Snowy evening rambles; Trump+Poilievre=suffering
As I sit here, in the warm glow of my desk lamp, staring out across the snow covered lawn and across to the snowy pines, I think of life in this politically tumultuous time. With the news droning on in the background of Trump's latest doings, and our own leadership troubles, I wonder about humanity. The world seems still and quiet in the wake of a Canadian snowstorm, and is a good time to ponder such things.
I can't stop watching the news lately. It is now on constantly, and between multiple channels. CBC, CNN, BBC, Reuters, you name it, I'm a news nut. I feel the need to follow everything going on south of our border, and domestically speaking, our leadership woes. It's my way of feeling like I have some control over anything. Being informed feels crucial at this moment in history, regardless of how toxic it can be and despite president Trump locking out some major news outlets from the press essentially silencing dissenting viewpoints. That was the first red flag and is a known tactic of right wing extremists and dictators- to control the media. It's frightening to know this is going on to our most trusted friend and ally and the effects will be felt here, and across the world.
The leadership race here in Canada is an interesting one, and if timing weren't of the essence I may enjoy it more. Two things seem to be on the docket- affordability and dealing with Trump and his threats to not only decimate our economy but to absorb our country.
As a Canadian, having our friend and neighbour treat us this way is disheartening and angering but what it has raised is a fierce and proud patriotism that I doubt the Donald saw coming. Apparently he thought that because he has fringe supporters here in Canada, that the idea of taking our country over would be a welcome idea. He thought wrong. I wonder now, what these supporters think. It seems to me, at this point, that supporting him as a Canadian, borders on treason.
These people have been duped by the biggest liar in United States history; the duping doesn't stop there though. Here, we have another rightwing extremist group, we call the Conservative party of Canada. In other years, I may not have made this claim, but in other years, we didn't have Pierre Poilievre at the helm of it either. Poilievre is like a parrot to Trump. He mimics him in political tactics and in policy, telling us all that Canada is broken and everything is terrible. It's sickening at this moment of great Canadian pride. We have a great deal to be proud of here. We are a people who look after our people. We pay higher taxes, but we certainly have more services and look after our own. Our systems aren't perfect; healthcare being top of mind but we've all heard horror stories of people going bankrupt because of out of pocket healthcare costs in the states and many people go untreated due to this lack of affordability. It's an appalling system, and we are lucky to have ours. Mr. Poilievre also wants to defund our public broadcaster, the CBC; a pitch straight out of Trump's playbook because he feels their non partisan journalism is leftist, unlike the rightwing, Rebel news propaganda machine that he supports. Many Canadians rely on the CBC. It has always been a trusted news source and in remote communities, it may be the only media they receive.
Recently, Poilievre did a speech at his Canada First rally in Ottawa on Flag day. His tone was markedly different in an attempt to change how he is viewed by many Canadians. The Liberal bashing was still obvious, but there was less anger and bluster. There were fewer slogans. He's a clever politician. Clever like a chameleon. And his new television commercial that was aired during the 4 Nations hockey tournament, seemed to emulate Mark Carney's disposition. It was kind of weird if I might say. Poilievre knows he's not likeable. He's been trying to change that by taking off his glasses and changing his personal style, and now, instead of parroting Trump, is parroting Carney, with a calm demeanor. How can a man lead our country when he is clearly having an identity crises. And now, Poilievre has his MP's using the same name calling and sloganeering like schoolyard bullies calling Mark Carney "Carbon Tax Carney" and saying "just like Justin" as a negative connotation of our Prime Minister. I wonder if they realize how immature they sound when they do that.
By now, you can figure out that I lean to the left with my politics. I believe in policy that supports the people it's meant to serve. Compassionate policy. Not austerity. Not name calling, like the Donald, or anyone who tries to be like him. We Canadians deserve someone who is brilliant in economics, experienced in negotiating and is compassionate in nature. We have a few options right now as the Liberal leadership heats up and the NDP and the Greens offer at least a couple of these qualities too. I have long admired and agreed with Elizabeth May on Green policy. Their economic plan is brilliant and deserves to be studied as a viable option for Canadians. Chrystia Freeland is a fierce negotiator and has the experience of dealing with Trump 1.0, and as former finance minister, has the know how of our country's finances. Then, there's Mark Carney who has been the governor of the banks of Canada and England. He's had experience with negotiating and has a calm, confidence about him. Listening to him speak compared to Poilievre feels like the adult is now in the room. Jagmeet Singh in my eyes, has lost points due to his flipping and flopping, but does offer the compassion in policy part. And so, there are a few options, but what we should be worried about the most, is who will lead us through the Trump years best and I honestly and intuitively don't think that's the very juvenile at times, Poilievre.
Now Trump is a whole other beast. One that I think that no one should ever emulate; especially a Canadian given Trump's treatment of us as of late. He is very cleverly, hoodwinking a huge portion of the population in the U.S. He is effectively keeping the free press at bay and answering only to those who are sympathizers with his cause. He is empathizing and plotting with dictators, and that my friends, is scary. Not just this, but he is probing into every nook and cranny of government, slashing and tearing down civil and human rights along the way. The recent talk of him dismantling the public school system is alarming, as facts, have never held their weight with Trump if they are inconvenient to his agenda. What's to say he wouldn't skew facts to our students? He's already started to ban certain books from school libraries and attempt to change the names of international bodies of water.
His propaganda machine is nearly complete with the siding of all the tech giants, including many of the social media sites. Facebook even had a fact checker installed into their platform in Trump 1.0 and has agreed to remove this feature. What else could this mean but for keeping the truth concealed, and why do these facts need to be concealed? I wonder what backroom deals or threats were made to warrant this flip flop from these company's respective higher ups.
To see our neighbours to the south going down this road is like watching our drug addict cousin destroy himself with his chosen poison. There's not much one can do but to plead. It's painful to watch, but what's worse is that we are going to be affected by it all. It's already begun; punishing tariffs meant to impose economic hardship in order to strong arm us into allowing them to annex us. As crazy as that sounds, that's what the reality of it is shaping up to look like. It doesn't appear that we have a friend or ally anymore in the US and thankfully our government is busy binding ties and making friends elsewhere, where cooperation is still valued.
While all of this is alarming for us, the rest of the world is not without suffering too. Tariffs loom over many countries and USAID is being decimated, but the other point foreshadowing it all is what is going on with humanity that rightwing extremist viewpoints are taking hold across the globe. Could this be the last hooray for this type of thinking, or is this a new normal? As a Canadian, I have had a knot in my stomach since Trump took office and Poilievre rose in the polls. It's alarming to know that so many people hold these extremist ideologies. That there's so much hatred. It's sad, really. There is a world out there, where all people live in harmony. Everyone supports one another. Country for country, cooperating and helping each other out. It is possible, but much of the world is going in the wrong direction, and that is frightening. It feels as though we are going to battle. The rally cry is being heard though. Canadians are coming together from sea to sea to sea. Buy Canadian initiatives have begun in support of Canadian products and Canadian jobs, and Poilievre's lead is slipping. Seems in the face of Trump, people are realizing that he is not the person we need to chart the course. His patriotic stance now is overshadowed by the negative rhetoric he has already spewed about our beautiful country and it is my firm belief that he would sell us out to the US. His policies are certainly more aligned to Trump's than any other party's and we see the chaos going on down there. Why would we want that for our own society? We can do better. We always have. Unfortunately for Conservatives here in Canada, the CPC is aligned with an extreme religious arm, so a vote for conservatism is a vote for that too, and that means, less rights for women and minorities, austerity and religious agendas. With Trump in office south of us, more austerity mixed with an economic hit from the states, I fear a Conservative government here, would mean a very painful four years. People are already hurting as we recover from the pandemic with global inflation. Is more austerity and less compassion in policy the answer to this, or will it indeed inflict more suffering? I for one, do not want to find out.
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