As Americans, our first instinct when someone outside the United States says something critical about our nation is often to reject the comment (or mock their country; be honest!). In this case, neither Marche nor Homer-Dixon wrote their words to demean America or to make Canadians feel more comfortable with their country.
In the case of Homer-Dixon, the warning is even more disturbing because the column is not aimed at Americans, but at his fellow Canadians, to prepare them for what may be on the way if America’s democracy collapses. Homer-Dixon even warns his countrymen: “A terrible storm is coming from the south, and Canada is sadly unprepared.”
When Canadians start advising each other on the threat to American democracy, you know we’re in a serious position. It’s not about scoring political points; rather, it springs from a place of sincere concern for their own nation.
Homer-Dixon’s words really matter: As he says, he’s been studying the causes of war, revolution, and social collapse for more than 40 years. “Today,” he wrote to his countrymen and women, “when I see the crisis unfolding in the United States, I see a political and social landscape flashing with warning signs.”
To those who may see his preconceptions as exaggerated, Homer-Dixon adds: “We must not reject these options just because they seem ridiculous or too horrible to imagine. In 2014, the proposal that Donald Trump would become president, also had had thought almost everyone was absurd. ” (Point taken with it!)
But what really resonates with me is Homer-Dixon’s assessment that “the support” of our policies “is a vital set of beliefs and values”, and “if a significant enough fraction of a population no longer has those beliefs” and values, then democracy. can not survive. ”
For Homer-Dixon, all of this begs a crucial question for his country: How can Canadians prepare for the worst? First, he says, “We need to start by fully acknowledging the magnitude of the danger.” He continues: “If Mr Trump is re-elected” and heralds a right-wing authoritarian regime: “The risks to our country in their cumulative effect could easily be existential, far greater than any in the history of our federation.”
For example, he theorizes: “What happens … if high-profile political refugees fleeing persecution arrive in our country and the US regime demands them back. Do we comply?”
To prepare for such possible scenarios, he urges the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, to “immediately convene” a committee of representatives of the various political parties in the government, which “should receive regular intelligence and briefings from Canadian political and social experts. developments in the United States and their implications for democratic failure there. ”
But there is something deeply compelling about reading the words of Canadians, who have no skin in American politics, to come up with such blunt words and warnings about the red flags they see.
As Marche describes in his book, there are Americans who have a “desperate belief in their country’s institutions that is almost equivalent to delusion.” These Canadians warn us to break free from these delusions and instead understand that “it” can happen here – with “it” as everything from fascism to a civil war that would collapse our democracy – and to seize it reality before it is too late.
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