Posted on 03/23/2010 5:39:18 AM PDT by nuconvert
Most Canadians and Americans are simply unaware of the drastic changes that have taken place in their respective countries over the past few generations.
In his first and only major book, Federalism and the French Canadians (Macmillan, 1968), former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau openly and proudly outlined his plan to socialize Canada. To that point, most socialists theorists felt that any form of federalism, controlled as it must be by a constitution spelling out distinctive federal and provincial (or state) responsibilities according to which the federal government is not allowed to touch provincial/states matters, and vice versa, was a system that for this very reason could not be easily centralized, and hence could not be easily socialized. Socialism was thought to be too difficult to introduce and impose upon a geographically large country that already had a federal system in place.
But Trudeau disagreed. On p. 126 of his book, he points readers to the experience of "that superb strategist Mao Tse-Tung," who argued that planting socialism willy-nilly in various regional strongholds was "the very best thing." Accordingly, Trudeau proceeded to develop his argument that existing federal systems, although originally designed to block centralization, can indeed be used to plant a centralizing socialism, and "must be welcomed as a valuable tool which permits dynamic parties to plant socialist governments in certain provinces, from which the seeds of radicalism can slowly spread" (p.127).
To that point, Canadian Federalism, like American federalism, had been specifically designed (just read the original constitutions of each nation, to verify) to prevent any oppressive central government from intruding into provincial/state jurisdictions, on the conviction that local government ought to govern things local, and central (federal) governments, only those things that are truly national. For example, many things in Canada's constitution such as health care and education, are still specified as strictly provincial responsibilities.
So Trudeau and his "gang of five" of the time (Trudeau, Marchand, Lalonde, Chretien, and Begin), had to figure out, in Maoist style, how to get around the "keep your hands off local government" rules in the constitution.
They did so with a specific and very simple strategy. They said: 1) Let's not touch the constitution. that's too tough, and would take a lot of persuading. 2) Instead, let's write up socialist national standards for everything we can think of, and then raise taxes like crazy on individual citizens. 3) Then, instead of dictating or forcing any lower jurisdiction to subscribe to the plan, let's bribe them to take part, with their own money! We'll just offer a lot of that new tax money to any province that agrees to become socialized in the way we wish to see. All we have to do to socialize a federation is "stuff their mouths with gold" (a phrase used by Health Minister Aneurin Bevan, when he introduced socialized medicine to Britain).
In other words, Trudeau and Company conceived a plan to financially bribe the provinces into surrendering their control over formerly and solely and strictly provincial matters. Presto: new regulations to socialize all of Canada were introduced funded by so-called "shared-cost" programs, and they were soon willingly accepted by every province (except gutsy Alberta, which fought this program, but eventually caved in) in exchange for billions of dollars sent back to them in "transfer payments" - that is, in exchange for gobs of money that had first been extracted from them in taxes.
That is exactly what I suspect Obama is going to try in the USA to break down what he sees as excessive "states rights" in America, in order to universalize his social programs, suppress states rights further where he can, and draw all under his new socialist policy umbrella.
In 1934, the U.S. Senator from Louisiana, Huey Long, himself a socialist and a corrupt man to his toes (his nickname was "The Kingfish") warned the people long before, what was coming and what he was trying to bring about, loud and clear.
He said: "when socialism comes to America, it will come in the name of democracy."
But no one listened, and it has.
bflr
Good essay. Yours?
mark
no. I’m not William Gairdner.
It sickens me as a Canadian how many people think Trudeau was so great and the best man ever. He ruined this country and we are where we are today thanks to that treasonous man and his friends. Hanging is still a punishment for treason in Canada, somehow they overlooked that when getting rid of the death penalty, I suggest we start looking into it.
The sad part is that many Canadians are so brainwashed they revere Trudeau like a God. He destroyed the fabric of Canadian identity in order to pave the way for multiculturalism.
One of the reasons for this is that despite Trudeau's attempts to "socialize" Canada, I think he failed miserably in one very important respect: Canada to this day isn't even really a country at all. It's a loose confederation of different provinces and even sub-regions of provinces that functions the way the U.S. probably would have developed if the Southern states had won the Civil War.
When I lived in western Canada I didn't even think of myself as a Canadian -- I was an Albertan (hence my screen name).
For example . . . that stupid National Energy Program couldn't be implemented in Canada today under the terms of NAFTA.
Most Americans are blissfully ignorant of our northern neighbor and their history. In this case a study of Trudeau and the things he did to ruin Canada would have been well worth our effort.
Thanks for posting this warning of what looms for America. Posting this to my Facebook page.
I lived in Canada for 2 years and didn't like it. A bland society. Vibrancy is one of the major casualties of socialism.
Good way to put it. It is the same here in Sweden. I try and put into words what socialism does to a society and I can never quite articulate it. But, you feel it. it's nearly palpable.
BM
Ya, I view myself as an Albertan too, and quite a few albertans think we’d be better off without ontario and quebec stealing our cash.
“A bland society. Vibrancy is one of the major casualties of socialism.”
“Good way to put it. It is the same here in Sweden. I try and put into words what socialism does to a society and I can never quite articulate it. But, you feel it. it’s nearly palpable.”
This is my biggest fear. This one keeps me up at night. It has brought tears to my eyes more than a few times over the past year—all I have to do is look at my kids. The idea that they won’t know the same America I did is just tearing me up.
I have always LOVED being free. I have always been in awe of my country. I could do whatever I wanted with my life. All I had to do was dream it up, and follow through.
“The question isn’t who is going to let me, it’s who is going to stop me.” ~Ayn Rand
I grew up with Reagan on the TV all the time. I didn’t have the words at the time, and knew nothing about politics, but he was the very definition of human nobility to me. “Inspiration” doesn’t seem to fit the bill—but that he affirmed my suspicion that something wonderful is supposed to happen here on Earth.
I was lucky enough to be raised by my grandparents and around quite a few outspoken WWII vets and their wives. If you think you are mad right now...I’m afraid the war would be over already if these fine folks represented the majority in today’s America. Ha! Dominatrix Pelosi would be having her giant gavel surgically removed from her *ss about now.
Freedom is the pinnacle of human experience. I believe humans are noble creatures when set free from one another. Proof: what happened when humans were set free from the crushing thumb of Europe? What did they create when they earned tabula rasa from which to form a system of government?
They set about creating a system of government that resulted in human freedom—a thriving, an accelerated evolution never before witnessed by our species, that we know of.
You cannot seek to enslave humans, to “control” them, or to “save” them from themselves, and hold the view that humans are beautiful—you must hate their guts to do it, or lack the ability to feel anything at all.
What level of hate does it require to attempt to ban CO2? Humans exhale this. The left is fond of saying that humanity is a virus.
If you have ever wondered how they can do such awful things to other human beings, well, this is a START.
“A bland society.”
The organism must be free to act on its own behalf to flourish. A man dreams of being free and happy for the same reason that a flower turns toward the sun—it is our natural state. (Thank you, Ayn)
“I can never quite articulate it. But, you feel it. it’s nearly palpable.”
To function at her best, a pianist must practice for hours on end, and keep practicing to maintain her “chops.” An opera singer that goes without singing for more than a few days will likely need that much time to get back to “performance ready.”
The United States has been performance ready for around two hundred years.
Let’s say there was a way to regularly remove a portion of the pianist’s and singer’s talent. Then, let’s say you gave it to lesser artists, because they weren’t nearly as talented and needed a break. They practiced as long as their superior’s, but simply could not reach virtuoso.
Would the better artists continue to strain and struggle to achieve greatness, only to have their greatness repeatedly stolen?
What would happen to the flower if you took away its sun?
Your money is what you trade your time and effort on this planet for. It is your sunlight—it is your property.
To take it, they must lay claim to your existence...slave.
If there are 100 million people in the workforce having 50% of their sunlight stolen, that equals 50 million full-time slaves, or 50 million flowers dying.
How’s that for “palpable”?
The opportunity cost is incalculable.
For nothing. Waste. Murder. Suicide. Anti-life. Anti-God.
Americans, as a group, created more, produced more, experienced more, learned more, donated more, defended more...and on, and on, for one reason:
They were free.
If Americans are relegated to a life of varying degrees of slavery we lose all that made us special—all that makes humans...human.
DISCLAIMER: It’s late, I’m tired—I really hope that made sense. If not, clarification to follow.
Thanks nuconvert. Also remember this:
[Responses to reporters following the kidnapping by the FLQ of a provincial cabinet minister who was eventually murdered.]
Trudeau: Well there are a lot of bleeding hearts around who just don’t like to see people with helmets and guns. All I can say is, go on and bleed. But it’s more important to keep law and order in the society than to be worried about weak-kneed people who don’t like the looks of a soldier—
CBC reporter Tim Ralfe [interrupting]: At any cost? How far would you go with that? How far would you extend that?
Trudeau: Well, just watch me.
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