On February 10, 2025
© By John Arkelian
A ‘perpetual motion machine’ is a mythical contraption that is purported to operate indefinitely. A ‘perpetual mischief machine’ is another name for Donald Trump and his coterie of co-conspirators. Mischief? Mayhap mayhem is closer to the truth of the matter. Inveterate bald-faced liars, they
National solidarity on the march in Canada in the face of wanton economic aggression by the impolitic new leader of our longtime next-door neighbor, bosom friend, and close ally. Illustration © 2025 by Linda Arkelian.
practice mass disinformation, belittle and demean others without shame, and steer an ill-informed, ill-advised, and monumentally erratic course for the ship of state. They use a tattered veil of overweening bombast to mask their own glaring incompetence, while undermining tried-and-true international alliances, cynically advancing the narrow self-interest of the very few at the expense of the many, making a mockery of good government, too often cowing the other branches of government into meek submission, actively subverting the Constitution (and with it the very foundation of liberty and democracy in America), undermining public confidence in the free press (and in experts of all sorts), and making purported ‘virtues’ out of petty vindictiveness, ingratitude, disloyalty, profound ignorance, meanness, selfish greed, and shameless indecency.
Incredibly, they’re also threatening America’s steadfast friends (and treaty allies) with unlawful economic aggression — or worse. If Trump and his ilk were intent on hobbling the United States, they couldn’t be going about it any more effectively. Our mutual enemies (first, and foremost, the tyrants in Moscow and Beijing) must be over-the-moon with glee. An America under Trump is an America that no longer deserves the trust of the Free World or the mantle of leadership. But, to quote someone else in a perilous position, Trump & Co. ‘don’t know who they’re messing with,’ when they treacherously threaten and harm their nation’s closest friends. At least, that’s the resolve of Canadians in the face of Trump’s repugnant, insulting, and predatory designs on this country. We love America but deplore Trump and his nefarious ilk. Canadians have responded with singleness of purpose, unshakeable defiance, and grim humor.
As to the latter, see a satirical open letter to Donald Trump by former Canadian cabinet minister John Manley and a pictorial expression of Canadian solidarity by Linda Arkelian at: https://artsforum.ca/ideas/regional-perspectives