This was a post that I meant to publish some time ago. Somehow, I never quite got around to it. But having seen it a few days ago while doing some cleaning and clearing within my blog, this came up, and it seemed like something worth posting. So, here it is:
Years ago, around the time of the American invasion of Iraq, there was a poll that came out revealing that one in three Canadians viewed the United States as a bigger threat to world peace than Iraq'a Saddam Hussein.
This was fairly startling. After all, if there are people in the world who know Americans, arguably better than Americans know themselves since Canadians are more detached and therefore objective, than it is Canadians. After all, the two countries share a lot of similarities, historically and culturally, as well as geographically. The border between the two countries is long and runs east to west, as well as north to south along the Alaskan border with British Columbia and the Yukon Territory.
So for that many Canadians to feel that level of suspicion about Americans was telling to me. There were tensions between the two countries at that point, and at sporting events, headlines were made when some Canadians refused to stand up for the American national anthem. Some Americans responded in kind when the Canadian national anthem was played before sporting events south of the border.
More recently, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pulled no punches in saying, with reason, that those Canadians who were killed on that Ukrainian Airlines flight that was shot down near Tehran was the fault of Trump's escalation of the situation. Many Canadians agreed with that.
That was a relative surprise, as elected public officials, particularly national leaders, are usually more reserved. That, at least, is true of active politicians, such as Trudeau.
Well, former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has long been retired now for well over a decade. And he pulls no punches in a criticism leveled that the United States, particularly at the political rise of Donald Trump, which he argues marks an end to the age of the American empire.
Trudeau may not be free to speak frankly about Trump, but Chretien certainly is. And a couple of years ago, he did exactly that. Here are some of the things that he said:
“It’s been very sad to observe the monumental error our neighbours to the south made in November 2016,” he writes in a later chapter, in which he recounts happy times he and his wife, Aline, have spent with former U.S. president Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, who was defeated by Trump.
“I fear that Hillary’s defeat, and the arrival of the fanatical Trump, mark the true end of the American Empire. You can understand why Aline and I are so happy to have the Clintons as friends, and almost as proud to be removed as far as possible from the unspeakable Donald Trump.”
The interview took place when Chretien was coming out with a new book. And Chretien did not hold back, expanding on his opinion that the American empire is on the decline.
Usually, I would not put quite so much from one article into one of my blogs. But this is important, and something that I feel more Americans need to hear and understand. Because again, it can be argued with considerable merit that Canadians understand Americans, and how the world views them, far more than Americans themselves do. And Chretien is the former elected leader of Canada, with a uniquely insightful perspective. He knows of what he speaks. And what he says may shock Americans:
Usually, I would not put quite so much from one article into one of my blogs. But this is important, and something that I feel more Americans need to hear and understand. Because again, it can be argued with considerable merit that Canadians understand Americans, and how the world views them, far more than Americans themselves do. And Chretien is the former elected leader of Canada, with a uniquely insightful perspective. He knows of what he speaks. And what he says may shock Americans:
“When I’m travelling the world, I feel that their influence is going down very rapidly.”
Chretien said the protectionist, America-first Trump administration is trying to break the international order “that has created prosperity around the world since the (1940s)” and is causing concern among traditional allies as the U.S. withdraws from the Iran denuclearization agreement, among other international pacts.
The rise and eventual fall of superpowers is natural and inevitable, Chretien added.
“You know, empires disappear. A lot of people are nostalgic about the British empire. A lot of people in France still dream of Napoleon; he’s dead since a long time. Life is like that.”
All of this has, if anything, compromised America's image around the world and undermined confidence in itself domestically. Americans are now struggling with who they are, what their identity is. Many Americans cannot accept Trump and all that he represents, but too many of these detractors too quickly dismiss any notion that the country truly is represented by Trumpism, even though there have been strands throughout American history where ignorance, arrogance, and violence have won out. Much of American history is tainted in this manner, in fact, and to gloss over this or dismiss any notions that this is as much a part of the American identity as the more enlightened and inspirational aspects of it's history is to indulge ourselves in vanity that actually contributes to militant ignorance and arrogance winning out. Whether it was the genocide of Native Americans and slavery centuries ago, or Jim Crow segregation more recently, or an ugly brand of intolerant nationalism often known these days as "American exceptionalism," or the rise of the Tea Party, propaganda "news" channels and popular radio programs, or the newest and most stubborn form of this militant stupidity which now is known as Trumpism and MAGA supporters, this ugliness has not only always existed throughout American history, but often won power and had their way for entirely too long.
In other words, it is not some kind of idle threat, or some far away danger. Itis hear, and right now, it has someone in Donald Trump who has been elected as the face and the voice of the United States as a nation, even if the rest of the world sees him as literally the face of the "ugly American."
Chretien also criticized Trump in other ways, basically suggesting that his new trade deal within North America looks almost identical to NAFTA, and was basically a transparent attempt to put his thumbprint on the deal, to make himself look like he was actually fighting for his country, to make a better deal, even though it was largely just show. According to Chretien, it basically was “a lot of talk for nothing.”
In his book, Chretien suggested that the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, revealed something about the political climate in the United States and “exposed to us the true face of Donald Trump.” It should be remembered that the whole world was watching:
The rally was staged ostensibly to protest the removal of Confederate symbols but white nationalists and other far-right extremists chanted racist and anti-Semitic slogans and carried guns and Nazi symbols. Violent clashes with counter-protesters erupted, leaving one woman dead. Trump refused to explicitly denounce the white supremacists, choosing instead to condemn hatred and bigotry “on many sides” and claiming that there were “very fine people on both sides” of the clashes.
While Chretien writes that no country is immune to “backsliding where social values are concerned” and Canada must remain vigilant, he said in the interview that Canada has avoided the kind of polarization plaguing the U.S. because “we have much better institutions.”
All of this has, if anything, compromised America's image around the world and undermined confidence in itself domestically. Americans are now struggling with who they are, what their identity is. Many Americans cannot accept Trump and all that he represents, but too many of these detractors too quickly dismiss any notion that the country truly is represented by Trumpism, even though there have been strands throughout American history where ignorance, arrogance, and violence have won out. Much of American history is tainted in this manner, in fact, and to gloss over this or dismiss any notions that this is as much a part of the American identity as the more enlightened and inspirational aspects of it's history is to indulge ourselves in vanity that actually contributes to militant ignorance and arrogance winning out. Whether it was the genocide of Native Americans and slavery centuries ago, or Jim Crow segregation more recently, or an ugly brand of intolerant nationalism often known these days as "American exceptionalism," or the rise of the Tea Party, propaganda "news" channels and popular radio programs, or the newest and most stubborn form of this militant stupidity which now is known as Trumpism and MAGA supporters, this ugliness has not only always existed throughout American history, but often won power and had their way for entirely too long.
In other words, it is not some kind of idle threat, or some far away danger. Itis hear, and right now, it has someone in Donald Trump who has been elected as the face and the voice of the United States as a nation, even if the rest of the world sees him as literally the face of the "ugly American."
Chretien also criticized Trump in other ways, basically suggesting that his new trade deal within North America looks almost identical to NAFTA, and was basically a transparent attempt to put his thumbprint on the deal, to make himself look like he was actually fighting for his country, to make a better deal, even though it was largely just show. According to Chretien, it basically was “a lot of talk for nothing.”
“He changed the name and not much else,” Chretien said, adding that the NAFTA partners made “a little bit of an adjustment but basically we still have a free trade agreement with them that will work about the same way that it was working before.”
Chretien also took some swipes at the manipulation of the judicial system in the United State, and how politicized this process has become:
For example, he pointed to the heavily politicized appointment process for judges in the U.S., where the recent confirmation of Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh became a circus amid accusations of sexual misconduct when he was a teenager. The judicial system in Canada has remained largely untouched by politicization.
For example, he pointed to the heavily politicized appointment process for judges in the U.S., where the recent confirmation of Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh became a circus amid accusations of sexual misconduct when he was a teenager. The judicial system in Canada has remained largely untouched by politicization.
“I never knew if the chief justice voted for me and I never asked her,” Chretien said, referring Beverley McLachlin whom he named chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada in 2000. She retired last December.
Well, Chretien may be retired now, for almost a decade and a half. However, he still seems to be able to analyze political realities in North America, both north and south of the Canadian border, with serious accuracy, hitting the mark more than not.
This should serve as a wake-up call for Americans.
The question, though, is whether or not they are paying attention. Perhaps another uncertainty is if enough Americans care about how the outside world views them to do anything about it.
Well, Chretien may be retired now, for almost a decade and a half. However, he still seems to be able to analyze political realities in North America, both north and south of the Canadian border, with serious accuracy, hitting the mark more than not.
This should serve as a wake-up call for Americans.
The question, though, is whether or not they are paying attention. Perhaps another uncertainty is if enough Americans care about how the outside world views them to do anything about it.
Jean Chretien says rise of Donald Trump heralds end of the American empire by Joan Bryden of The Canadian Press, October 10, 2018:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4532575/jean-chretien-donald-trump/?fbclid=IwAR2s6IZoMhzPlsLcrl4iJf4caE-poNk6L3CVpGaGVRUTn2sGaME-RBezVOA
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