America’s core advantages of advanced education, research funded by government and support by the private sector, — under trump has been crippled. This former exceptionalism is not just being eroded, but attacked by the current administration, in a no-holds-barred attempt to damage academia, science and its institutions.
Trump, a man of no talents, no intelligence, and who believes in theft and extortion as his mode of ‘effecting a steal’, will, if successful, alienate all foreign governments, partners and allies.
Canadians believe in the rule of law, not in its degradation and ultimate destruction.
We value democracy, — real democracy, not artifice designed to achieve its dismantlement.
We fully believe in developing exceptionalism. Bringing the best and the brightest minds to Canada to work on difficult problems that impact our health, scientific research, environmentalism and the health of ecosystems, — the planet and our quality of life.
It is a balance between economic prosperity, tethered to environmental stewardship, and the negative attributes of industrial development. Canada’s environmental controls attempt to balance prosperity with responsible stewardship, not always successful but given serious consideration, nonetheless.
Now that America has turned its back on international law, international trade law, the international criminal court and Constitutional Law within the United States, Trump is emboldened to act like a Monarch.
It wouldn’t be that problematic if Trump were honest, ethical and moral, but he simply isn’t. In fact, he is a man devoid of these attributes.
Now that the Supreme Court has been cowed by the administration and elected five new judges who are simply willing to support the President, irrespective of the ethics or morality of his choices, America’s legal system is truly now a two-tier system. A legal system for the benefit of those the President supports, essentially the rich and powerful, and a system for the rest of Americans.
These facts aren’t fooling the educated, the intelligent, or those which talent who believe in a constitutional democracy. They are designed to strengthen the inequality that already exists. To enrich the rich and the powerful, to the exclusion of the remainder of the electorate.
And his litany of public and media stated lies, fool no one but the fools.
The facts are of no consequence to Trump. He doesn’t care if his actions are actually damaging America and the citizens of America. He truly doesn’t care.
“You elected me, so you’ve had your say”, is how Trump perceives his position. His threats and actions to mute those who disagree extends to simply ignoring the rest. Trump is a man who is so narcissistic, he cannot tolerate constructive criticism and sees ‘advice’ as criticism. He has no capacity for self-analysis or self-assessment. That is completely beyond his ability.
Leaving America’s Sphere of Influence
Since it is obvious that Americans are unlikely to do what is rational with respect to controlling or containing Trump’s irrational tendencies, — many retributive and willfully malevolent in nature, the only option for true democracies in the West is to diminish America’s influence or sphere of control over their economies and their sovereignty.
Collaboration, to Trump, does not exist. Control, and zero-sum gamesmanship is all that matters. The Art of the Steal, irrespective of what is fair or right, is all that matters.
So be it.
But the effect on other nations is such that remaining an ally, friend or partner with America is now, unlikely.
Extortion does not curry favour or build relationships. Extortion leads to animosity and an unwillingness to trust or partner with the extortionist.
Canada is in just such a position, and has now, as Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada stated, led to the ‘end of our once very favourable and beneficial relationship’.
In the future it will be simply transactional. If a deal makes sense it will be considered, but only if trust can be verified and it is truly beneficial.
Abuse and threats has led to Canada’s long-term plan to reduce trade from 75% with America, to as little as possible. Military collaboration in the future will exist only where it improves Canada’s sovereignty and military strength.
Canada will now militarize, buy hardware and software that is beyond the control of America, which essentially means buying military hardware from European countries, along with Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Canada’s belief in, and support of NATO, without America if so required, will remain absolute.
If necessary, Canadians will gladly spend 5% or 150 billion dollars a year on defence.
In 1953 Canada was spending 8% of its GDP on defence.
While this will have substantive implications for social services and the health system, without sovereignty, nothing else much matters.
As Jake Sullivan stated on Fareed Zakaria, this morning,
“We (the Sullivan administration under Biden) strived to de-risk from China along with other western nations. Today, the western nations are striving to de-risk from the United States. This is a tragedy and own goal, something we have done to ourselves…what are the core capacities that have given us the ability to deliver to the American people? It is a few things, that attracts talent from around the world. Li Kwan Yeu, (Singapore’s Prime Minister) stated, “China can depend on 1 billion Chinese, America can depend on 7 billion.”
Once could, is now the fact, as few nations will every allow themselves to depend on America. Trust in America has been entirely imperilled by Trump and his administration.
The world at large, no longer trusts the United States.
The world no longer tolerates or in any way wants what it sees as extortion, retribution and zero-sum gamesmanship devoid of real diplomacy from the United States being exercised.
The United States is no longer seen as a bastion of democracy, truth and hope for a free world.
America is no longer interested in leading the protection of democracy, period.
Under Trump, all of that is in the past, and because of it, so is trust in America and what it once stood for.
Canada will now chart its own path, independent of the United States.
No doubt, Donald will still attempt to exercise his extortive aims against Canada.
However, Canada will focus on building trade through genuine respectful relationships built on trust and common interests with partners we trust, which no longer is the case with the United States.
As a former instructor of conflict resolution and strategic studies, it is clearly evident to me that collaboration and cooperation are no longer attributes of U.S. foreign policy or foreign trade.
Under Trump, the U.S. is only interested in winning, at any cost, and due to that fact, Canada cannot be a party to a relationship with the United States.
We are not subjects or chattel of the United States, and never will be.
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