Fearless Leader?

How do you face a President who doesn’t really seem to be following any plan? Rifling off threats and inuendo like he’s got nothing to lose?  How do you handle a bull in a china shop?  No one can say for sure, at least not this bull(y).  One good thing about his unpredictable antics is that he’s opened the door for others to actually speak their mind when referring to him, his threats and his ideas, (if you can call them that).  

Over the last many decades, the world’s leaders have taken American handouts with full trust that everyone’s interests were being considered.  Today, this same world, excepting for those wannabe Trumps, has had its eyes opened wide.  The man has at least laid bare what American government really thinks of the rest of us.  He’s completely upended diplomacy and boasts about it.  He’s also laid bare what banks, oil companies and the rest of the world’s powerful corporations think about the fate of humankind.  He’s sided with the rest of the world’s despots from the first day in office, and even though he’s going through with many of his ridiculous threats, some of the things he’s said and done lately have surprised even his own people.  

I don’t know much about Canadian politics, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out how to deal with this situation.  We can’t stoop as low as he has, but the only way forward is to fight back with whatever weapons we have at our disposal, kind of like the old adage, “walk softly and carry a big stick”.   We have sticks and we have the advantage of knowing how to communicate, whether it’s with Trump, or with other world leaders.  With Trump, I believe both hard and soft tactics should apply.  Push back but explain why without making up stories.  Canada has always been at the forefront of international diplomacy and has been called upon on several occasions to mediate conflicts, so it’s important for us to take charge in the fight to tame the bull.  We have been close allies for many years, besides Mexico, (and we know how he feels about them), Canada is joined at the hip, so to speak, with its rowdy neighbour.  Being in Portugal, I can attest to the fact that Canada’s current attitude towards Donald and his associates is grabbing attention here in Europe.  Doug Ford’s tough stance and Trudeau’s heart-felt speech to the North American public both made an impact with those paying attention.  No doubt, the current PM, Mark Carney will also continue to pressure Trump and his policies, because that is the only way.  We need to be typically Canadian, stand up firmly and push diplomacy, which currently seems to be missing from the Trump administrations lexicon.  Carney has said in the past that he won’t stand for this sort of thing, which is exactly where he needs to be.  He’s also got an unlikely ally in Doug Ford.  Although Ford preaches from the same good book as the Republicans, he’s drawn the line in the sand with his southern counterparts.  So, red and blue fighting together for peace and justice, or as close to it as a capitalist society could get.  We couldn’t hope for a better situation under the current circumstances.  Mark Carney and Doug Ford, our fearless leaders.  Let’s see what happens.

Fiquem bem,

Raul Freitas /MS