BORDER WALLS

As circumstances would have it, Trump didn’t need to build a wall. Instead, he created one. To the north, as it turns out. I have a hunch Trump isn’t so good at geography and, frankly, doesn’t care.

 

**

 

This is a difficult post for me to write. Much of it is seeded in anger, laced with guilt. As a Canadian who was once a legal resident of the United States for sixteen years, I have many reasons for visiting the country to the south many times every year. Friends from university and law school live there. My parents and immediate family are there. My boyfriend, too. 

 

And yet everything that is happening politically in the U.S. based on who the majority of Americans voted to be president makes me no longer wish to visit. Like most Canadians, I am greatly offended by how Trump has taken his bullying and belittling personality and aimed it at Canada. 

 

My mouth dropped when he first referred to Canada as “the fifty-first state.” There is much the two countries had in common, but we are most certainly distinct countries. His jabs, literally blurring border lines, are highly offensive and his rhetoric cannot be disregarded, given how he lives in some sort of colonial era time machine, thinking he can claim Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada as American territories. 

 

What the hell is going on?

 

The current position of the
Republican Party...
heads in the sand.

I would expect Republican politicians to unequivocally say, “Knock it off, Donald.” Not so, of course. This is a group of “leaders” that kowtows to him. The wrath of Trump is too great. The possibility of Republican politicians being ridiculed by their chosen leader is something these weak-willed “leaders” fear too much. They covet their purported positions of power too much. What power, I wonder, if they are muted? They don’t want to be primaried in the next election cycle, booted from the ballot, replaced by a candidate who is even better at kowtowing. 

 

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and
President Ronald Reagan...I liked
neither of them, but they knew
the importance of a solid, amicable 
relationship between Canada
and the U.S.

A solidarity based on a leader’s coercive, vindictive power has no place in a true democracy. I’ve never aligned with Republicans, but I’ve also never been so disgusted with each and every one of them. Without individual voices, they are useless political beings. Cardboard cutouts could take their places.

 

And then there are the tariffs…

 

When the threat was first announced, Trump lumped Canada and Mexico, his country’s neighbors and traditionally close allies, with China. Yes, let’s punish trade via taxation, targeting Canada, Mexico and China. 

 

WHAT?!

 

I think Trump’s bullying tactics are his way of eventually bringing Canada and Mexico to the table to renegotiate North American trade, something a leader may legitimately wish to do. Agreements become outdated. Certain elements of them may be viewed as being “unfair” or “too favorable” to a particular party. Fair, rational leaders call for meetings and begin negotiations. But Trump goes for a Tonya Harding approach, taking a crowbar to the knees of Canada and Mexico. Let me rough you up. Suffer, dear neighbor, and then, somewhere down the line, maybe we’ll talk. 

 

This may be how a stone cold businessman leads. This, however, is not how a democratic leader governs.

 

Again, the “leaders” of the Republican party are too weak, too fearful to speak up. Why, Donald, are you actively, intentionally seeking to piss off the closest allies of the United States? 

 

In any other world scenario, it would be a legitimate question. It would be THE question.

 

I can’t even write calmly about Trump’s Putin crush and how he has disrespected Volodymyr Zelenskyy and imposed egocentric conditions on any support for protecting Ukraine’s legitimate right to sovereignty. Trump does not understand democracy. He has never had to be democratic in his business enterprises. Why the hell did the majority of Americans entrust him with leading what was once reputed to be the greatest democracy in the world?

 

It feels like Americans as a collective have lost their spines…and their souls.

 

I have American friends who did not vote for him. I know how upset they are. One good friend contacted me for recommendations of Canadian places to visit during his summer travels. This gesture is very much appreciated. I do hope a great many Americans, realizing the harm tariffs intend to impose on Canadians, come to Canada and do what they can to invest in our economy. 

 

Sadly, my family—former Canadians, now American citizens—voted for Trump. They shrug. It’s terrible, they say. But they do nothing. They say they could not have known Trump would target Canada. They don’t see their own foolishness in voting for a presidential candidate who ran on soundbites instead of a platform. Personality over platform…yes, a democracy is in demise. 

 

Prince Edward Island

To every American who wants to truly say, “Sorry, Canada. We’re with you,” I say show it. Call your political representatives, especially if they are Republican. Tell them in clear terms you do not support Trump’s tariffs and belittling tactics aimed at the country’s neighbors. Repeat your objection. Make clear that you will not vote again for representatives who stand back in silence. And, yes, come visit Canada. Vancouver. Calgary. PEI. Québec City. Banff. Montréal. Toronto. St. John’s. Winnipeg. Georgian Bay. The Bay of Fundy. Cape Breton. Whistler. Victoria. The Gaspé Peninsula. Niagara Falls. Whitehorse. Yellowknife. Churchill. Haida Gwaii. There are so many places worth seeing.

 

My predicament is that I still have to visit the U.S. in a time when the Canadian mentality is to stay away. Why go to a place where its leader is so disrespectful to our country?

 

I just returned from three weeks in Denver. I’m scheduled to go to New York City in May. These are not places that voted for Trump, but I am still crossing a line. My partner lives in Denver. I visit him because I love him and I want our relationship to continue to grow. He has an upcoming work gig in NYC, hence that travel destination. Keeping our relationship going requires as many regular visits as I can afford. (Airfare and exchange rates make things financially challenging as it is.) I’m a writer so I can work anywhere. My partner has very limited vacation time as is typical of so many American jobs. He’ll visit me in Vancouver in April, but it’s basically a long weekend as his company also has a very limited work-from-home policy. 

 

I know I will have several more U.S. visits this year. Oh, the things we do for love.

 

Another hitch is my Republican-voting parents live in the ever-red state of Texas. I have consciously avoided Texas visits, last going six years ago for my niece’s wedding. My parents have instead visited me in Vancouver and at our family cottage in Ontario. But they are 85 and 88 and far less inclined to travel now. Flying is looking far less likely. I will soon have no choice but to travel to them to see them. I visited them last fall, post-election but before the anti-Canadian rhetoric in the equally red state of Alabama where they drive for an annual vacation. I will likely have to go to Texas later this year. Family will have to come before politics.

 

Québec City

I feel guilty visiting the U.S. 

 

Moreover, I feel guilted by fellow Canadians. I totally get this.

 

I will do what I can. Yesterday, I contacted the Seattle Art Museum, expressly stating that Trump’s tactics have made it imprudent to be making quick road trips to Seattle and supporting American museums despite the fact I personally love SAM. My weekend getaways will be to Whistler, Tofino and Victoria rather than American destinations. It is with great regret that I will not be visiting friends in Los Angeles this year, a place where I lived for five years. I will also not be returning to the Oregon Coast for the foreseeable future. (It is my absolute favorite place in the U.S.) 

 

Greenland

In one sense these are tough choices. I like so much of the United States. But Trump has made staying away feel so much easier. When my partner and my family are not part of the equation, staying away doesn’t feel like a choice at all. Given the current tone at the helm of the American government, it seems like the only way.

 

Ever the traveler, I have so many other choices. I have my eye on trips to Iceland, Great Britain, Portugal, Sweden, Peru and, yes, Greenland.

 

As Canadians are so inclined to say, “I’m sorry, America.” But then again, I’m not. In a trade war between David and Goliath, this is what it’s come to. 

I AM ONE: A BOOK OF ACTION

 

 

Words by Susan Verde

 

Illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds

 

(Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2020)

 

Back in November, I posted two pieces about going Beyond the Vote. (You can read them here and here.) Trump had won the U.S. election and the Republicans held power in both the Senate and the House of Representatives but that only meant that people seeking change and advocating for trans and queer rights as well as topics like climate change and freedom from book banning needed to actively and steadfastly pursue other channels to affect change.

 

Frankly, going beyond and around formal political structures is where the fun is. The late U.S. Congressman John Lewis referred to some of these non-legislative actions as “good trouble.” I smile every time I think of the phrase and I recall some of the things I did during the height of the AIDS crisis. I was not a member of ACT UP which was more radical than I dared to be as I still had one foot in the closet. Still, I participated in protests and marches. When I attended monthly meetings as an AIDS Project Los Angeles volunteer, I removed all my money to have it stamped as “gay dollars” to remind people when the bills went back into circulation that gays had money and the economic power that went with it.

 

Clearly, we need to get creative in how we fight back against many of Trump’s executive orders and it will take a swell of participation from allies. Just this weekend, the president has gotten me more incensed than ever by imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods while setting tariffs on China at 10%. Tell me how it makes sense to be most economically punishing to your long-term neighbors, your most natural trading partners? Why even target Canada (and Mexico)? We’ve had a good thing going between North American countries. I know that Canadians are outraged.

 

I, of course, can participate in protest actions and change initiatives relating to more than one issue and now I most certainly must. Trans and queer rights remain at the forefront. Canadian pushback now stands alongside that. 

 

I’ve talked with people over the past week who feel scattered and overwhelmed by the rapid change Trump is creating through his promised rainstorm of executive actions. That’s normal. Catch your breath, everybody.

 

But Susan Verde and Peter H. Reynolds’ book I Am One: A Book of Action reminds us in a simple yet inspirational way that change starts with one person doing one action. The message is comparable to the image of a drop in a bucket seeming inconsequential until another drop and another and many, many more are added in. Keep it coming. Keep doing the work. Let others see and feel your actions. Let those who are so motivated do the same or similar actions. Let them try another course of action. Let everything build.

 

A Book of Action was inspired by a quote from the Dalai Lama: “Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.” The book begins with a key question: “How do I make a difference?”

 

Yeah, we all feel that little old me syndrome from time to time. I hear people who are less hopeful opt out with the defeatist statement, “What difference does it make?”

 

All I know is I have control over my own thoughts and actions. I always believe in doing what I can. For the issues that matter most to me, I must move beyond talking the talk. I must walk the walk. Actions matter.

 

As the book reminds us, “Beautiful things start with just One.” 

 

One seed to start a garden.

One stroke to start a masterpiece.

One note to start a melody. 

 

Starting matters. That first action is the root of bigger things, sometimes even a movement. Not every action will have legs, but it’s worth giving it a go and seeing if it might. It’s worth checking out online what people are doing and adopting your own version of an action or actions that seem within your ability.

 

 

The book reminds us that that pebble drop in water the Dalai Lama referred to can create ripples and, with enough pebbles dropped, we can imagine ripples evolving into swells, then waves. 

 

It’s time to act. Try something. Try something else. Comment on and acknowledge what others are doing. Action feels so much better than sitting, stewing and fretting. 

 

I may be reading I Am One: A Book of Action on the daily for the next while. The book itself calms me and reminds me of opportunity, pushing me past passivity. 

 

Again, it’s time to act. 

 

What will it be?