When I was two years old, my parents brought me and my six-month-old sister from Scotland to Canada. Late in 1997, I moved to Atlanta with my then-new, U.S.-born wife, and 20 years later, I finally officially became a U.S. citizen.
We have a 21-year-old son now, and I expect to remain in the States for the remainder of my years — hopefully, with several more to go!
That said, I will always consider myself Canadian to some degree and at least try to remain aware of what’s going on up there (especially when the Maple Leafs are playing!).
After all, my sisters and their families still live in the Great White North, and I remain close friends with many Canucks, some of whom even periodically venture down here for visits.
I last stepped foot on Canadian soil a little over a year ago, and I am already looking forward to an old roommate, who remains one of my closest friends and allies, visiting Eatonton this summer.
I mention all this only to establish why I have a visceral, negative reaction every time I see or hear President-elect Donald Trump say he thinks Canada should become the 51st state — which, by the way, would create a single state larger than all of the present United States, Alaska, and Hawaii included.
I mean, I know he can’t be serious (can he?). Still, when it gets lumped in with additional talk from Trump about the U.S. taking over Danish territory Greenland “for strategic reasons,” and reassuming ownership and control of the Panama Canal (both by force, if necessary, he even suggested), it just makes me uneasy about where we’re all headed, internationally.
I mean, Canada and Denmark joined the United States in 1949 among the original dozen members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which explicitly states that no NATO member shall attack another. Plus, if one member is attacked, all are considered under attack. It seems pretty destabilizing to even suggest the annexation of Greenland or Canada—not to mention backstabbing—and never mind stripping Panama, a NATO-friendly nation.
Is this really going to become the American way? The world seems to become more unpredictable each year; don’t we need “friends” going forward?
Ironic, too, that the global warming so glibly denied by Trump and his minions at every turn is largely responsible for making Greenland an even more attractive holding by gradually receding the massive ice cap that covers a vast trove of valuable minerals ripe for the picking, including cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel. That couldn’t be part of the “strategic” advantage, could it?
But back to Canada, Trump’s talk about taking over America’s northern neighbor (coincidentally with considerable underground oil reserves, hmmmmm) probably did no favors for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who last Monday announced he would be stepping down after more than nine years in office, with a party successor to be named by late March.
Trump responded to Trudeau’s announcement the next day by posting a map of North America, sans Mexico, to Truth Social. The map was completely covered by an image of the U.S. flag and just the words, “Oh, Canada!” How presidential.
For now, Trudeau remains Canada’s national leader, so in response to Trump’s social media trolling, he angrily responded on Twitter with, “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.” I’m no Trudeau fan, but do you know what? II can’t blame him.
But more than matching his new best buddy’s trolling, apparent co-president-elect Elon Musk very maturely responded to Trudeau’s post with “Girl, you’re not the governor of Canada anymore, so it doesn’t matter what you say.” I guess grade-school-level insults are what passes for international commentary these days.
It’s pathetic to think these are the people and causes that represent this great country now. You know, I remain proud to be called an American, but these so-called “leaders” really sicken the Canadian that remains within.