mdyetmetaphor.com

Dear President-Elect Trump:

Custom dictates that I congratulate you on your decisive win in the U.S. presidential election. Unfortunately, I cannot bring myself to do so. I am not looking forward to your inauguration on January 20. The demands and threats you have made since winning the election do not sit well with me. There are several things in particular which I take issue with.

You should know that Canada has no desire whatsoever in becoming the 51^st state. We are proud to be the true north strong and free and that is not going to change anytime soon.

You have directed many comments and jabs at our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. I must advise you that there really is no mileage to be gained from these remarks. Justin Trudeau has fallen out of favour here and will either step down or be forced out in the near future.

Trudeau’s replacement, once an election happens, will almost certainly be Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. The two of you will no doubt have some lively exchanges as he has a sharp, acidic tongue much like you.

You have threatened punitive tariffs on all Canadian products if we do not do more to stem the migration of immigrants and illegal drugs over our border into the U.S. We will make a deal with you. We will shore up our border security if you take action to stop the flow of illegal guns into Canada from the U.S. Far too many criminals here are armed with weapons from the U.S.

You have expressed a desire to purchase Greenland from Denmark. I believe this desire relates to issues of national security as the country is geographically a part of the North American continent. We have no issue with this idea. But my understanding is that the country is not for sale at any price. Your efforts might be better directed elsewhere. However, we would not object if you decided to move there.

Canada and the U.S. have always been friends and allies albeit uneasy ones at times. We here in Canada are well aware that we are the little brother in this relationship. As former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (yes, he was Justin’s father) once remarked:

Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.

You have a lot of muscle to flex if you choose. But I would argue that Making American Great again does not have to come at the expense of Canada. There is much more to be gained from diplomacy with us than from threats.

If I may be so bold as to suggest it, perhaps try to channel the late Jimmy Carter. Yes, he was a Democrat but you should not hold that against him. Carter aspired to make government competent and compassionate and was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for working to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.

You may believe that might makes right. But that is a double-edged sword that can wound both parties equally.

~ Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Tags:   Donald Trump · Greenland · Justin Trudeau · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Pierre Trudeau · tariffsNo Comments