculus, with pundits predicting a very low turnout.

Come February 27, heedless Ontarians will undoubtedly and, unfortunately, get the government they deserve.

The only bright spot in this morass of indifference is the knowledge that not all are fooled, as evidenced by these letters to the editor:

Well, it seems clear from election polls Premier Doug Ford will be re-elected in a landslide even though most Ontarians were not happy with the early election. He’s done a masterful job. The hat slogan “Canada is not for sale,” $200 cheques before an election and mentioning possibly 500,000 lost jobs likely all contribute to his strong poll numbers. He has rushed to Washington to plead Ontario’s case regarding tariffs with seemingly little success as the U.S. has just announced a 25 per cent tariff on our steel and aluminum. He’s promised billions for infrastructures and a tunnel under Hwy. 401 but has completely forgotten to support our health-care system, end the long wait times in ERs. A four-year mandate to fight tariffs seems to be in the cards. Voters are forgetting his health care and housing failures, feeling he’ll fight for them even though it’s the federal government that has the power to counter the U.S.A.‘s tariff attack.

Peter J. Middlemore Sr., Windsor

I have just seen Premier Doug Ford’s latest campaign ad, and I am livid. The Premier’s Washington, D.C. visit was supposed to be about defending Canada’s interests, but instead it appears Ford’s main focus was creating sparkling footage for a campaign ad. It’s bad enough that the Premiers emerged empty-handed from their meeting with mid-level White House staffers, but Ford’s new campaign ad rubs salt in our collective wounds. In the voice-over for the ad, Ford repeatedly puts America first — “made in the USA” before “made in Canada,” pride in the work of American workers before the work of Canadians, and the push for his Fortress Am-Can. That’s right, even the name of Ford’s economic plan puts America first. Where’s your hat, Doug? Did it blow off while you were busy bending the knee to Trump?

Carol Kroeger, Ottawa

The Cult Of Victimhood

H/t Moudakis

It probably hasn't escaped your notice that extreme right-wingers are never happy. They see enemies everywhere; subversion abounds. The white race is under attack, trans people are on an ungodly mission to upend 'normal' sexual identity, drag queens want your children, sanctuary cities in the U.S. are allowing killers and rapists to sap the Union, Black people want to end the police, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

This cult of victimhood has never been more apparent than under the Don Trump regime. To believe him and his abettors, the American justice system under Biden was weaponized, Canada is screwing the U.S. when it comes to trade - no, wait - make that the entire world that has been exploiting U.S. benevolence, whether through NATO, Ukrainian-Russian wars, digital service taxes, unfair tariffs - you get the picture. The elephant in the room has been kicked around enough, and won't take it anymore.

So much for American mythology.

Closer to home, PP, the leader of the Conservative Party, has, until very recently, preached the same message about Canada. It is broken, we have been told, thanks to the ineptitude of Liberal rule these past 10 years. Only PP and his party can rectify things, so the message has gone, at least until very recently.

Now that the Liberals seem to be gaining polling traction thanks to Don Trump's attacks on our sovereignty,  the Conservatives have altered their message slightly, adopting a Canada First slogan that seems but an anemic echo of the bellicosity coming from the U.S. Indeed, to prove his bona fides as a strong leader, PP has even said we must immediately send troops, helicopters and surveillance to the border, a placatory move that will find no real favour with the southern behemoth. One wonders if PP has ever heard of Neville Chamberlain. 

Additionally, as Craig Wallace writes, the would-be PM 

has promised to build a large military base in the Arctic, funded by cutting foreign aid (sounding like Trump and his MAGA base here) and threatening to jail fentanyl dealers for life (a violation of the Charter of Rights). He still cannot or will not describe in detail how he will “axe the tax,” “build the homes,” “fix the budget” and “stop the crime.” He, in fact, has no answers.

Like his schoolyard taunts ("carbon-tax Carney, carbon tax Freeland"), all of his bromides are simplistic, and, if directed solely to his base, likely satisfying. However, for those of us who choose not to farm out our thinking to a career politician, all that PP says, as the saying goes, is thin gruel indeed. As we move into the next federal election sooner rather than later, all of us need to be engaged and critical in our thinking.

I know that's a tall order, but when the future of Canada is at stake, it is surely not too much to demand.

Standing Resolute

Amidst the talk of annexing Canada, the premiers marched to Washington to meet with White House officials. Afterwards,. James Blair, Trump's deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs, had this to say:

Blair posted on social media that his meeting with the premiers was "pleasant" but also said he "never agreed that Canada would not be the 51st state."

"We only agreed to share Premier Eby's comments," Blair wrote.

How about either or both of these as an answer to Mr. Trump and his acolytes? 

H/t Moudakis

Or, put another way:

Guerrilla Warfare, Anyone?

Although I am now a senior, there is no doubt in my mind that should the Americans ever invade Canada (a notion unthinkable just a short time ago), I would do my best to resist. That resistance would likely involve violence. That may seem laughable coming from someone like me, but before I made my grand exit from the world, I would want my presence here to account for something. And what could be nobler than fighting for the country I love?

An article by Aisha Ahmad, an associate political science professor at the University of Toronto, suggests that we could make life a real hell for an invading force:

If Trump ever decides to use military force to annex Canada, the result would not be determined by a conventional military confrontation between the Canadian and American armies. Rather, a military invasion of Canada would trigger a decades-long violent resistance, which would ultimately destroy the United States.

As someone who has studies insurgencies around the world for the past two decades, Ahmad knows of what she speaks: 

The research on guerrilla wars clearly shows that weaker parties can use unconventional methods to cripple a more powerful enemy over many years. This approach treats waging war as a secret, part-time job that an ordinary person can do.

Guerrillas use ambushes, raids and surprise attacks to slowly bleed an invading army, and local communities support these fighters by giving them safe havens and material support. These supporting citizens can also engage in forms of “everyday resistance,” using millions of passive-aggressive episodes of sabotage to frustrate and drain the enemy.

Trump is delusional if he believes that 40 million Canadians will passively accept conquest without resistance. There is no political party or leader willing to relinquish Canadian sovereignty over “economic coercion,” and so if the U.S. wanted to annex Canada, it would have to invade. [In that regard youi might want to read Stephen Harper's reflections on what he would do to stop U.S. economic warfare.]

Resistance, says Ahmad, would take various forms:

 When your child is dying in your arms, you become capable of violence. Once you lose what you love, resistance becomes as natural as breathing.

Except for a few collaborators and kapos, my research suggests many Canadians would likely engage in various forms of everyday resistance against invading forces that could involve steal, lying, cutting wires and diverting funds.

Meanwhile, the insurgents would unleash physical devastation on American targets. Even if one per cent of all resisting Canadians engaged in armed insurrection, that would constitute a 400,000-person insurgency, nearly 10 times the size of Taliban at the start of the Afghan war. If a fraction of that number engaged in violent attacks, it would set fire to the entire continent. 

Canada’s geography would make this insurgency difficult to defeat. With deep forests and rugged mountains, Canada’s northern terrain could not be conquered or controlled. That means loyalists from the Canadian Armed Forces could mobilize civilian recruits into decentralized fighting units that could strike, retreat into the wilderness and blend back into the local communities that support them.

Please take a moment to read Ahmad's full article. It provides much food for thought, as well as a roadmap to navigate the perilous times we are now entering. 

 

UPDATED: A Repository Of Wisdom

I read a letter to the editor the other day to the effect that policy-makers would be wise to consult the op-ed pages for inspiration. Good journals offer repositories of wisdom, and we could do far worse than consider their perspectives and advice.

Here are three letters from today's Star that amply illustrate the above:

America has always preached from the bully pulpit

Canada won’t back down, will scale up retaliation against Trump’s tariffs as needed, government says, Feb. 2

It truly boggles my mind to now see politicians of all stripes, decision makers, businesses and many Canadians are belatedly stepping on the Canada First bandwagon, now that Donald Trump coughed, metaphorically.

Where were you when it was downright evident for decades past that America was and is a selfish and self-centred bully that does everything and anything to suit herself and her interests only, the world be damned?

You were all sleepwalking, singing the praises about our southern neighbour, visiting the country on a regular basis, patronizing their businesses, rather than shopping locally, to save a few pennies. A little jolt by a bully has now awakened you all.

All our interests, economically and otherwise, were put into the giant’s basket for sheer laziness on the part of politicians and businesses instead of large-scale diversifying to other countries years ago. Not a single automobile is made of 100 per cent Canadian parts. Why? Relying too much on our “friends” to the south?

I told you so, I can now say. I am not being a hypocrite, as I have not visited the United States since 2000, do not own property there, do not buy a return trip by air to another country via America, do not cross the border to shop.

I have consciously been patronizing local businesses and Canadian goods exclusively, as best I can.

Aquil Ali, Toronto

Canada must stand its ground in the face of aggression

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must choose whether he should follow the course of Neville Chamberlain or Winston Churchill.

For the survival of Canadians, and of people throughout the world, I hope he chooses the latter.

Canadians can lead the world to show the American would-be dictator that no matter the economic hardship or individual sacrifice, Canadians will stand together, stand strong and wield their sword to protect their homes and rights.

Millions of Americans are with you.

Jeff C. Tavares, Greenwood, Indiana

Hit Trump where it hurts: the wallet

Well, Ding Dong Don got his desired result and has everyone running around in a tizzy.

It’s obvious diplomacy doesn’t work with him but firmness, discomfort, fear of strong negotiators like Chrystia Freeland, pushback from his base, other oligarchs and organized, unrelenting vocal protest groups do.

Canadians haven’t been this united in a long time and seem to be embracing the boycott principle.

This is an excellent strategy, as long as we don’t weaken.

I am 85 and have travelled all 50 states, many times, since the age of nine and have always found the citizens to be kind and generous. I will not travel across the border until sanity is restored in Washington.

My plan is to contact newspaper editors, chambers of commerce, travel associations, politicians and any other organization with a vested interest in restoring sanity and let them know what non-American car, machine or product I purchased. I would also supply the cost of my latest travel to a non-U.S. country.

Sad to say, but the only thing worthy of respect in Trump’s world is money. So if the bottom line deteriorates, he will respond.

He’s a coward. Stand up to him.

John Russell, Fonthill, Ont.

Given the outpouring of patriotic fervour and new consumer boycotts of American goods and travel, we can only hope the momentum continues to build and unites all of us in the face of a common foe.

UPDATE: Now a word from Charlie Angus:

My Thought For The Day