My American friends, over the next four years, who will be there for you?

Recently, I came across an article published by Politico on February 28, 2016, with the headline, “Trump explains tweeting Mussolini.” I found it somewhat extraordinary, somewhat depressing, and more than that quite frightening. Reading further made me gloomier.

Trump said “on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he retweeted a quote from Benito Mussolini, the Italian fascist dictator because he wants to “be associated with interesting quotes.”

“Chuck, it’s OK to know its Mussolini. Look, Mussolini was Mussolini. It’s OK to — it’s a very good quote, it’s a very interesting quote, and I know it,” he said Sunday morning. “I saw it. I saw what — and I know who said it. But what difference does it make whether it’s Mussolini or somebody else? It’s certainly a very interesting quote.”

Somebody else?

Indeed! Somebody else it could be. I explored further by looking up a selection of other quotes attributed to Mussolini that are available online for anyone to read, including Trump.

-“Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy.”

-“We become strong, I feel, when we have no friends upon whom to lean, or to look to for moral guidance.”

-“We do not argue with those who disagree with us, we destroy them.”

-“The press of Italy is free, freer than the press of any other country, so long as it supports the regime.”

-“Yes, a dictator can be loved. Provided that the masses fear him at the same time. The crowd love strong men. The crowd is like a woman.”

And finally:

-“Democracy is talking itself to death. The people do not know what they want; they do not know what is the best for them. There is too much foolishness, too much lost motion. I have stopped the talk and the nonsense. I am a man of action. Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy. You in America will see that someday.”

Dear reader, do you get the drift as to where I’m heading?

Fast forward to December 20, 2023. An article published online by ABC News.

"I never read 'Mein Kampf,'" Trump said, referring to Adolf Hitler's manifesto ("My Struggle") that provided the philosophical basis for Nazi Germany and, ultimately, the murder of more than 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.”

The article continues:

“In the past, he's actually acknowledged owning a copy of the book.

“Trump's denial that he had read Hitler's memoir came after he has made a series of incendiary remarks in recent weeks referring to his political opponents as "vermin" and saying illegal immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country."

On Friday, May 24, 2024, The Washington Post stated, “Trump again praises authoritarian leaders at Bronx rally.”

“Trump referenced Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — authoritarian foreign leaders he has praised numerous times before — during the campaign stop in the South Bronx.

The article adds:

“Seeking to contrast them with President Biden, Trump said the leaders were “at the top of their game, whether you like it or not.” He also said that if he was elected for a second term, he would bring the United States to a position where “the world is going to respect us again.”

Those of us with a European background dating back generations, many of whom that have lived within the framework of dictatorship regimes and how it applies to ordinary working men and women, know full well the political events and stages that trumpspires.

Today in Canada, we see the beginnings of an American autocracy that implies “the world is going to respect us again.” Under what condition one might ask?

Today in Canada, we are seeing proud hard-working Americans, our friends, subjected to an authoritarian leader that personally demands admiration, or else!

Today in Canada, we are exposed to statements from Prime Minister Trudeau declaring “Trump’s threat to annex Canada as a “real thing.”

And today in America I am sure many of its citizens believe after four long years a rapid return to democracy would restore their country to some resemblance of normalcy. After all, they might say, it did happen over time in Germany.

There’s a Latin expression, parati vero parati, meaning Ready Aye Ready. It is the motto of the Royal Canadian Navy meaning in essence to stand always ready to defend Canada and proudly safeguard its interests and values.

I ask my American readers, my friends, over the next four years, who will be there for you? ●

Credits: Brainy Quotes; A Z Quotes.

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