Dear Fellow Canadians:
Are you okay? Just checking in here. So many red maple leaves have been popping up on your social media profiles that I feel some cult-vibes happening. No really, do you even know what’s going on? Hey, I, too, got angry when the newest US clown show started pushing us around with threatening tariffs and our statehood. But panicking and throwing yourselves head-on into patriotism isn’t going to help. What exactly does celebrating colonialism, hockey, and over-priced locally-made soap do to make Canada stronger and better for all? For a split second, I really thought the people of Canada were finally willing to wake up. All I’ve been seeing, though, are a bunch of distractions while epic atrocities continue to get ignored. Sorry to bring the bad news, but we can’t survive by locking ourselves in a bubble of maple syrup and good ol’ Canadiana. If Canadians want to be in good standing amongst the rest of the world, we have a job to do. So, let’s get to it, eh?
That critical eye you have laser focused on the US right now has to look back at our side of the border too. We may not want to be the 51st state, but there is plenty going on here to qualify us for the position. Do you think we’re in this situation just because an orange meatball with legs decided he wanted to acquire Canada? Canada has been playing into the US’s whims and complying with their conquering actions around the globe for decades. We put ourselves here fair and square. “Not Canada!” you’re probably muttering to yourself right now. “We’re so nice!” Yeah, well those are the people who you need to keep your eye on because they are usually hiding something. No one is that nice. Sorry, again. Does anyone remember when Canada was portrayed as the peacekeeper? Does anyone remember when that role quietly faded away? Does anyone think Canada is still at it? Unfortunately, the truth is that when it comes to war and conflict, Canada has a long history of stepping right into that steaming pile of BS.
Canada has cooperated with the US in military action since World War II, including the Korean War, the Gulf War, the Kosovo War, and Afghanistan. Plenty of Canadians have individually enlisted to fight in other wars, such as in Vietnam, Ukraine, and occupied Palestine (alongside the IDF). Yes we are a part of NATO, and yes that means we are committed to following the Western Empire in its warmongering. If Canada is not participating with its own military action overseas, then it is sending support in weapons, parts for weapons, and money from your taxes. It tests and markets weapons for other militaries on its own soil—for instance, Israeli weapons in Suffield, AB, in May/June 2024—and lets the RCMP (who everyone seems to downplay their oppressive nature because they have cute hats and ride horses or something) buy these weapons to use on Canadian civilians. Canadians are no different when it comes to the killing machine.
Speaking of the civilian population, we have plenty to worry about right here at home as well. Law enforcement, immigration, and politicians seem to be working with a lot of impunity these days. If there is any official oversight on any of these organizations, it’s not apparent. Indigenous land defenders, university students and faculty, protesters, journalists, and immigrants are being targeted, arrested, charged, and deported for their activism and criticism of government abuses of power. This is where we need to be aware and use our voice. If you don’t want an Orwellian 1984 scenario to happen here, which the book was actually published in 1949 (can’t say we weren’t warned), then get informed and get active. Don’t remember 1984? Then read it. Also, read The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Permanent Record by Edward Snowden, README.txt by Chelsea Manning, How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa, The Mauritanian by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, I Will Never See the World Again by Ahmet Altan, Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, The Imprisoned Blogger by Othman Hamdan and any story that will help you start to think critically, which is all-too-important in the age of social media and mass propaganda from mainstream news outlets and governments. A book is a tangible piece of protest. “They” don’t want us to know these stories and use them as an essential tool to our thought process. The people who have written their true stories in the list above have risked their lives in the fight for freedom—everyone’s freedom. Value that. And find more books and stories, because there are so many.
My last comment today is going to be about freedom, and my first ask is that you do not become a nationalist. Keep the toque, the goose, the moose, and protect that poutine at all costs, but full-frontal, flag-waving national pride is a slippery slope to oppression. Do not adopt the notion that we are better. We are not. Hating on our neighbors (deliberate spelling) to the south, specifically those who are also scared or trying to fight their own oppressive state, is not an option. We are in a global fight against fascism that makes us have more in common with others around the world than not. Nationalism created the borders here on Turtle Island and everywhere else, which created the need to defend those borders, rule over the land and the people within, and instill an us-verses-them mentality. It is the ugly root behind racism, bigotry, and hate. It creates wars that force people from their homes to seek refuge elsewhere (known as migration). It creates genocides and excuses to implement apartheid practices. It destroys childhoods, families, bloodlines, and intelligent minds that could progress us into a healthier world. It cements the problems of a nation into place, which makes it much harder to fight. If you do not like what is happening in the US right now, realize that we are only a matter of elections away before we are potentially just like it. You want to send a powerful message to Americans? Tell them you will fight tyranny alongside them. And then do it.
The atrocities that you are willing to tolerate in other parts of the world are a reflection of what you are willing to tolerate in your own country. Fascism does not stop at any border, and its root is winding itself into Canadian ideology. We all are vulnerable to horrible things. However, we all are also accountable for our own actions, which can be used for positive change. I truly believe that those who are partaking in human oppression and blatant destruction to our planet are less in numbers than those who are against it. We, the ones who want a better, peaceful world, have the potential to take back the power. This is definitely not the time to stay silent or uninformed. You don’t need to fight it all, but you need to start fighting for something.
I will leave you with words from Nelson Mandela after he was released from prison:
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning.”
You will never need to apologize for trying to make the world a better place for everyone. As a human, that is something worth taking pride in.
Merielle M Kazakoff, Editor and Publisher for The Imprisoned Blogger.
The Imprisoned Blogger 