I just finished reading William Finnegan’s “Nothing Feels Urgent Anymore – And That Should Terrify You”
He writes of the US –
“In the early stages of collapse, the warning signs come like alarms: loud, unmistakable, emotionally triggering. You feel compelled to respond. To signal. To warn others.
But we’re not in that phase anymore.
We’re in the part where everything bleeds together. Where Trump’s criminal and idiotic antics, Supreme Court nullification, dollar decoupling, tariff tumult, and cabinet secretariat stupidity all feel like background noise.
We are experiencing the flattening of outrage.
This isn’t a failure of attention. It’s a feature of the system now. And it’s not just cultural. It’s strategic.”
It feels like that here in Canada – we’re in limbo – although I’m sure a lot is going on in preparation for the reconvening of Parliament on May 24 (I think that’s the date), there isn’t a ton of stuff in the news so there isn’t much to react to.
It feels weird!
I feel like I’m holding my breath.
I’ve just reached out to Charlie Angus to see if we can get a “Resistance” event going in NS – but here’s the thing – I haven’t sorted out what we’re resisting at the moment – trump’s 51st State threats have gone quiet right now. Resistance to Poilievre was essential during the election- that’s now over. While still Conservative Party leader, he lost his parliamentary seat so he won’t be there delivering his bombastic nonsense (Andrew Sheer will be acting opposition leader in the House – who knows how he’s going to handle responding to the government’s proposals). Poilievre will continue making pronouncements (likely unchanged from his carping before and during the election) but it won’t have the same force until he’s elected in his “safe” Alberta seat – he won’t be back in Parliament until the fall.
I feel we need to maintain our wariness and opposition to trump and those stupid tariffs. Yes, trump has dropped the “51st state” crap, for now. But it lurks, just the same. He’s moved on from threats against Panama and Greenland to his shiny new jet (how silly is that!), and all the lovely AI deals he’s made in the middle east, and he’s just today more or less given up on his buddy Putin, he says. What does he turn his attention to today?
Here in Canada we’re left waiting for the third or fourth shoe to drop – no clue what it’ll be about. So yes, resistance to this all the idiocy – but at the moment it has no shape. We’re in limbo here.
Another week or so, we may find ourselves with focus – we need to continue working at being informed so we can jump in the moment there’s some real issue that needs our attention and voices!
By the way, if you happen to live in Nova Scotia and still need connection to Resistance, please get in touch. I believe Charlie Angus has a bigger picture shaping his Resistance efforts. I need to know more about that. If you feel you do, too, get in touch. I can’t organize an event on my own – I need colleagues willing to put in some time to make the phone calls and help set up the structures for an event – this isn’t a commitment to a long term project – just the one gathering. I’d love to make it happen – I think it could provide some focus to shape this “slow” period for all of us.
jmn 