Democracy is fragile. As a federal election approaches in Canada, it’s important to know the warning signs of extremism and anti-democratic practices that are now routine in the U.S.
Author: Matthew Lebo - Professor, Department of Political Science, Western University
There are two things that I find soothing in the recent debacle wrt basic Canadian sovereignty.
First, executive authority resides in the PM, and the PM is selected by and must face question period in the House of Commons. The vaunted US system of checks and balances is useless when the other branches are compromised.
Second, the fundamental problem in the US isn’t structural, it’s that around a third of the electorate is okay with the rank corruption and self-dealing from the top. They cheer on the acts of a Presidential monarch. It doesn’t matter how your democracy is structured, when around a third of your electorate no longer values democratic traditions you are in a dangerous place.
In Canada though, we’ve seen a fairly strong repudiation of Maple MAGA and the Qonvoy movement. It’s a little weird, I’ve seen Qonvoyers missing the point, thinking everyone is on side with them somehow, because Canadian flags? But the ratio of pro-Qonvoy pro-Canada sentiment (where there isn’t an obvious and rampant bot problem) seems to skew pretty far away from the Qonvoyers. I think we face the same dangers the US is facing, but it looks like we have a little more runway.
As to point 2, do not rely on Xitter for your news. It has turned into an algorithmically twisted bot-manipulated hellscape of discord and echo chambers. Speaking to the choir here on Lemmy.ca Canada community, but encourage Canadians to make an account on a Canadian Mastodon or Lemmy instance. I recommend dipping their toe into the Fediverse with Mastodon, and just following some Canadian news sources.
In Canada though, we’ve seen a fairly strong repudiation of Maple MAGA and the Qonvoy movement.
Not only that, but the speed and unity behind our response to American threats has been remarkable. I haven’t felt our country so united since… Maybe the early 00s? It greatly reassures me that American brain rot hasn’t permeated Canada as much as I had feared.
As for the article in the OP, it also bears mentioning that the American education system(s) makes us look like a country of geniuses. At this point it’s clear that the average US citizen is not fully equipped to understand the issues at hand.
Consider making an account on a Canadian Mastodon instance. Mastodon is a decentralized open-source social media platform similar to X/Twitter. There are many Canadian based general interest “instances” where you can make an account: Mstdn.ca, TheCanadian.Social, CoSocial.ca or any of many others you can find at MastodonServer.ca.
For some Canadian themed news sources, I recommend the following Mastodon follows. You can follow pretty much any Mastodon account from any Mastodon instance.
Following #Hashtags is also a good way to stay in the loop on a topic. For now, I’d suggest #Canada , #CdnPoli , #ElbowsUp and #Never51st .
There are also Canadian instances for other Federated services, but Mastodon is probably a good gateway. Even if it isn’t your primary social media, at least you’ll have a backstop of news and a way to connect without the algorithms manipulating what to show you. Hope to see you out there.
There are two things that I find soothing in the recent debacle wrt basic Canadian sovereignty.
First, executive authority resides in the PM, and the PM is selected by and must face question period in the House of Commons. The vaunted US system of checks and balances is useless when the other branches are compromised.
Second, the fundamental problem in the US isn’t structural, it’s that around a third of the electorate is okay with the rank corruption and self-dealing from the top. They cheer on the acts of a Presidential monarch. It doesn’t matter how your democracy is structured, when around a third of your electorate no longer values democratic traditions you are in a dangerous place.
In Canada though, we’ve seen a fairly strong repudiation of Maple MAGA and the Qonvoy movement. It’s a little weird, I’ve seen Qonvoyers missing the point, thinking everyone is on side with them somehow, because Canadian flags? But the ratio of pro-Qonvoy pro-Canada sentiment (where there isn’t an obvious and rampant bot problem) seems to skew pretty far away from the Qonvoyers. I think we face the same dangers the US is facing, but it looks like we have a little more runway.
As to point 2, do not rely on Xitter for your news. It has turned into an algorithmically twisted bot-manipulated hellscape of discord and echo chambers. Speaking to the choir here on Lemmy.ca Canada community, but encourage Canadians to make an account on a Canadian Mastodon or Lemmy instance. I recommend dipping their toe into the Fediverse with Mastodon, and just following some Canadian news sources.
Not only that, but the speed and unity behind our response to American threats has been remarkable. I haven’t felt our country so united since… Maybe the early 00s? It greatly reassures me that American brain rot hasn’t permeated Canada as much as I had feared.
As for the article in the OP, it also bears mentioning that the American education system(s) makes us look like a country of geniuses. At this point it’s clear that the average US citizen is not fully equipped to understand the issues at hand.
#My Mastodon Copypasta (formatted for Reddit)
Consider making an account on a Canadian Mastodon instance. Mastodon is a decentralized open-source social media platform similar to X/Twitter. There are many Canadian based general interest “instances” where you can make an account: Mstdn.ca, TheCanadian.Social, CoSocial.ca or any of many others you can find at MastodonServer.ca.
There is no one company fine-tuning an algorithm to entertain you, sell you crypto, and radicalize you, so you’ll need to do some work on setting up your feed. Check out Fedi.Directory, Interesting Accounts to Follow on Mastodon and the Fediverse and Fedi.Tips- An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse.
For some Canadian themed news sources, I recommend the following Mastodon follows. You can follow pretty much any Mastodon account from any Mastodon instance.
Following #Hashtags is also a good way to stay in the loop on a topic. For now, I’d suggest #Canada , #CdnPoli , #ElbowsUp and #Never51st .
There are also Canadian instances for other Federated services, but Mastodon is probably a good gateway. Even if it isn’t your primary social media, at least you’ll have a backstop of news and a way to connect without the algorithms manipulating what to show you. Hope to see you out there.