A lot of my American friends are celebrating the efforts of the 47th and his appointees. I’m not going to comment here on if it’s good or bad (because that depends on whether you are taking a short or long term view and whether you are a US citizen or not) and, ultimately, it’s their country and their choice whether they like it or not, but I am going remind them of a history lesson they should have received in grade school (but may not have, since many programs just cover 1939 to 1945):
A Brief History Lesson on Early Modern Germany:
* First came the eco-fascism, favoured and promoted by Nazis and Hitler in the 20s and 30s. (Medium)
* Then came the campaign against homosexuality (inc. queer, trans, etc.) that started when Hitler took power in 1933.
* Then the four-pronged policy of establishing Aryan as the master race and forcing out (and deporting) anyone they could.
* Then, after two years of violence, repression and other scare tactics against non-Aryans, we saw the Nuremberg Race Laws in 1935.
… and you know what happened next!
Now I’d like you to contrast that to what has recently been happening in:
Modern Day USA
* eco-fascism has been actively promoted for the past two decades (or so)
* the “T” has just been removed from “LGBT” (step one), no pronouns may be specified in government correspondence, and “only two genders” will be recognized (even though the wording of the executive order can effectively be interpreted to say you’re all female)
* not only has DEI been dismantled, but so have equal opportunity laws; furthermore, a Presidential appointee has stated that only “competent white men” can be in charge for “things to work”
* we have seen an increase in immigration raids and use of detention camps
(Out of curiosity, anyone remember where Anne Frank died?)
Now, I want to ask you:
If the parallel continues, what do you think comes next?
Again, it’s your country and your choice, and as a strong believer in democracy, as long as you understand you’re not getting Canada, as a true Canadian, I will still happily be your neighbour and happily work with you if you want to maintain a strong CUSMA, because North America needs to stand united when you consider what is happening in certain parts of the world today! (And what makes Canada great is we celebrate diversity and differences and believe in working together regardless of what that diversity or differences are. We might feel sorry for you, but, as good neighbours, we will work with you. Though you may have to wait until our leaders get their tantrums out of their system, eh?)
Finally, I want to make sure a few of you are aware that these (and similar) resources are at your disposal, just in case you need them soon: