Dreaming a little dream

There has been considerable media ballyhoo over the recent edition of Rolling Stone magazine and its fawning fan boy portrait of Canada’s Prime Minister. The subsequent decision by Conservative politicians to swarm the American networks to mock and /or criticize the Prime Minster as a selfie-obsessed snowflake who gave $10 million dollars to a terrorist just added to the fun. This, in turn, was condemned by Justin supporters as undermining Canada’s position in the upcoming NAFTA negotiations in the face of the Trump tumult. It’s a fair bit of much ado about nothing, but it sure shines in contrast to the earthquake that is currently shaking the foundations of our neighbour to the south.

If there is one area in which the new American president has proven himself to be adept, it is in the art of distraction. With two thumbs and atrocious grammar, the Trumpster can keep scores of highly-skilled journalists scrambling to keep up with the 144-character snippets of outrageousness he manages to produce at an astounding pace. Meanwhile, as he wages an all-out war on the American Constitution, he is also completely abdicating America’s long-standing position of global leadership in favour of an aggressively introverted nationalism. In just six months, he has completely sapped the confidence America’s allies have always been able to have in its steadfastness and has obscenely cozied up to the enemy that poses their greatest threat. He has also taken stances directly opposed to international efforts in terms of the environment, human rights, democratic government, and cooperation, forcing them to consider alternative plans.

All of this has caused considerable consternation in the world’s capitals but it has obviously also opened up avenues to alternative approaches to common goals now that America is heading to the bench. Already, Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s wunderkind Emmanuel Macron have emerged as colourful and courageous leaders who, despite their own domestic political issues, have stepped up to grab the reins. This is where young Justin steps in.

Trudeau has managed quite successfully to use his youth, good looks, and his indisputable public charm to create a public persona of progressivism, compassion, and diversity that runs strongly counter to the general attitude of negativity and fear that has come to completely dominate American politics. He also appeals very strongly to the many Americans on the leftish side of the scale who deplore the current regime and see young Trudeau as the ‘cool’ progressive leader that most once saw in former president Barack Obama Crucially, however, he also been perhaps the only leader of America’s major allies that has managed to soothe the Trumpian ego in a way that could prove to serve him well as a go-between for the erratic commander in chief.

Trudeau of course, like Obama, cannot overcome our national problems by force of charm alone and in practical terms neither man was or is able, given the realities of democratic-capitalist politics, to carry out in practice the idealism often expressed in their rhetoric. Other the other hand, both can keep faith in our ‘better angels’ alive as we struggle to forge societies capable of dealing with the technological, ecological, and economic realities of the 21st Century.

This optimism is crucial if we are to overcome the negativity that has accompanied the huge disparities of wealth and opportunity and the slow, steady demise of democratic freedoms like the right to privacy, freedom of speech, and the erosion of confidence in media and other sources of information.

It is still too early to tell what the long-term effects of the Trump presidency will be as it is still far from certain that he will even be able to complete his term but regardless of whether he survives or not, the men in charge of the legislative branch are offering – or attempting – changes to the way America works that are as drastic as those proffered by the president himself and if they can heal their own divisions, they stand empowered to create an America as selfish and brutal at home as it has been abroad. The influence of the religious right and its condemnatory moralism, its misogyny, and its absolutely un-christ-like arrogance has never been stronger as it now wields almost irresistible authority in Congress, state legislatures, school boards, and other more grass-roots organizations where it often wields absolute power. The religious right is also furiously devoted to the almighty dollar, free-wheeling capitalism, and the enforcement of strict personal and sexual morality that it is more than happy to impose on everyone.

While predictions of the collapse of American democracy have been proven wrong before, the structure and balance that has made American government successful in the past is under threat like never before. The cultural divide is almost as great as it was in the Civil War, although not quite as clearly defined by region. Opposing parties no longer argue with each other as much as condemn the very existence of differing views and spend much more time attacking character than they do promoting the general good. The repeal of Obamacare is a case in point. The Republican Party spent a full seven years denouncing Obama’s futile attempt to provide suitable and affordable health insurance for the American people. Every attempt was made to undermine the system and promises were constantly made as to how a new regime could provide better, less expensive insurance coverage for more people.

Suddenly, these Republicans hold all the levers of power and control the Presidency and both houses of Congress. They can literally do what they want. Unfortunately, while all the condemning and promising was going on and the system in hand was being undermined, nobody bothered to come to terms with the fact that there was no agreement as to how the goal was to be accomplished and more importantly to what end. In spite of intense political pressure – and threats from their president – Republican lawmakers have had to face up to the fact that they’ve been blowing gas from their butts for more than seven years and have no idea how to proceed.

There is nothing about the Trump presidency that bodes well, either for American people or their allies and if the latter are going to continue their efforts to uphold the values of democracy and freedom that have characterized the Western World since the end of the Second World War, they are going to have to redouble their efforts and their commitment and this is where guys like Trudeau can serve a very useful purpose. Canadians are, after all, viewed as polite, unarmed Americans with health coverage and we are ideally placed to carry forward the traditional American commitment to progress, science, knowledge, the rule of law, and equality that our southern neighbours are in the process of abandoning. America once promoted these ideas aggressively and successfully and for much of the world they have characterized the American Dream. The dream doesn’t have to die but somebody has to keep believing in it. Men like Trudeau –even if his gifts seem superficial – can help keep the dream alive. Without it, the future could look pretty glum indeed.