Not actually, but that's the modus operandi of the Canadian government.
Donald Trump's presidency has officially put tariffs on Canadian products and so how did "we" respond?
By taking the moral high ground? By saying, listen President Doofus, we're not playing your game. Slap all the tariffs you want on us, you're really just hurting your own economy and raising prices for consumers. We will not play ball. We will turn the other cheek.
Would this not have been the best road to take? Canadians are going to be hurt by the tariffs anyway. What good does it do start imposing our own retaliatory tariffs on American products?
Now I gotta pay more for Jack Daniels whiskey. Thanks a lot, Trudumb. In addition, the Trudeau government is bailing out a bunch of Canadian industries hurt by the tariffs by giving them taxpayer money.
For someone who is always going on about "the children" and "young people," Trudeau seems to have no problem mortgaging their futures with his reckless spending.
Was it not Gandhi who said an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind?
Did Jesus not say, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."
Yeah, yeah, I know. There's no proof Gandhi actually said that the Jesus of the New Testament is a character in a piece of literature giving a moral lesson.
But that's the point, isn't it? A moral lesson to guide us through the chaos of life? Jesus's teachings are one of the factors underpinning Western civilization. (I won't get into the whole "Judeo-Christian tradition is responsible for the West," argument today. There's some good and a lot of bad in that viewpoint.)
The point is -- instead of imposing our own retaliatory tariffs, the Canadian government should have said NO.
Free trade is preferable to tariffs. America is our largest ally. Trudeau could have come out and said, "Listen, this is going to hurt, but we're not retaliating. No one likes that man and his silly backward policies anyway, so hopefully, all this will be a thing of the past come 2020 or possibly sooner."
But nope. We're playing right into Trump's hand by not only imposing tariffs on American products but specifically targetting Trump-friendly Republican states.
That is, Canada's retaliatory tariffs are purely political.
Goddamnit, this is how wars start.
The best thing we could have done is nothing at all. Tell Trump to go fuck himself, continue to freely trade with Americans and hope no one like him ever comes to power again... although it's not like the alternatives were all that great either.
On a similar note, I love how Stephen Harper went to the US without notifying the PMO. Typical sneaky Harper. I miss that man. I didn't always agree with his policies, but I loved his style.
Harper had style. And in the poetic words of Charles Bukowski, "Style is the answer to everything."
Harper had style.
Trudeau is a pussy.
Just say no to tariffs. When someone slaps you on the cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
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