"Those who say 'Thus always to tyrants!' can say it only when they shoot somebody. A government based on enthusiasm, rather than on executive expertise, needs many things to be enthusiastic about."
Posted by ScythianUnborne
"Those who say 'Thus always to tyrants!' can say it only when they shoot somebody. A government based on enthusiasm, rather than on executive expertise, needs many things to be enthusiastic about."
Posted by ScythianUnborne
3 Comments
How about starting by not expropriating the loyalists?
!ping CAN
To be blunt, any proposal of a “51st state” should be met by us Canadians with this counter: If you want to unify North America, begin by adopting Canadian liberal democratic institutions, and values. Three official languages (English as the Lingua Franca, then French and Spanish), Capitol of Toronto or Vancouver, and certainly lessened “Provincial Rights” and reduced trade barriers.
Canadian institutions and values are stronger than those in the US have ever been. We could certainly find some values and certain institutions that are stronger in the US, but nothing that is fundamentally core to the function of democracy and civil stability itself.
This would be easier, certainly, if the revolution had never happened, and the US had taken the quieter, calmer path that we had. We have more in common than we think. The problem, however, is that what we don’t have in common is what allows us as Canadians to remain calm throughout the storm that is the US and its liberal democracy.
The US can still be Canada. They can still be us as Canadians. Unification with Canada and thus adopting our values and our institutions are certainly one way. But, the US also has the propensity to do this without any unification at all. It will be up to the radicals in the Democrats, like Pete Buttigieg, who have the knowledge to get it done. Will the majority of Americans put their ultranationalism aside to do it, or even let it happen? Only time will tell.
I get the point he is making but bilingualism is stupid. Only 20% of Canadians speak french as their first language. If the U.S. and Canada were to merge only 2% of the population would speak French as a first language and it would make no sense to enshrine “trilingualism” in law. Why should a bureaucrat in Arizona be able to provide services in French? Why not Mandarin, Tagolog, Vietnamiese or any number of native languages?