The Worst Thing About All This

Posted on March 31, 2025April 3, 2025 by Peter Scott Cameron

Saturday morning at eleven, as has been the case every Saturday for the last couple of months, we stood on the four corners at the main crossroads in the little village of Salem, New York. We held aloft our handmade signs, cheering each other on, and cheering the cars that went by giving us a friendly horn-toot or wave, and whooping when the occasional Trumper roared by giving us the finger. Stop the Coup! Hands Off Canada and Greenland! We Did Not Elect Musk! Save Our Democracy! Stop the Extortion of Ukraine!

It was a cold morning, and the falling rain was freezing on the lampposts if not our foreheads. Still, in spite of that, there were easily one hundred of us, mostly old people. Despite the adverse weather, despite the grim news of the week and every week since January 20th, we were of good cheer, and we were not without hope. None of us are fools; we know that such vigils do not, by themselves, change things. But they matter, and we affirm to each other that we are not alone.

The worst thing about all this – about this administration and its actions – is the cruelty and hatred that it represents. Love, Not Hatred, Makes America Great! read a sign waved by a gray-haired woman on the corner opposite me. Amen. But I’d say that while it could make America great, it is certainly not doing so now: the contempt for other people, the dismissal of minorities, the erasure of those who do not fit the supremacist gender scripts, the rounding up and imprisonment of dissenting foreign students, the precipitous cessation of aid to those around the world who are starving, the abrupt dismissal, by a psychopathic billionaire, of dedicated public servants in valued agencies…well, it is too much. Too ugly. Unspeakable, really.

I have been planning to attend a Hands Off! demonstration in the State Capital, Albany, next weekend. I was all set, then I realized I had a problem: the site of the protest is in a bathroom desert. At seventy-eight, it has become an issue. I don’t recall having this problem when I participated in the anti-war demonstration at Queen’s Park in Toronto, in the summer of 1968. Let’s see…I would have been twenty-one. No, I didn’t think about bathrooms. Anyway, at that age, I just would have gone in a bush somewhere.

Years later, I went on a couple of different days to the G20 demonstrations in Toronto in 2010 – more as an observer than anything. I really didn’t have much of an opinion. I was just a young snapper of sixty-three and I don’t remember thinking about bathrooms then either. To be sure, there were some bad actors there destroying property – Black Bloc members etc. – but I did not see them – only later on television, when they showed the same burning police car over and over. I did observe some Neo-Nazi thugs attack peaceful demonstrators. I saw squads of black-uniformed, helmeted police boxing-in law-abiding protesters – “kettling” they called it – and moving them to a containment area, which, by the way, contravened free assembly traditions in the Canadian democracy. I saw an officers without visible identification push people around, pushing some to the ground. Forty-five or so of the officers involved in kettling were later charged, thankfully, but many could not be identified. O Canada. Pete Hesgeth, of course, the former Fox talking head, now the unqualified leader of the U.S. military, has spoken in favour of using that same military against protesters.

The worst thing about all this is the ease with which this administration is evading, or merely stepping over civil rights and simple standards of lawfulness and decency: rounding up students on the street and shipping them out of state to isolated detention, disregarding judges’ orders, the Mafioso-style shaking-down of law firms in flagrant acts of vengeance, and issuing presidential orders that are blatantly illegal, that is, that should require acts of Congress. Perhaps the worst thing about that is how the Republicans have become toadies and co-conspirators in the systematic dismantling of the American democracy.

Back when, I remember thinking Ronald Reagan was a shifty character, and a dope: especially following the great, but poorly-understood statesman, Jimmy Carter. I felt I could come to the U.S. because Jimmy was president; it was a shock when the country turned on him and elected the bad actor. It was downright rude and stupid, and paved the way for Trump a few decades later. “Government is the problem” Ronnie Ray-Gun said. Ronnie gave us the gift that keeps on giving, with his trickle-down economics: mass homelessness. I might have left then, but my partner, whom I was mistakenly trying to please, wanted to stay. So it goes. We probably should have gotten divorced before we did. But don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the opportunities the U.S. has provided me, and for the beautiful friends I have had. And if I had never come here, I would never have met my own heart’s delight.(1) Good things sometimes come from bad things.

The worst thing about all this is the epic loss of momentum in the battle to save our natural world and to mitigate climate change. Bad timing. We surely were already losing this battle and in our selfishness, not doing anything close to what we needed to do to stop habitat degradation and global warming. But at least under Biden, the intention and effort were there. Good steps were taken, which Trump and his brotherhood are undoing. It’s a disaster. In fact, under the opportunist Zeldin, all the good work of the EPA is being systematically undone. The Chinese can only be doing the Watusi in glee as Trump works to take America backwards into a twentieth century oil economy, when any damn fool knows the future is in renewable energy.

The worst thing about this is not that I will suffer; I won’t – I’m too old. In fact, for an oldster, warmer winters and longer summers can be welcome. Those who will suffer will be all the creatures born of our beautiful paradise – the ones that are still here, at least: the spring peepers in the ponds on either side of us, the big honking geese flying above us, the chubby possum who ambles to the compost pile on a Sunday morning, the fox who darts across the dirt road, the little water snake poking its head up in the stream by the bridge, and of course, the sweet black cows that I love, down the hill. And our grandchildren. They will pay the price for our hubris.

Even though earlier on in life, I could express a hipster’s (or perhaps hippie’s) skepticism and disdain for progress, I have realized in recent months, that I believed in it. Not material progress: though that is fair enough in some ways – I’d rather not be a filthy, disease-ridden, starving labourer in an 1840’s London tenement (2) – although at present, it is clear that our excessive materialism is killing us. Rather, I discovered that I had an underlying and earnest belief in social, humanitarian, and even spiritual progress. I believed that “the arc…bends toward justice.” (3) That is, that despite setbacks, regressive reactions, and blow-back to change, movement would go forward, to greater justice, fairness, understanding, tolerance, compassion, and even peace. Two steps forward, one step back and so on, if you will. This election was a shock, and now I am not sure that my underlying belief is correct at all.

The worst thing in all of this is the turning away – indeed, the suppression – of knowledge, of understanding, of reason and science, and of hard-won wisdom. It is appalling to watch: the suppression of free speech and research, and extortion of venerable institutions of higher learning such as Columbia. Of course, it was the attack-dog, the nefarious Elise Stefanik, our very-own representative here in Washington County, who got that ball rolling under the phony guise of fighting antisemitism. It is appalling to see the take-down of outstanding institutions of science, public information, and policy advisors like the National Institute of Health, Center for Disease Control, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Soon, Americans will be ingesting beef tallow to prevent measles, and phoning the Bahamas to find out if a hurricane is coming – that is, if the telephones still work then.

The worst thing is that which underlies these actions: the ignorance, the turning away from reason, the deliberate shunning of knowledge in creating understanding. Blanket, random, round-number tariffs inflicted on long-term allies in a globally integrated economy? Indeed, brilliant. Expecting the people of Greenland to embrace the purchase of their country? My, my, that is stupid. Anticipating that Ukraine would be grateful for a peace brokered, Mafia-style, that requires them to give up stolen territory to one tyrant and to hand over minerals to another in exchange for dodgy security non-guarantees? Fer sure. And that Vance – for a guy who went to a prestigious university and wrote an actual book, he sure seems dumb and creepy, doesn’t he? Especially in that cute little parka outfit worn while speaking to troops at the Pittufik “Space” Base (really, that is the name? Not a joke?) in Greenland.

Well, so here I am, an old guy with some bladder issues, living in the country, in love with the world if not humanity, worried for his grandchildren and for the defenceless, the wretched of the earth, (4) watching the larger-than-life aspiring democracy of the U.S. tilt toward fascism. I count myself fortunate to have lived for a time, at least, in two of the great – if imperfect – democracies in the world. The worst thing, at this age, is that I will never trust this country again.(5) I am not alone in that of course: neither will Canadians, Europeans, Mexicans, Panamanians, Ukrainians, Greenlanders…well, hardly anybody. And I wish I were twenty-one once more – not to go through it all again, the thought of that is exhausting. But rather: I’d like to be able to go “down to the demonstration to get my fair share of abuse,”(6) to be able to take whatever comes standing up, and to take a piss in the bush if I need to, and not worry about it.

And to Mr. Trump? I say: you are the worst. I say: no thanks, you keep it.

I’m seventy-eight, but I say: Hell, No, We Won’t Go!
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1. …to borrow a phrase from the great Ian Tyson. Tyson, Ian. “Own Heart’s Delight.” Cowboyography, Slick Fork Music/CAPAC, 1987.

2. Engels, Frederick. The Conditions of the Working Class in 1844. Translated by Florence Kelly Wischnewetzley, Information Age Publishing, 2010.

3. Smith, Mychal Denzel. “The Truth About ‘The Arc Of The Moral Universe.’” Huffington Post, Jan. 2018, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-smith-obama-king_n_5a5903 e0e4b04f3c55a252a4. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.

4. Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. Translated by Constance Farrington, Penguin, 2001.

5. For the record, Americans continue to support Trump despite the destruction and the chaos. As of April 3, approval vs. disapproval is about 50-50 on average (with a small percentage expressing neither). Igielnik, Ruth. “Latest Polls: Do Americans Approve of President Trump?” The New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/donald-trump-approval- rating-polls.html. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

6. Jagger, Mick, and Keith Richards. You Can’t Always Get What You Want. Decca, 1968.

Are There No Limits to What Americans Will Tolerate?

Posted on March 16, 2025March 16, 2025 by Peter Scott Cameron

Are There No Limits to What Americans Will Tolerate?

I found myself asking this question on a morning last week when the president announced that he was doubling his tariffs (to 50%) on Canadian steel and aluminum, as the markets that Americans hold so precious roiled, and while this unhinged leader, borrowing a line from the Putin rhetorical play-book, vowed to make the “artificial line” between Canada and the U.S. “disappear.”

I asked myself: how can Americans standby and watch – nay, support – this man systematically trashing decades, or really two centuries of friendship, cooperation, mutual prosperity and support? How can everyday Americans watch dumbly as their leader assaults the best friend they have ever had? Would an invasion that some Canadians are anticipating, (1) an out-and-out attempt at the military takeover of Canada, be the limit? It might be, but I’m not entirely convinced.

I again asked myself if there is a limit as his minions were abroad, “negotiating” a deal, on behalf of Ukraine, which would require the country to give up territory to a despotic aggressor, and would require them to pay tribute, in the form of minerals, to the U.S. This “deal” can only be described as a shakedown or a protection racket. I continue to ask myself this as the president and his administration attack hard-won minority rights, the free press, and the intellectual freedom of venerable institutions of higher learning. I ask myself as Americans look on as a highly intelligent psychopath is given free reign to tear down administrative institutions and programs that have served the country and the world well for generations. I ask myself as I watch the Environmental Protection Agency and its hard-won improvements and protections are gutted in a single day by its appointed anti-environmental leader.

Is there a limit to what the American citizenry will tolerate?

Sorry to say: so far, it appears not.

Not even the sudden and catastrophic cancellation of over eighty-percent of long-standing beneficial U.S. aid programs has caused much of a stir: nor has the dismantling of the Education Department. It puts me in mind of Germany. As the eminent historian, Richard J. Evans put it: “there were many Germans who were not fanatical Nazis but supported Nazism because it put into practice a sufficient range of their desires and aspirations for them to discount the other aspects.”(2)

This saddens me deeply. It frightens me, too. And it angers me even more.

Of course, I realize there is a substantial percentage of people who oppose all this: good people, good Americans, who support what is moral, what is good, what is useful, and what is right. Perhaps they will prevail. But if they are going to do so, they must stand up and be counted soon. There are certainly a number who don’t recognize what the situation is. And it is true that many simply don’t know what to do. This is, after all, an unprecedented situation in the history of the American Democracy.

The cavalry, in the form of Congress, is not coming to save the day; the slim majorities (that is all it takes) in both the House and the Senate are sycophants of the rogue president and are doing his bidding – the Trumpist poster boy for that being Lindsey Graham, formerly known as The Honourable Lindsey Graham. Nor is it likely that the Supreme Court, having already granted the president broad immunity, will come to the rescue. And so, it appears that it is up to us: We the People.

There are some positive signs. Good organizations like The American Civil Liberties Union, VoteVets and National Resources Defense Council are standing up, organizing petitions, and suing. Lower courts, at least in part, are acting for what is just. And the people are starting to take to the streets – this latter, as my friend Dr. Dave has commented on previous posts here, looks like what it will take. (3) Perhaps – just perhaps! – we can establish some limits ourselves, and restore decency.

To the Ramparts, then.

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1. And the inevitable guerilla warfare that would follow, that some (at least the younger) people are imagining.

2. Quoted in: Acherson, Neal. “Ordinary Germans.” The New York Review of Books, March 27, 2025, pp. 6 – 10.

3. Last Saturday, our small group of demonstrators on the street corner in the tiny village of Salem, NY, had grown to over 130 people.

The Faces of Fascism

Posted on March 2, 2025March 3, 2025 by Peter Scott Cameron

We all have a picture, a mental representation, of what fascism looks like, based on experience and images from the twentieth century.

A common representation would be this: Adolf Hitler being greeting and saluted by a loyal and admiring crowd.

But there are other possible faces and looks of fascism. For example, a face could be as bland and benign-looking as this:

This is the billionaire founder of a gigantic online retailer, who owns the venerable Washington Post, long known for its investigative reporting and vigorous defence of democracy. This man instructed his editorial staff to write only articles favourable to free markets, and that opposing viewpoints “will be left to be published by others.” (1) Of course, in a good newspaper, articles favourable to free markets are desirable, but along with articles that are critical of same or aspects of same. A free, unfettered, professional press is, as we all know, one of the pillars of democratic society. Is this a face of fascism? Do monkeys eat bananas? It surely looks like it: one of the first things fascists do is to take control of the press, cloaking their efforts in apparent blandness.

Or consider this as potentially a face of fascism:

This is another billionaire industrialist who in this case has attained authority to dismantle long-standing institutions and service programs of democratic government after donating enormous amounts of money to an autocratic president during his election campaign. This billionaire has been indiscriminately cutting programs beneficial to people and the country and engaging in mass impersonal firings of staff. He was brandishing the chain saw, of course, to symbolize what he was doing to public services. Could this be a face of fascism? One of the things fascists commonly do is to brandish symbols of powerful masculinity, especially phallic ones, for psychological reasons. This guy certainly does that.

Consider another:

In this case, during a diplomatic meeting in the White House, the two highest officials in the land initiated a shouting match, berating and attempting to bully a courageous democratic statesman who was trying to elicit aid in his country’s fight against a totalitarian enemy. The disgusting ambush and bullying session was the culmination of a meeting in which the two officials, acting in a way similar to Mafia “Dons,” had offered unguaranteed “protection” in exchange for tribute payments in the form of valuable minerals. The two acting in the fascistic manner are on the right wearing blue suits, and the statesman is on the left wearing a sweater emblematic of his beloved and threatened country. Psychologically speaking, fascist types, with their psychopathic character structure, commonly bully and attempt to overpower others in an obvious effort to compensate for their underlying weakness and inadequacy along with doubts about the size of their genitalia.

And so, one can see from this that face of fascism is variable. Fascism can take many forms that are not always obvious. It may be right in front of our eyes, but we fail to recognize it.

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1. Reilly, Liam. “Jeff Bezos announces ‘significant shift’ coming to the Washington Post. A key editor is leaving because of it.” CNN Business, 26 Feb. 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/ media/washington-post-opinion-jeff-bezos-david-shipley/index.html. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.

2. Liptak, Kevin et al. “Trump and Vance erupt at Zelensky in tense Oval Office meeting.” CNN Politics, 28 Feb. 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/politics/trump-zelensky-vance-oval- office/index.html. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.