https://townhall.com/columnists/derekh****r/2022/02/20/canada-shows-why-its-called-american-exceptionalism-n2603533

It’s shocking to me that some people are surprised by how the situation with the Freedom Convoy went down. It was never going to end well, the odds of them winning were as long as a summer day for a very simple reason: Canada is not the United States.

That may seem obvious, and in the easiest way, it is. But in the way that matters most, it’s probably not that clear.

We have a tendency to think things that simply are not true, like the Iraqi people yearned to be free and democratic when in reality they simply wanted Saddam dead so they could return to settling ancient tribal scores. They had no idea what “freedom” meant, and the concept of individual liberty never occurred to them. It went over like introducing Sharia Law to San Francisco would.

One thing to notice about the coverage of the Canadian Freedom Convoy is how the American media, particularly from conservative outlets, didn’t reflect the will of Canadians. You’d think Justin Trudeau going full totalitarian, turning into a little Fidel Castro (like father, like son – look it up), would bring about a collapse in his popularity, but it hasn’t. Most Canadians were upset he didn’t act sooner.

Canada is not like the United States. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms grants Canadians various rights that, if you don’t think about it, are similar in a lot of ways to the rights we enjoy here. But there’s a major difference.

Our Constitution grants exactly zero rights to anyone, it acknowledges the rights with which we were born and denies the federal government the ability to infringe upon them. The Canadian Charter gives citizens certain rights, explicitly. If a government can grant rights, there is no justification for them not being able to take them away, temporarily or permanently.

When Trudeau invoked emergency powers, US conservatives recoiled in horror. Canadians did not.

I grew up in Detroit, just across the river from Windsor, Ontario. We had channel 9, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and were able to watch local and national news, as well as the Olympics, through the eyes of Canadians. They are very nationalistic, loyal to the country. The concept of individual liberty we take for granted is as “Canadian” as it is native to Democrats here. They simply aren’t interested.

It’s easy to look at Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc., and think they’re just like us because we have so much in common. We speak the same language, enjoy many of the same movies and much of the same music – who doesn’t like Hugh Jackman?

But there’s significantly more we do not share than we do. First and foremost, among them is our commitment to individual liberty.

Yes, some people share those values in those countries, but their culture is completely different. The Canadian truckers, as righteous as their cause was, were never going to win because the politicians they were opposing had the loyalty of the public because the public was used to obeying in the first place.

We don’t obey in this country. At least, we don’t all obey in this country. And we have our Constitution to back us up. The Constitution can’t be “set aside” like the Charter in Canada, unless, of course, Democrats had enough justices on the Supreme Court (thank God they do not).

Watching police roll over actual peaceful protesters, arresting as many as they can get their hands on for the crime of upsetting the state would lead to more people taking to the streets in this country, whereas in those countries listed above it led to nothing.

It’s not just Canada, Australia has seen violent police actions against people protesting lockdowns peacefully. Black L***s M****r/A****A deliberately inflicted billions in economic and property damage around the US and the world while beating holy hell out of those who objected, k*****g dozens and trying to murder hundreds more, all of which is on videotape, and the leaders of these countries joined them for photo-ops. There were no crackdowns against literal violence, just as Hitler never criticized the Brownshirts, while they were useful. Eventually, movements like B*M/A****A outlive their usefulness, but they haven’t yet for the left.

But the fight for individual freedom has no place on the left; it will never be useful, so it must be destroyed. Hearing US pundits try to lecture or appeal to Canadian authorities is kind of funny. They don’t care. You’re American. Are you going to do something differently because some mouthy jackass from Edmonton is displeased with you? No, you aren’t. Why would the reverse be looked at differently?

They know this, of course, it’s all for show; it’s to look tough and principled to a domestic audience. Canada was going to do, and will always do what they want. It’s fine, it’s their country. It’s what they v**e for and tolerate. If Trudeau were really unpopular, Parliament would hold a v**e of no confidence and force a new e******n. There isn’t even talk of that. They don’t have to wait 4 years to rid themselves of a leader, they could do it in a few weeks. That they haven’t even tried tells you something.

There is no place in the world like the United States, where you are born with your rights and the government is prevented from infringing upon them. Lots of places seem like us, but they aren’t. In those countries, for example, you can face jail time for speech, for saying things that upset people who seem to make their living finding new and creative ways to get upset. While Democrats would like nothing more than to bring that level of control here, they can’t. Our Constitution wouldn’t allow it and our people wouldn’t stand for it. The professional pearl-clutching class of aspiring victims don’t have the power they so desperately desire here, they just have to settle for getting CNN and MSNBC contracts.

John you seem to be needing some straightening out every couple of days now.

Yes it is an opinion piece and I personally share that opinion 100%.

While Trump was President he let it be known that America would not tolerate any terrorism and he did well with that point. America had no terror acts since he became President. Trump also quite handily took care of Iranian General Soleimani by blowing him into a million little pieces which he richly deserved. Neither Obama nor Biden would have done that FOR the American people. I doubt Trudeau would have done it either. The General would still be having American and Canadian troops murdered. I am not going to waste my time listing the positives Trump did for the country, MY country. They are listed by other members and are quite lengthy. I am also not going to delve into the negatives Biden has done against America. Nor will I go into Biden's lies and corruption for the past 50 years before and after he settled into politics. That much is known too. But you on the Left excuse his negatives while putting down Trump's positives.

You seem to have this idea any of us give a damn what you think of America, as if it mattered to any of us. It does not. You still have no idea of our political system and especially the rights guaranteed to us by our Constitution. As the OP pointed out your rights can be taken at any time. My rights are absolute though our Left Wingers continue trying to take them away.

IF America is not still the greatest country in the world then perhaps you can explain why 2 Million + i*****l a***ns have come here in the past year. I don't see i*****l a***ns flooding into Canada. Do you?

Trump never had any type of dictatorial government though that is the lie you on the Left continue spreading. What did Trump do to force anybody to do anything, what mandates did he issue ordering Americans to do anything. Nothing I know of. Fill us in on those dictator points of Trump if you have a second. No John the dictator BS starts and ends with the Left, the same Left who wants to eliminate the 1st, 2nd and 4th Amendments to the Constitution. Fill us in on your opinions of those things going on John. Tell us how taking those rights away from Americans is not a dictatorial move on the part of you Left Wingers.

Dennis

It is an opinion piece, nothing more.

Regarding the differences between the US and the other "free democracies" that he says don't have the birthright freedoms of Americans, it really does not matter what the guiding principles are if the implementation leads to the same endpoint. That is the basis behind statements on political ideologies that say even a benevolent dictatorship can be a good system.

The freedoms and rights of Canadians are not in practice much different than in the US. We can object and speak out against our leaders -- we do it every day; and we put our feelings into action every e******n cycle. The writer of the piece at least acknowledges that the majority of Canadians did not support the truckers, they were pleased that the PM took the action he did, and even admonished him for not acting sooner. That is because that action was in the best interests of the country, not the interests of the vocal minority. And the role of government is to protect the nation as a whole. People are in general apathetic, and the ones who speak out most loudly are usually a small subset of the country. If the government reacted by caving to every outcry, no matter how outlandish or selfish it is, then we would not have a country run by an elected government, but rather a country ruled by mobs.

I always admired Americans for their leadership in, and defence of, democracy... until the system allowed a person like Trump to rise to the top. He undermined democracy while claiming to defend it; he trashed t***h and honesty while lying daily to the nation; he thwarted law and order because he believe he is above the law; and Americans fell for the ruse hook, line and sinker.

There are many Americans who are now (in the post-Trump era) speaking out about how fragile your democracy is, and how it could be lost to an autocratic or dictatorial government. The Righteous Right claim that the Demonic Democrats are pushing the country in that direction, while the Dems are saying that the Repubs are undermining democracy. The Repubs fight back saying America is NOT a democracy, but a democratic republic. Nuances and semantics aside, YOU are a Democracy just like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, France, Germany... The people of the country get to elect their government by majority v**e, and the government is charged with doing what is best for the nation. That means for the majority, not the minority. And the government needs to, and should, act when necessary to protect the country. In the case of the trucker protest, mask and v*****e mandates were seen as a way to curb the spread of C***D; and shutting down the protest was a way of stopping a few thousand individuals from hijacking the economy of not only Canada but also the US by closing the border.

Prior to Trump taking office America WAS "The Greatest Country in the World." If the US can once again become Number 1 in the world for Democracy, Freedom, Economy, Defence, Education, S&T,... then I will once again think more highly of the land beneath mine. All I can say right now is that if Canada is "American Exceptionalism" then I am happy to be Canadian right now.

It is an opinion piece, nothing more.

Regarding the differences between the US and the other "free democracies" that he says don't have the birthright freedoms of Americans, it really does not matter what the guiding principles are if the implementation leads to the same endpoint. That is the basis behind statements on political ideologies that say even a benevolent dictatorship can be a good system.

The freedoms and rights of Canadians are not in practice much different than in the US. We can object and speak out against our leaders -- we do it every day; and we put our feelings into action every e******n cycle. The writer of the piece at least acknowledges that the majority of Canadians did not support the truckers, they were pleased that the PM took the action he did, and even admonished him for not acting sooner. That is because that action was in the best interests of the country, not the interests of the vocal minority. And the role of government is to protect the nation as a whole. People are in general apathetic, and the ones who speak out most loudly are usually a small subset of the country. If the government reacted by caving to every outcry, no matter how outlandish or selfish it is, then we would not have a country run by an elected government, but rather a country ruled by mobs.

I always admired Americans for their leadership in, and defence of, democracy... until the system allowed a person like Trump to rise to the top. He undermined democracy while claiming to defend it; he trashed t***h and honesty while lying daily to the nation; he thwarted law and order because he believe he is above the law; and Americans fell for the ruse hook, line and sinker.

There are many Americans who are now (in the post-Trump era) speaking out about how fragile your democracy is, and how it could be lost to an autocratic or dictatorial government. The Righteous Right claim that the Demonic Democrats are pushing the country in that direction, while the Dems are saying that the Repubs are undermining democracy. The Repubs fight back saying America is NOT a democracy, but a democratic republic. Nuances and semantics aside, YOU are a Democracy just like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, France, Germany... The people of the country get to elect their government by majority v**e, and the government is charged with doing what is best for the nation. That means for the majority, not the minority. And the government needs to, and should, act when necessary to protect the country. In the case of the trucker protest, mask and v*****e mandates were seen as a way to curb the spread of C***D; and shutting down the protest was a way of stopping a few thousand individuals from hijacking the economy of not only Canada but also the US by closing the border.

Prior to Trump taking office America WAS "The Greatest Country in the World." If the US can once again become Number 1 in the world for Democracy, Freedom, Economy, Defence, Education, S&T,... then I will once again think more highly of the land beneath mine. All I can say right now is that if Canada is "American Exceptionalism" then I am happy to be Canadian right now.

You are very wrong. Either Canadians have the right to protest or they do not. If they have the right to protest than the truckers did nothing that warranted freezing their bank accounts, beating them yesterday with batons, breaking their truck windows, and arresting them for a peaceful protest.

The actions that were taken prove that they did not have the right to protest. They were allowed to protest until it became inconvenient and then they were dealt with harshly. That is not the same as in the U.S. at all, and I hope it never will be. We have the right to peacefully assemble and to protest, and that right can't be taken away. That is far far different from what just happened in Canada.

When government is allowed to "do what is best for the country" at the expense of the minority, that is what leads to Japanese Internment camps, that is what leads to what China is doing to the Ugyurs, and that is what leads to N**is imprisoning the Jews. In each case the majority supported the government action. And in each case what government did or is doing was evil.

You don't seem to understand that you have no rights when the minority can be abused by the majority, because someday you may well be in the minority. What then?


Bertolt Brecht poem inspired by inspired by Emil Gustav Friedrich Martin Niemöller
"First of all, they came to take the gypsies
and I was happy because they pilfered.
Then they came to take the Jews and I said nothing,
because they were unpleasant to me.
Then they came to take homosexuals,
and I was relieved, because they were annoying me.
Then they came to take the C*******ts,
and I said nothing because I was not a C*******t.
One day they came to take me,
and there was nobody left to protest."


You may not recognize it, but that is what is currently happening in your country.

Bertolt Brecht poem inspired by inspired by Emil Gustav Friedrich Martin Niemöller
"First of all, they came to take the gypsies
and I was happy because they pilfered.
Then they came to take the Jews and I said nothing,
because they were unpleasant to me.
Then they came to take homosexuals,
and I was relieved, because they were annoying me.
Then they came to take the C*******ts,
and I said nothing because I was not a C*******t.
One day they came to take me,
and there was nobody left to protest."


You may not recognize it, but that is what is currently happening in your country.

https://townhall.com/columnists/derekh****r/2022/02/20/canada-shows-why-its-called-american-exceptionalism-n2603533

It’s shocking to me that some people are surprised by how the situation with the Freedom Convoy went down. It was never going to end well, the odds of them winning were as long as a summer day for a very simple reason: Canada is not the United States.

That may seem obvious, and in the easiest way, it is. But in the way that matters most, it’s probably not that clear.

We have a tendency to think things that simply are not true, like the Iraqi people yearned to be free and democratic when in reality they simply wanted Saddam dead so they could return to settling ancient tribal scores. They had no idea what “freedom” meant, and the concept of individual liberty never occurred to them. It went over like introducing Sharia Law to San Francisco would.

One thing to notice about the coverage of the Canadian Freedom Convoy is how the American media, particularly from conservative outlets, didn’t reflect the will of Canadians. You’d think Justin Trudeau going full totalitarian, turning into a little Fidel Castro (like father, like son – look it up), would bring about a collapse in his popularity, but it hasn’t. Most Canadians were upset he didn’t act sooner.

Canada is not like the United States. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms grants Canadians various rights that, if you don’t think about it, are similar in a lot of ways to the rights we enjoy here. But there’s a major difference.

Our Constitution grants exactly zero rights to anyone, it acknowledges the rights with which we were born and denies the federal government the ability to infringe upon them. The Canadian Charter gives citizens certain rights, explicitly. If a government can grant rights, there is no justification for them not being able to take them away, temporarily or permanently.

When Trudeau invoked emergency powers, US conservatives recoiled in horror. Canadians did not.

I grew up in Detroit, just across the river from Windsor, Ontario. We had channel 9, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and were able to watch local and national news, as well as the Olympics, through the eyes of Canadians. They are very nationalistic, loyal to the country. The concept of individual liberty we take for granted is as “Canadian” as it is native to Democrats here. They simply aren’t interested.

It’s easy to look at Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc., and think they’re just like us because we have so much in common. We speak the same language, enjoy many of the same movies and much of the same music – who doesn’t like Hugh Jackman?

But there’s significantly more we do not share than we do. First and foremost, among them is our commitment to individual liberty.

Yes, some people share those values in those countries, but their culture is completely different. The Canadian truckers, as righteous as their cause was, were never going to win because the politicians they were opposing had the loyalty of the public because the public was used to obeying in the first place.

We don’t obey in this country. At least, we don’t all obey in this country. And we have our Constitution to back us up. The Constitution can’t be “set aside” like the Charter in Canada, unless, of course, Democrats had enough justices on the Supreme Court (thank God they do not).

Watching police roll over actual peaceful protesters, arresting as many as they can get their hands on for the crime of upsetting the state would lead to more people taking to the streets in this country, whereas in those countries listed above it led to nothing.

It’s not just Canada, Australia has seen violent police actions against people protesting lockdowns peacefully. Black L***s M****r/A****A deliberately inflicted billions in economic and property damage around the US and the world while beating holy hell out of those who objected, k*****g dozens and trying to murder hundreds more, all of which is on videotape, and the leaders of these countries joined them for photo-ops. There were no crackdowns against literal violence, just as Hitler never criticized the Brownshirts, while they were useful. Eventually, movements like B*M/A****A outlive their usefulness, but they haven’t yet for the left.

But the fight for individual freedom has no place on the left; it will never be useful, so it must be destroyed. Hearing US pundits try to lecture or appeal to Canadian authorities is kind of funny. They don’t care. You’re American. Are you going to do something differently because some mouthy jackass from Edmonton is displeased with you? No, you aren’t. Why would the reverse be looked at differently?

They know this, of course, it’s all for show; it’s to look tough and principled to a domestic audience. Canada was going to do, and will always do what they want. It’s fine, it’s their country. It’s what they v**e for and tolerate. If Trudeau were really unpopular, Parliament would hold a v**e of no confidence and force a new e******n. There isn’t even talk of that. They don’t have to wait 4 years to rid themselves of a leader, they could do it in a few weeks. That they haven’t even tried tells you something.

There is no place in the world like the United States, where you are born with your rights and the government is prevented from infringing upon them. Lots of places seem like us, but they aren’t. In those countries, for example, you can face jail time for speech, for saying things that upset people who seem to make their living finding new and creative ways to get upset. While Democrats would like nothing more than to bring that level of control here, they can’t. Our Constitution wouldn’t allow it and our people wouldn’t stand for it. The professional pearl-clutching class of aspiring victims don’t have the power they so desperately desire here, they just have to settle for getting CNN and MSNBC contracts.

https://townhall.com/columnists/derekh****r/2022/02/20/canada-shows-why-its-called-american-exceptionalism-n2603533

It’s shocking to me that some people are surprised by how the situation with the Freedom Convoy went down. It was never going to end well, the odds of them winning were as long as a summer day for a very simple reason: Canada is not the United States.

That may seem obvious, and in the easiest way, it is. But in the way that matters most, it’s probably not that clear.

We have a tendency to think things that simply are not true, like the Iraqi people yearned to be free and democratic when in reality they simply wanted Saddam dead so they could return to settling ancient tribal scores. They had no idea what “freedom” meant, and the concept of individual liberty never occurred to them. It went over like introducing Sharia Law to San Francisco would.

One thing to notice about the coverage of the Canadian Freedom Convoy is how the American media, particularly from conservative outlets, didn’t reflect the will of Canadians. You’d think Justin Trudeau going full totalitarian, turning into a little Fidel Castro (like father, like son – look it up), would bring about a collapse in his popularity, but it hasn’t. Most Canadians were upset he didn’t act sooner.

Canada is not like the United States. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms grants Canadians various rights that, if you don’t think about it, are similar in a lot of ways to the rights we enjoy here. But there’s a major difference.

Our Constitution grants exactly zero rights to anyone, it acknowledges the rights with which we were born and denies the federal government the ability to infringe upon them. The Canadian Charter gives citizens certain rights, explicitly. If a government can grant rights, there is no justification for them not being able to take them away, temporarily or permanently.

When Trudeau invoked emergency powers, US conservatives recoiled in horror. Canadians did not.

I grew up in Detroit, just across the river from Windsor, Ontario. We had channel 9, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and were able to watch local and national news, as well as the Olympics, through the eyes of Canadians. They are very nationalistic, loyal to the country. The concept of individual liberty we take for granted is as “Canadian” as it is native to Democrats here. They simply aren’t interested.

It’s easy to look at Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc., and think they’re just like us because we have so much in common. We speak the same language, enjoy many of the same movies and much of the same music – who doesn’t like Hugh Jackman?

But there’s significantly more we do not share than we do. First and foremost, among them is our commitment to individual liberty.

Yes, some people share those values in those countries, but their culture is completely different. The Canadian truckers, as righteous as their cause was, were never going to win because the politicians they were opposing had the loyalty of the public because the public was used to obeying in the first place.

We don’t obey in this country. At least, we don’t all obey in this country. And we have our Constitution to back us up. The Constitution can’t be “set aside” like the Charter in Canada, unless, of course, Democrats had enough justices on the Supreme Court (thank God they do not).

Watching police roll over actual peaceful protesters, arresting as many as they can get their hands on for the crime of upsetting the state would lead to more people taking to the streets in this country, whereas in those countries listed above it led to nothing.

It’s not just Canada, Australia has seen violent police actions against people protesting lockdowns peacefully. Black L***s M****r/A****A deliberately inflicted billions in economic and property damage around the US and the world while beating holy hell out of those who objected, k*****g dozens and trying to murder hundreds more, all of which is on videotape, and the leaders of these countries joined them for photo-ops. There were no crackdowns against literal violence, just as Hitler never criticized the Brownshirts, while they were useful. Eventually, movements like B*M/A****A outlive their usefulness, but they haven’t yet for the left.

But the fight for individual freedom has no place on the left; it will never be useful, so it must be destroyed. Hearing US pundits try to lecture or appeal to Canadian authorities is kind of funny. They don’t care. You’re American. Are you going to do something differently because some mouthy jackass from Edmonton is displeased with you? No, you aren’t. Why would the reverse be looked at differently?

They know this, of course, it’s all for show; it’s to look tough and principled to a domestic audience. Canada was going to do, and will always do what they want. It’s fine, it’s their country. It’s what they v**e for and tolerate. If Trudeau were really unpopular, Parliament would hold a v**e of no confidence and force a new e******n. There isn’t even talk of that. They don’t have to wait 4 years to rid themselves of a leader, they could do it in a few weeks. That they haven’t even tried tells you something.

There is no place in the world like the United States, where you are born with your rights and the government is prevented from infringing upon them. Lots of places seem like us, but they aren’t. In those countries, for example, you can face jail time for speech, for saying things that upset people who seem to make their living finding new and creative ways to get upset. While Democrats would like nothing more than to bring that level of control here, they can’t. Our Constitution wouldn’t allow it and our people wouldn’t stand for it. The professional pearl-clutching class of aspiring victims don’t have the power they so desperately desire here, they just have to settle for getting CNN and MSNBC contracts.