Between wars and fears of fascism in the U.S., there’s plenty to be scared about

OTTAWA—As I write this on Halloween, things are darn scary. Wars, the rise of bots pushing conspiracies, the American you-know-what, the rhetoric about a potential federal election here: things are scary all over. Just count the number of times you put on a face of disbelief while reading or watching the news. Is it more than five times a day? More than 10? This is a remarkably difficult time to believe in democracy. Notice that we’ve given up saying about political process that “we’ll work it out together, we’ll get through it” because it’s really not clear that humans will. The election to the south of us is tying up media around the world, as the results may well be world-changing if the orange man gets in. Fascism is a method to grabbing power, not a label, said former U.S. secretary of state Madeline Albright. All the signs are there for fascism come Nov. 5, regardless of the actual vote. If it weren’t for all the social media and influencers pushing the conspiracy that the vote is already stolen from the orange man, perhaps we might be less worried. But the fear-based outrage online is ramping up. It’s also ramping up here. Canada needs to sit up and take notice that we have our own problem with people getting taken in by the conspiracies. I had the pleasure of overhearing a Canadian talking loudly to his friends about the “WF” and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s secret plans for Liberal tyranny, which is admittedly funny, given the party can’t even figure out if it supports its leader. Thankfully, this individual’s friends engaged on the tirade and pushed him to back-check what he thought he knew when he used the acronym WF for the World Economic Forum. Friends don’t let friends repeat lies. There’s evidence building that the Russian bot farms are spreading lies about votes stolen in the United States, which leads me to question why we’re stuck in this cycle talking about interference from China. Wake up, people! Just how much is Canada impacted by the Russian bots attempting to bring down the world order as we know it? More than we want, and more than we know. It's scary. This will be a controversial position, but how about we don’t call a federal election right now? Things are just too unstable everywhere, and I doubt Elections Canada is ready, anyhow. The wars in eastern Europe and the Middle East grind on with a ripple effect across the world economically, and the degradation of civil discourse. We must figure out how to stop the bots and lies—they are like a blowtorch on democracy. Nobody wants a bot election. How about we enshrine a four-year election cycle as law so we don’t get caught up into this rash game of snap-election-poker? In a time of fear and legitimate risks from too many parts of the world, we need political leaders who ethically refuse to use the fear to their own advantage. Lookin’ at you, Pierre Poilievre—please stop egging on conspiracy in a drive for power. But I’m also lookin’ at you, Trudeau. Using fear to maintain your power is a bad look, and it might be time for the walk in the snow. Don’t take down the country for your own ego. We need stability both in the country, and in political parties. Both of you, please instruct your inner circle to put the country first—not you—or find another inner circle who is first loyal to the country. That’s the leadership worthy of the times. We need stability. We need political leaders who are trustworthy and tell the truth even if it’s complicated, who model civility and respectful debate, who are worth our trust. Don’t make it worse—it’s scary enough. Rose LeMay is Tlingit from the West Coast and the CEO of the Indigenous Reconciliation Group. She writes twice a month about Indigenous inclusion and reconciliation. In Tlingit worldview, the stories are the knowledge system, sometimes told through myth and sometimes contradicting the myths told by others. But always with at least some truth. The Hill Times

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