In terms of Canada, what happens in the United States inevitably casts a shadow on what happens, or what could happen, here on Canadian soil. We must never forget that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently, a front-page story in the Toronto Star was headlined, “America\u2019s most cherished freedom under threat.\u201d This was followed by a sub-headline that stated, \u201cSilencing of Kimmel following Kirk comments follows pattern seen in authoritarian regimes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the article, Allan Woods, the author, says, \u201cU.S President Donald Trump didn\u2019t silence late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, not directly. But he is the architect of a political climate that contributed to the popular comedian\u2019s show being pulled off the air by broadcaster ABC and its parent company Disney.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kerry Kennedy is the niece of former President John F. Kennedy and the sister of Robert F. Kennedy Junior, currently Secretary of Health in the Trump Administration. Just a few days ago, she said, \u201cI\u2019ve been working on human rights issues for 45 years and all around the world the first target of autocrats is always free speech. That\u2019s what is happening in our country right now and it\u2019s the most dangerous thing that can happen in a democracy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Sally Barnes, a renowned journalist and political strategist, wrote a guest article for Listen Up! where at least one subsequent comment accused her of comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. She did not do that. What she did do, however, was compare the public complicity of that time in Germany and elsewhere to the comparable complicity in the United States today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that complicity today, in less than a year, has led to an authoritarian government in the United States of America. The umbrella for Canada\u2019s safety and security by being next door to what was the largest democracy and defender of the free world, has disappeared, almost over-night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
An overstatement? I don\u2019t think so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
George Conway, a political commentator, a Lawyer, a Republican, and a fierce critic of Donald Trump, made no bones about it. \u201cWhat we have isn\u2019t traditional conservatism. It isn\u2019t traditional republicanism. It is authoritarianism. But I think a better word for it would be gangsterism. We don\u2019t have Ronald Regan anymore. We have Tony Soprano.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, let\u2019s look at what an authoritarian wannabe can do when they obtain power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First of all, as has been pointed out here, freedom of expression or free speech comes under attack. People who exercise that freedom by criticizing Donald Trump immediately become a target for the President. In the United States, the latest example is Jimmy Kimmel being kicked off the air because he dared to raise the possibility that the assassin of Charlie Kirk could have had some connection to MAGA based on the political persuasion of his family. Is that hate speech? No. It is conjecture, a legitimate facet of free speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump does not hide who he is or what he wants to accomplish. He lays it all out front. He makes it clear that he will do whatever he can to attack and punish people who oppose him and stop them from exercising their rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has not hesitated to say that he will seek revenge on his perceived enemies, and he has started that ball rolling by publicly \u201cordering\u201d his attorney general to indict former FBI Director James Comey and others on his hit list of revenge. He has said plainly that there are more to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ty Cobb, a former Trump White House lawyer, raised the alarm about this when he said, \u201cWe have a president ordering his Attorney General to indict his enemies and the Attorney General says, yes sir, how fast can I get it done for you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump has supported efforts to redraw congressional districts to help ensure that Democrats never hold office again. He claims to be a Christian but says right out loud that he \u201chates\u201d Democrats and will destroy them if he can. Hardly Christian-like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just as Trump and his MAGA supporters have infiltrated the Republican Party, they have also infiltrated some parts of the Christian Church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former President Jimmy Carter, who was a member of the evangelical church, has said, \u201cEvangelical Christianity has been hijacked by people who would have given Jesus himself the boot if he knocked on their door.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump also shows little support for international law or agreements. While Vladimir Putin is sending armed drones into European countries, the Trump administration is shooting at ships in international waters and threatening to launch attacks inside Venezuela. All of these are illegal acts of aggression that have the potential of leading to war. In addition to that, Trump has not hesitated to use military forces against their own citizens, another tactic reminiscent of earlier global confrontations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump’s recent speech at the United Nations, seen by most world leaders, friendly or otherwise, showed an American president who appeared almost unhinged, denying climate change, criticizing his allies, calling out traditional institutions, and making little to no effort to avoid lying when it suited him to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What more needs to be said to define an autocrat? And what more needs to be said about complicity when Congress in America could stop this, yet does absolutely nothing about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump and his MAGA movement want to redefine free speech to conform only to reflect what they want to do. In my view, and from their perspective, they have built an autocratic regime in the United States and are prepared to take whatever steps they deem necessary to protect it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expressing strong or even aggressive opinions about what the government is doing is not hate speech. It is free speech and must be carefully guarded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect even deeply offensive or unpopular expressions of speech unless they cross the line into direct threats, incitement, lawless action, or obscenity. Then it becomes hate speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A news host suggesting that 700,000 Americans should be killed by involuntary lethal injections or another news host advocating the bombing of the United Nations building in New York City could well be seen to have crossed that line and become hate speech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But standing up to tyranny, authoritarian governance at your doorstep, or threats to your sovereignty, is not hate speech. It is free speech, fundamentally important to a democratic society, for without it, citizens lose both their voice and their power to hold political leaders accountable. That is the lifeblood that separates a free people from obedient servants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can not, and we must not, lose sight of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hugh Mackenzie<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\nDon\u2019t miss out on Doppler!<\/h5>\n