Lincoln: For King Trump, l'État c'est moi
Some four centuries ago, King Louis XIV of France is said to have pronounced the historic words ' l'État c'est moi' ('I am the state'), which cynically reflected the unlimited power of one-person rule in the world at the time.
It would take three major revolutions — the French, American and Russian — and the catastrophic impacts of successive wars to painstakingly obliterate the unfettered rule of kings, emperors, czars and potentates, and empower citizens at large with a direct involvement in their own governance as free peoples.
We are blessed as Canadians to live in a democratic state that strives to promote equality for all in the pursuit of the common good.
Our powerful neighbour, the United States, has also been inspired since its foundation by the practice of democratic ideals and their dissemination throughout the world. Its Declaration of Independence in 1776, as it broke free from British rule, held that 'all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'
In its Constitution, ratified 12 years after the Declaration of Independence, it established a balanced government to avoid dominance of unitary power, granting legislative powers to the Congress, the executive power to the president and the judicial power to the Supreme Court.
No system of government is ever without flaw or weakness, but the U.S. Constitution was a laudable achievement in enacting a system of checks and balances to ensure a democratic government of equity for all.
In its 2 1/2 centuries of existence, the U.S. has not always been an example of equity toward other countries, and indeed toward large segments of its own population. Yet, it deserves our gratitude for having used its dynamic strength as a dominant power in spreading its generosity and the benefits of its creativity across the world.
Examples of that positive influence in our own time abound: The founding of the League of Nations, then of the United Nations; its contribution to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Marshall Plan and the resultant miracle of a more united Europe; USAID and its overwhelming contribution to the battle to eradicate disease and epidemics, including malaria, Ebola, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS; to the lessening of malnutrition and famine; to education programs in democratic governance and independent journalism, to cite but these.
This is the United States that, as Canadians, we have always admired as our friendly and fair neighbour — a neighbour with whom we share so many bonds of kindship and family, of social and cultural traditions, and of mutual economic and trade benefits.
How now to explain the sudden and brutal turnaround? The generous and warm American friend has metamorphosed into a capricious bully, threatening us with annexation, punishing us with crippling trade tariffs and viewing us not as the empathetic neighbour we are, but as an irritant and profiteer needing to be put in its place.
The democratic president envisaged in the Constitution has now effectively managed to confound its creators and re-establish the counterpart of royal rule. A pliant Congress and a cosy Supreme Court have become mere enablers along the way.
We can imagine the U.S. president thinking: 'L'État c'est moi, Donald J. Trump. If the law does not allow me to impose tariffs willy-nilly on other countries as say the court of first instance, then there is the appeal court, and later still, the Supreme Court — an endless process that will give ample time for tariffs to play their punishing part. Canada is behaving far too independently for my taste, so the tariff will be 25 per cent. Canada now has the effrontery to recognize Palestine, add another 10 per cent and let's see how they like a big 35 per cent. Brazil (with which the U.S. has a favourable trade balance, by the way) has the cheek to indict my good friend Jair Bolsanaro, so it will be a 50 per cent tariff for Brazil.'
The new king's ancestors of wisdom and foresight who authored the Declaration of Independence and Constitution must be turning in their graves — the king is back and l'État c'est moi.
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