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During the summer of 2020, the first summer of the COVID pandemic, I was discussing the arbitrary rules set forth by our elected representatives. There was a group of us. One of them was a Canadian friend who had just become a U.S. citizen. After listening for a while this fellow said, “Americans are generally ungovernable”. I disagreed. I responded that as long as Americans are asked to do things that are logical, and make sense, we are very compliant. He commenced to give us an example of how Canadians blindly follow orders. He said, “Do you know how a lifeguard gets Canadians out of a swimming pool? He simply says, everyone out of the pool. And everyone gets out of the pool.” Even if the pool wasn’t scheduled to close for another hour, I asked? He didn’t answer so I took that as a yes. Was he bragging, or embarrassed, I wondered? If it was closing time Americans would do the same. But if it was 5:00 o’clock, and the pool was scheduled to be open until 6:00, the lifeguard would have to deal with a pool full of Americans. Before he passed away Charles Krauthammer was one of my favorite commentators. He was once asked what he thought the difference was in Canadians and Americans. Being a Canadian his answer carried a certain legitimacy. He said, “In America, the national motto is Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. In Canada it is Peace, Order, and Good Government.” (I have not been able to confirm that). This paragraph sets the tone for the rest of this post. Watching the Freedom Convoy protests unfold in Canada has caused me to lose a lot of respect for the Canadian people. Not all of them. Certainly not the brave truckers. Just those who refuse to push back against the tyranny of the Canadian government. Those who remain silent when the government arrests a father who refuses to call his 13 year old son by his preferred pronoun. Citizens should be incensed that one of the organizers of the Freedom Convoy, Tamara Lich, was arrested on 2/17, and remains in jail after being denied bail. She was charged with “counselling to commit mischief.” Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois, her real name, said she was worried that Lich might reoffend if released. How long she will stay in jail is anyone’s guess.

We just witnessed a protest in Canada that surprised its citizens, and infuriated its leadership. Things like that are not supposed to happen in Canada. Canadians, being subjects of the Crown, are brought up to be obedient. Those who cause trouble are frowned upon by the general population. They were told that truckers were there to overthrow the government, or to overthrow the democracy. That was a lie. When was the last time a group of unarmed people, milling around their national capital, were a threat to overthrow their government? Never! Truckers were protesting what they felt were dictatorial vaccine rules mandated by their government. Over 90% of Canadian truckers are vaccinated. The protest wasn’t an anti vaccination movement, it was an anti mandate movement. Truckers showed they will fight for their freedom. Prime Minister (PM) Trudeau could have ended the siege before it started. He could have met, and negotiated, with the aggrieved truckers at the beginning of the freedom convoy. He had no interest in doing that. He has not done so to this day. No matter what Canadians are told, they do not live in a democracy. Officially the country is a Constitutional Monarchy. Justin Trudeau serves as its Prime Minister. His actions are those of a King. Their form of government would more accurately be called Democratic Socialism.

When the PM decided not to negotiate with the truckers he was left with just one option to manage the protests. That was to invoke, for the first time since it became law in 1988, the Emergencies Act. This act gives the PM wide ranging authority over the Canadian people. Had Trudeau’s real interest been in resolving the issue he would have called off the dogs as soon as the truckers began removing their rigs. He sent in the police who were brutal to more than a few of the protestors. If he were a benevolent leader he would arrest, and punish, a few of the ringleaders of the protest. He would fine a few others, take a victory lap, and call it a day. That wasn’t good enough for the pretty dictator. He has called for a freeze of the protestors bank accounts. The freeze extends to everyone who helped them. He told banks to stop doing business with them. Freezing bank accounts will ultimately mean that people won’t be able to pay bills or make house payments. It will mean the cancelling of credit cards, and basically make it impossible for those Canadians to buy necessary supplies. Many of the truckers have had their trucks impounded. The Mayor of Ottawa has floated the idea of selling the impounded equipment to help pay for expenses incurred by the government. It may not matter. If truckers aren’t able to purchase insurance they won’t be able to drive their rigs anyway. They will be forced to find a new way to make a living. Remember, it is not just the truckers who face this horrendous treatment. It is anyone who helped them in any way. Law enforcers have said they took pictures, and wrote down license plate numbers, and will track down anyone who helped with the protest. Trudeau should put an end to this unconscionable behavior now. To continue with his vindictiveness proves he is nothing more than a cruel autocrat.

Trudeau’s ultimate goal was always more than to merely put an end to the trucker’s siege. If it were that simple he would put an end to his assault on Canadian dissidents. There is only one reason for his continuing attempts to ruin thousands of Canadian citizen’s financial lives. Further action taken from here are purely punitive. His message is to frighten citizens who disagree with his edicts, and deter future protests. Disobey with Justin Trudeau at your peril. If the Canadians wish to preserve what freedoms they still enjoy they must identify those members of Parliament who voted last Monday to extend the Emergencies Act for 30 days. (It doesn’t matter that on Wednesday the government cancelled the Act). These people should be removed from Parliament at the earliest convenience..

Are there parallels in the U.S.? There certainly are. The FBI is currently involved in what might be the largest dragnet in our country’s history. Perhaps they have pictures, and license plate numbers, and intend to find every American who was in the area of the Capitol during the 1/6/2021 “insurrection”. Most of those arrested thus far have been charged with trespassing. Many, who were arrested over a year ago, are still in prison waiting for their day in court. Some in solitary confinement. Many are facing financial ruin. This is simply un-American.

Professors, teachers, corporate executives, and others, are losing their jobs for refusing to use the preferred pronouns of males who identify as females, and vice versa. In an ongoing health crisis, health providers are being fired because they refuse to be vaccinated. In the midst of a surge in violent crime, police officers are being fired for not being vaccinated. Our government lied to us about the “science” behind all of the lockdowns, social distancing, and ultimate firings. Parents who defend their children at school board meetings are being surveilled by the FBI. The Dept. of Justice will decide if any of these parents are “domestic terrorists.”

It appears that Canadians have decided to forfeit many of their freedoms in a pathetic effort to secure Peace, Order, and Good Government. That is disappointing, and will not end well. Whether the citizens of the USA will follow suit is yet to be determined. Thousands of American parents have stiffened their resolve to fight for their children. Every American should find a way to support these patriotic heroes. A USA “Freedom Convoy” is on its way to Washington D.C. We’ll have to wait and see what kind of support the American people will provide to these brave patriots. Will we whine that they are honking their horns too loud? Shame on us if we let them carry the load, pun intended, by themselves. Finally, we have an election coming up this November. Each one of us should take the time to understand which politicians will defend our freedoms, and do everything we can to elect them. We must rid ourselves of those who want to give more power to the government.

I hope you found this post interesting and informative. If you did, please tell your friends about it. Thank you, Bob