If Trump Wins, I’m Not Leaving
Most Americans know very little about Canada. Maybe they hear things about the health care system, maybe they think of Mounties. But really, we’re terribly ignorant.
I’m lucky enough to live just north of the Canadian border and to have spent many summers in Canada. I have lots of Canadian friends of all political bents, and I love the country, faults and all.
But I’m not moving there. Don’t misunderstand, I know I’d love living there, working hard in the city all week, complaining about my pay as a doctor, going up to the cottage on long weekend.
But I’m an American, and my country is facing an existential threat. This is no time to leave. One of our two major political parties has cultivated hate and the the harvest has begun. The Reaper, in this case, is Donald Trump.
Reagan was often called the “Teflon President” because no critique, no crime, no accusation would stick to him. But Trump is better than Teflon. No matter how much he lies (and he does so more baldly than any politician), his lies simply increase his popularity.
His nomination seems inevitable, and there’s plenty of blame to go around. Most rests with the GOP and their decades of “Southern Strategy” and other gatherings-in of people filled with rage. They thought they could control this force, but they were unable to stop the election (twice) of our first black president, and they are unable to stop the nomination of a power-hungry fascist feeding the fodder the GOP has grown.
As an American, I can enjoy every second I get to spend in Canada, and I don’t go nearly enough. But I cannot abandon my country in time of need. Canada has helped shelter Americans who are threatened by their own government, and for that I am grateful. But my fellow Americans need to stick this out.
If Trump is elected, he will bring to power the worst of us. He will continue to feed off hate. He has made it clear that he will violate any civil liberties he feels get in his way. He regularly ejects people from his speeches and rallies, showing a disdain for dissent and free speech. He even encourages violence against them.
And he has plenty of willing Brownshirts to do his bidding, people — mostly white and poor to middle class — who feel left behind by Reconstruction (despite the absurdity of this). He will, without doubt, abuse his executive power to accomplish anything he wants. And it is up to every American to fight this by any means necessary. We must vote, we must organize, and if Trump is elected we must support our elected bodies and use our Constitutional rights to maintain our American democracy.
If Trump is elected, I’m going nowhere except to the internet and the picket lines. I may slip over the border for a visit, but only that. I would swim back across the river to protect my country from this dangerous demagogue.
I have said in writing many times that to support Trump is to oppose basic American values. It is a vote for fascism. There is no excuse. No matter how disillusioned you are with politics, politicians, taxes, unemployment, Trump is part of the problem, not the solution. Supporting Trump is supporting hate. It is anti-American. It is immoral. And make no mistake, it’s personal.
If you support Trump, you have a problem. You need to be told this because maybe it’s not too late for you. You can try to look through and past your hate and try to redeem yourself. You may be bad, but maybe — just maybe — you can recover, and become part of the solution.
