April 16, 2025

Writing to my future self

Thank you Arlene Dickenson

I feel compelled to write. Writing helps me stay calm. Staying calm is becoming harder.

In the rush of current events, each of us has our own personal context.

Today I am safe.

Today I am free.

Today I have water.

But two days ago, I suddenly had no electricity, not unusual in Mexico. After a while, I noticed that my neighbor’s swimming pool pumps were running. Strange. I phoned my other neighbor and learned that she too had electricity. Very strange.

In a moment of near panic, the thought occurred to me that perhaps I had neglected to pay my bill. So I knew I had to go to the CFE office in Chapala. I did not want to go through the hassle of opening my garage door manually so I hopped a cab.

CFE informed me that my bill had been paid so something else must be wrong. The service representative entered a work order into the system. I was advised that I could expect help within a twenty-four hour window. From my experience of having lived here for over twelve years, I was skeptical. Best to do more.

Fortunately, I know a local expert electrician and he was at my door in under two hours. He quickly diagnosed the problem, a failed meter, something I never heard of in all my years in Canada. And he had a temporary solution, an illegal act. He hot wired a bypass. And now well into day two, CFE has still not come and Easter weekend approaches.

I have two more personal stress points. Over three months into our real estate listing, still no offers on our house. And for over a week, I have been unable to run because of some pain in my right foot that is not going away.

All of this is to say that I may not be reacting to current events with a calm, clear mind.

Emil Ejner Friis posted a long comment in his Substack Notes.

It has almost been 100 days since Trump’s inauguration, and here’s why I’m not so awfully worried—at least not from my position of relative safety an ocean away… Call me a naive optimist…

I love Hanzi and I really like Emil. But this stikes me as just plain naive. From my relative safety today in Mexico, I am very concerned.

In her usual calm style, Heather Cox Richardson meticulously documents the concerning events of April 15, 2025. There is much to be concerned about. Trump 47 is not the half of it.

The Oval Office event also enabled White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller both to lie that the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision against the administration was actually in favor of it, and to rerun the litany of heinous crimes he associates with immigrants. The attention to the case has also gotten Miller airtime on news shows, where he repeats those lies.

I have been observing Stephen Miller since the time he joined the Trump team in 2015. He is evil. He is dangerous.

I also follow the anything but calm, blunt Canadian, Dean Blundell who posted BREAKING: Tasers Fly at Greene’s Town Hall—MAGA’s Violent New Normal Hits Trump’s America.

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s town hall turned into a violent MAGA Shitshow last night—Shocker, Right? … Greene had every person who dissented from her insane propaganda-laden town hall thrown out, arrested, beaten, or tased last night. 11 people in total. 5 arrests, with four of those arrests becoming violent at the hands of Greene’s security and police. Unprovoked, unless you call disagreeing with her a provocation.

I have been observing Marjorie Taylor Greene since the time she was first elected to the House. She is crazy. She is dangerous.

I regularly scan the U.S. Politics category on Substack. I see a lot of resistance to Trump 47 and very little support for him as I go deep into the leaderboard. Opposing Trump is necessary at this time but not nearly enough. What I do not see is an inspiring alternative. For that, I turn to Canada.

Charlie Angus gives me another inspiring history lesson in his article, The Spirit of Ginger Goodwin.

In these dark times, I see small shoots of hope breaking through. But hope needs tending. It grows when we remember those who carried the struggle before us — and act with their courage in our own time.

Where are the small shoots of hope in America? The best I see is Bernie Sanders, 83, and AOC, 35. But, imo, the voices who are whispering about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for President in 2028 are hopelessly naive.

Another voice has popped up in Canada, this one from my home town, Calgary. Arlene Dickinson is best known as an investor on Dragons' Den. Her Substack Note this morning inspired me, a small shoot of hope, that I will quote in full.

Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” I’ve used this quote often, but it misses an important point: a small group can change the world for better or for worse.

We’re all watching that play out right now. A handful of determined people are exploiting fear and wielding power to reshape the world, and not for the better. They are organised and relentless, which is how movements begin. The ground shifting on us until suddenly we find ourselves in places we never wanted to go.

So the question isn’t whether a few people can change the world, because we now know they can. The real question is why are they the only ones doing it? Good needs a movement too, and our quiet, steady, and resilient country can lead it.

We know great leadership doesn’t come from size or status; it comes from courage and values. Canada has both, but what we need now is the iron will to act on them.

It’s not just about defending our future; it’s about showing the world a better path rooted in fairness instead of fear and in courage instead of cynicism. Across the globe, people are afraid, and we’re all desperately hoping that someone will show us a better way.

Bad actors don’t rise because they’re unstoppable; they rise because no one stands in their way! Yet every villain eventually meets resistance, and it usually starts with ordinary people who have had enough.

The world needs a hero country, and that starts with more heroes at home, in our workplaces, and in our communities. The most powerful movements often begin with quiet choices that ripple outward, and that kind of leadership lives in all of us, as we are seeing, but it’s also needed at the top.

The decisions made in this election will shape how Canada presents itself both at home and on the world stage, so leadership matters now more than ever. We need a Prime Minister who reflects Canada’s values: someone who leads with clarity, strength, and a sense of duty to something larger than themselves, and who understands that unity is a force and that the world needs more courage and less chaos. You decide who that is.

This is a moment to rise, not to fight for power but to stand for what’s right. The world is watching, and so are our children.

Canada may be small in numbers, but it is vast in shared purpose, built not on forced sameness but on a mosaic of people and beliefs that come together around what matters. Equality, decency, and belief in one another.

We’ve always shown up for the world when it counts, quietly and with care and conviction, whether in war, disaster, or diplomacy. That’s our superpower, and it always has been. When we act in that spirit, we won’t be alone, because when one country rises with purpose, others follow.

If fear can organise, then so can courage. If division can spread, so can unity. If a small group can change the world, then let it be us. Let it be Canada, and let it be now, because good needs a movement too.