Nightmare Vision of North America [View All]

[struggle4progress]

by John Chuckman
(Saturday 19 March 2005)

John Manley, prominent Liberal politician in Canada, has shown a stunning lack of judgment in chairing a private group proposing a new security-economic regime for Canada, Mexico, and the United States. <snip>

Criticism of Manley's scheme is possible on many levels, but my chief criticism is that the authors simply do not understand that no country can make a binding deal of this nature with the United States. It is simply impossible. Yes, America's government might well sign an agreement, but the agreement would shortly prove worthless, except in just those portions with visceral appeal to Americans. This conclusion comes neither from prejudice nor mordant humor but from having lived half my life in each country and being a serious student of history. <snip>

The panel's scheme is a vision of Fortress America scowling at the world with its two small neighboring principalities huddled in the shadows of outer works or pens under the massive walls. The scheme is sweetened for Canada and Mexico by offering supposed new certainties in trade access to the world's largest national market. The outer works supposedly have open doors through the looming walls.

No matter what Canada and Mexico do to prepare against it, should there be another major terrorist-style attack on the United States, precisely the same pattern of behavior is to be expected. America has behaved irrationally for three solid years since 9/11, and no treaty, no agreement, or no arrangement will prevent a re-kindling of America's blast-furnace rage at its rich gated community again having been rudely broken into by "some of them." I recall an engraved wooden sign some years ago in the window of a luxurious land-yacht at a trailer park in Arizona, "We don't call 9-1-1," with a drawing of crossed smoking pistols. The sign was funny, but funny only in its succinctly capturing an ugly truth about the lawless, uncivil character of many Americans. <snip>

http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/13744/