What the actual what? Who even does something like that? By, Mary Scheidegger Adams

 

Dear 77,301,997 Americans who voted for Trump (and to a few of our own MAGA-loving Canadians),

Let's take a moment to reflect on who we Canadians actually are, as you may have been misled lately. We are compassionate. We are polite. We value education and children, our elders and the vulnerable. We are proud, we are strong, we are free. We quietly (sometimes not so quietly) go about our business.

See, being Canadian has never been about shouting the loudest or demanding attention. That’s not who we are. We’re the quiet ones — the ones who shovel our neighbour’s driveway without being asked, who hold the door open, who say “sorry” when you bump into us, and who believe that getting along is better than shouting each other down.

We believe in fairness, decency, and looking out for each other — not just here at home, but around the world. It’s part of why we’ve always been proud to be your greatest neighbour.

We’ve always shown up for you — time and time again.

From the beaches of Normandy to the mountains of Korea, from the fields of Flanders to the streets of Kandahar, Canadians have stood beside you, fought beside you, and yes, died beside you during your darkest hours. When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, we were there. When California burned, we sent our finest firefighters and water bombers. And on September 11, 2001, when the world stood still, we opened our homes and airports to thousands of your citizens, because that’s what good neighbours do. It would certainly never occur to us to ask for expressions of gratitude, let alone demand it. Who does that?

To be frank, it’s hard — really hard — to watch your president, a convicted criminal who built his entire persona on insults, cruelty and division, turn that hostility on us. We’ve been your friend, your ally, your partner — and now we’re treated like an inconvenient commodity at best, an enemy at worst.

Now, to the Canadian MAGA cheerleaders telling me to “mind my own broken country” — let's take a moment and clear a few things up.

Canada isn’t broken. Do we have problems? Of course we do — name a country that doesn’t! But we’re not on the verge of civil war because we can’t even agree on basic facts. We don’t rally to round up immigrants or people who don’t look like us, or cheer when our leaders mock the disabled and vulnerable. We don’t vote convicted criminals into office — we vote them out. We don’t cling to political labels like they’re our whole identity. We’re Canadian first — not Liberal or Conservative first.

We actually understand how tariffs work. We know that affordable health care for all isn’t some radical fantasy — it’s basic human decency. We don’t fantasize about dragging society back to the 1940s. And we certainly don’t believe the most morally corrupt person on the planet was handpicked by God. Who does that?

We didn’t gut essential health care for millions of people with the stroke of a pen. We don’t think lower taxes magically cover cancer treatments or emergency surgeries when you’ve lost your job. We believe a country is only as strong as the way it treats its most vulnerable — not how much it worships billionaires. That's morally reprehensible. What the actual what? Who even does something like that?

We didn’t hand over the keys to our government to a bunch of unelected corporate tycoons and media personalities. We don’t cling to a 250-year-old gun law while innocent children are slaughtered in their classrooms, pretending nothing can be done.

Canada is respected around the world — not pitied or laughed at. We believe in upholding all of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, not picking and choosing which rights apply based on political convenience. That's illegal, and morally reprehensible. What the actual what? Who even does something like that?

Mind my own business? Oh, I would love to — but here’s the thing: when your neighbour is a country of over 300 million people, and they’ve put a conspiracy-loving anti-science addict in charge of public health, that’s my business. When your president tears down the economic, military, and trade alliances that keep the world stable, that’s my business.

When your leader openly talks about invading sovereign countries — including ours — that’s my business. Oh ... that is very definitely my business.

Dear ones, south of the border. We’re your friend, your ally, and your neighbour — but we’re not blind, and we are definitely not fools. We’re polite. We’re fair. But we’re not pushovers. And right now? We’re watching. Closely.

Warmly, with kindness — and a whole lot of concern, Canada  
“Elbows up.”

Shared from FB page of,

Mary Scheidegger Adams, BC Canada