Canada Shows Why It’s Called ‘American Exceptionalism’

Townhall.com ^ | February 20, 2022 | Derek Hunter

[Kaslin]

It’s shocking to me that some people are surprised by how the situation with the Freedom Convoy went down. It was never going to end well, the odds of them winning were as long as a summer day for a very simple reason: Canada is not the United States.

That may seem obvious, and in the easiest way, it is. But in the way that matters most, it’s probably not that clear.

We have a tendency to think things that simply are not true, like the Iraqi people yearned to be free and democratic when in reality they simply wanted Saddam dead so they could return to settling ancient tribal scores. They had no idea what “freedom” meant, and the concept of individual liberty never occurred to them. It went over like introducing Sharia Law to San Francisco would.

One thing to notice about the coverage of the Canadian Freedom Convoy is how the American media, particularly from conservative outlets, didn’t reflect the will of Canadians. You’d think Justin Trudeau going full totalitarian, turning into a little Fidel Castro (like father, like son – look it up), would bring about a collapse in his popularity, but it hasn’t. Most Canadians were upset he didn’t act sooner.

Canada is not like the United States. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms grants Canadians various rights that, if you don’t think about it, are similar in a lot of ways to the rights we enjoy here. But there’s a major difference.

Our Constitution grants exactly zero rights to anyone, it acknowledges the rights with which we were born and denies the federal government the ability to infringe upon them. The Canadian Charter gives citizens certain rights, explicitly. If a government can grant rights, there is no justification for them not being able to take them away, temporarily or permanently.

When Trudeau invoked emergency powers, US conservatives recoiled in horror. Canadians did not.

I grew up in Detroit, just across the river from Windsor, Ontario. We had channel 9, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and were able to watch local and national news, as well as the Olympics, through the eyes of Canadians. They are very nationalistic, loyal to the country. The concept of individual liberty we take for granted is as “Canadian” as it is native to Democrats here. They simply aren’t interested.

It’s easy to look at Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc., and think they’re just like us because we have so much in common. We speak the same language, enjoy many of the same movies and much of the same music – who doesn’t like Hugh Jackman?

But there’s significantly more we do not share than we do. First and foremost, among them is our commitment to individual liberty.

Yes, some people share those values in those countries, but their culture is completely different. The Canadian truckers, as righteous as their cause was, were never going to win because the politicians they were opposing had the loyalty of the public because the public was used to obeying in the first place.

We don’t obey in this country. At least, we don’t all obey in this country. And we have our Constitution to back us up. The Constitution can’t be “set aside” like the Charter in Canada, unless, of course, Democrats had enough justices on the Supreme Court (thank God they do not).

Watching police roll over actual peaceful protesters, arresting as many as they can get their hands on for the crime of upsetting the state would lead to more people taking to the streets in this country, whereas in those countries listed above it led to nothing.

It’s not just Canada, Australia has seen violent police actions against people protesting lockdowns peacefully. Black Lives Matter/ANTIFA deliberately inflicted billions in economic and property damage around the US and the world while beating holy hell out of those who objected, killing dozens and trying to murder hundreds more, all of which is on videotape, and the leaders of these countries joined them for photo-ops. There were no crackdowns against literal violence, just as Hitler never criticized the Brownshirts, while they were useful. Eventually, movements like BLM/ANTIFA outlive their usefulness, but they haven’t yet for the left.

But the fight for individual freedom has no place on the left; it will never be useful, so it must be destroyed. Hearing US pundits try to lecture or appeal to Canadian authorities is kind of funny. They don’t care. You’re American. Are you going to do something differently because some mouthy jackass from Edmonton is displeased with you? No, you aren’t. Why would the reverse be looked at differently?

They know this, of course, it’s all for show; it’s to look tough and principled to a domestic audience. Canada was going to do, and will always do what they want. It’s fine, it’s their country. It’s what they vote for and tolerate. If Trudeau were really unpopular, Parliament would hold a vote of no confidence and force a new election. There isn’t even talk of that. They don’t have to wait 4 years to rid themselves of a leader, they could do it in a few weeks. That they haven’t even tried tells you something.

There is no place in the world like the United States, where you are born with your rights and the government is prevented from infringing upon them. Lots of places seem like us, but they aren’t. In those countries, for example, you can face jail time for speech, for saying things that upset people who seem to make their living finding new and creative ways to get upset. While Democrats would like nothing more than to bring that level of control here, they can’t. Our Constitution wouldn’t allow it and our people wouldn’t stand for it. The professional pearl-clutching class of aspiring victims don’t have the power they so desperately desire here, they just have to settle for getting CNN and MSNBC contracts.

[rarestia]

SOME of us are committed to individual liberty. It’s becoming an anachronistic concept to a larger portion of the population than it should. Young Americans have been indoctrinated and doped up on “free stuff” that we’re losing the battle for true liberty.

[Psalm 73]

"There is no place in the world like the United States, where you are born with your rights..."

That would be "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights..."

Or as Joe Bidden would say: "you know, that thing..."

[Chainmail]

It all sounds wonderful - but how have the Jan 6 protesters and their sorry fate escaped this writer’s attention?

[one guy in new jersey]

So...no sea change due to the 2022 Freedom Convoy and, now, the Ottawa protests?

[Tupelo]

Apparently, Derek Hunter has forgotten the January 6, 2021 Washington DC protest. Two dead at the hands of the police, God only knows how many in the Washington gulag, held for over a year without trials.
Then there were the 2020 riots in several cities with little or no consequences.
Talk about equal protection ‘under the law’.
Oh yeah, that is quite a constitutional government we are living under.

[ronnie raygun]

just to say we have it doesn’t mean a thing unless “we the people” are behind it, what about the jan 6 protesters is right! who are now political prisoners of the left as we all go about our daily lives.

[PghBaldy]

Very good point in article. Thank you for posting it.

[Varda]

This article is spot on. The people in Commonwealth countries aren’t like Americans. They are subjects and they like it that way.
The convoy wasn’t resistance so much as it was revolution. I hope it’s a first step for them.

[TheDon]

J6 and Canada are but preludes to what is coming to America this year.

[Elsie]

It’s shocking to me that some people are surprised by how the situation with the Freedom Convoy went down. It was never going to end well, the odds of them winning were as long as a summer day for a very simple reason: Canada is not the United States.

Answer: Block it from OUR side!

[Elsie]

TWO shotguns blasts and the ‘thing’ would be lifted.

[Elsie]

After what happened in downtown Indpls last summer, we've invited Kyle to come visit for the season this year.

 

Indianapolis riots and protests: Looking back one year later

https://www.indystar.com › story › news › local › indianapolis › 2021 › 05 › 28 › indianapolis-riots-and-protests-looking-back-one-year-later › 7478725002

Here's a look back. This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the racial justice protests and subsequent riots that rocked downtown Indianapolis. Two people were killed, and more than 100 ...

 

Report: BLM protests turned to ... - The Indianapolis Star

https://www.indystar.com › story › news › local › marion-county › 2021 › 02 › 26 › protest-blm-riots-impd-report-george-floyd-black-lives-matter-movement › 6840205002

Protests over the deaths of George Floyd and other Black Americans in police custody shook downtown Indianapolis over the weekend of May 29. They began peacefully but escalated to riots — and a...

Indianapolis riots leave 2 dead after 'multiple shootings ...

https://www.foxnews.com › us › indianapolis-riot-george-floyd-death-protest-demonstration-downtown-shooting-police-investigation

Indianapolis riots leave 2 dead after 'multiple shootings' downtown, buildings damaged. At least three people were killed after 'multiple shootings' were reported in downtown Indianapolis as ...

https://fox59.com › news › is-indianapolis-better-off-1-year-after-the-riots

INDIANAPOLIS — This coming weekend marks the one-year anniversary of social and criminal justice protests that began peaceful enough in downtown Indianapolis but devolved into two nights of rioting...

 

[Empire_of_Liberty]

Not ONE state has retrieved its citizens from the DC hellhole!

[Little Pig]

Derek seems to have missed some details. The province of Alberta is sueing the Trudeau gov over its use of the Emergency Act, and after the “mobility scooter” debacle, Ontarians have been swamping the police phones with approbation over police behavior. There might be a big swathe of Canadians who just “go along to get along”, but there is also a substantial number who object strenuously to the recent heavy-handedness of the national government.

[McBuff]

Canada is not the United States

Neither are we, it seems.

"Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?"
"A Republic. . .IF YOU CAN KEEP IT!"

[sneakers]

Thanks for posting.

[LS]

He’s wrong. The individual liberty comes from the “Pillars of American Exceptionalism” that Mike Allen and I outline in “A Patriot’s History of the United States,” namely:
1) A Christian, MOSTLY PROTESTANT religious tradition. This is essential because the Puritans and subsequently most other Protestant groups who came to America had a congregational governance (Bottom up)
2) Common law, which was bottom up. All other countries in the world, INCLUDING BRITAIN’S DOMINIONS, had a top down structure imposed by Britain even though Britain had common law.
3) Private property with written titles and deeds
4) a Free Market economy.

The last two are irrelevant if you don’t have the first two.

[Uncle Miltie]

The sheeple of Amerika lined up for their genetic experiment jabs just fine.

[Georgia Girl 2]

This is the perfect summation of why we aren’t like Canada or Australia. I keep trying to explain this to my best friend at our lunch meetings. I just emailed the article to her.