A lone figure takes to the stage, a giant maple leaf flag rippling on a screen behind him as he gingerly approaches the microphone.
“I’m not a lumberjack, or a fur trader,” he tells the crowd. “I have a prime minister, not a president. I speak English and French, not American. And I pronounce it ‘about’ – not ‘a boot’.”
The crowd, indifferent at first, grows increasingly enthusiastic as the man works his way through a catalogue of Canadian stereotypes, passing from diffidence to defiance before the climactic cry: “Canada is the second largest landmass! The first nation of hockey! And the best part of North America! My name is Joe! And I am Canadian!”
In response, Canadians have taken to acts of patriotism, small and large: one pilot flew his small plane in the shape of a maple leaf; sports fans have booed US teams; hats insisting “Canada is not for sale” have gone viral; consumers have pledged to buy only Canadian-made products – a pledge skewered in a viral sketch in which one shopper berates another for buying American ketchup.
If dementia is the lens through which you’re viewing this, you’re missing the forest for the trees. The erosion of sovereignty isn’t about one figurehead’s cognitive decline; it’s about the systems that thrive on distraction while consolidating control. Focusing on the president’s mental state is like critiquing the paint job on a collapsing house—it’s irrelevant to the structural rot.
Literalism in politics is a trap. Whether it’s annexation or some other overt act, it’s rarely about what’s said. It’s about what’s left unsaid: the quiet deals, dependencies, and shifts that dismantle autonomy piece by piece. Sovereignty doesn’t vanish in a headline-grabbing moment; it dissolves in the shadows.
Stop chasing symptoms. Start dissecting the disease.
Franky, I read all of your comments here, and the main message that comes through is a lot of vague specifics with the subtext of, “I am very smart.”
Yes, we know there’s a bigger picture, but bigger pictures are easier to focus on when the details don’t include bombs falling.