In a speech to the Washington Press Club in 1969, then-Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau (father of current PM Justin Trudeau) memorably said: “Living next to you [the U.S.] is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”
So the invasion of the Capitol building yesterday is likely to affect us here in Canada. I won’t pretend to know how, but hope that the willingness of so many to believe in ridiculous conspiracy theories and other patently false claims does not seep north. (We do have some of this, but not as widespread.)
I’ve just started reading Fantasyland, a 2017 book by Kurt Andersen. He’s arguing that from the earliest days of European settlers in America, belief in untruths has always been present, and this has affected the country’s development and history. We’ve seen ample evidence that this continues.
Much has already been said and written about yesterday’s events. So what can I add that hasn’t been said? Well, one thing that hasn’t been said by most of the Republican Party, most notably the leadership, is that the election was not stolen, but was properly won by Biden. When I listened to Mitch McConnell trying to sound statesmanlike and an upholder of the Constitution, I was struck by the weaselly way he put it. He never said the election was stolen – but he didn’t say it wasn’t. He simply said that the mandated steps have been followed, and Congress has to respect the process.
I fear that unless all of the GOP leaders show some honesty and integrity and tell the truth (like the brave officials, many of them Republicans, who actually ran the elections), there can be no reconciliation. Of course, even then many of Trump’s supporters will still hold on to his lies, but at least acknowledging the fairness of Biden’s win would be a start.
One more thought: There’s been talk of removing Trump from office. I don’t know how likely that is, but since it’s a possibility, will we see the expected pardons for his friends and family – and himself – sooner rather than later?