Old movie holds the key to our lives - From the Cluttered Desk with Keith Roulston

As I listen to U.S. President Trump and his assistant Elon Musk propose killing off so many services for the ordinary people in order to give more tax breaks to the rich, I couldn’t help thinking of an old movie, The Lion in Winter.

 

The 1968 movie starring Peter O’Toole as King Henry II and Katherine Hepburn as his wife, took place in France, as Henry fought to expand his empire. It’s a scene from early one winter morning that I recall as Henry tries to wash up for breakfast and has to break the ice on the water in the washbowl. Here is one of the most powerful men in the world and he has frozen water in the morning, while I turn on the tap and get hot water, automatically.

 

Of course the common men and women who were taxed to support Henry lived even poorer in small shacks with a few cows or sheep and, hopefully, enough clothes to keep them from freezing. By comparison, all of us, except those unfortunate people who have to depend on warming centres to keep themselves from freezing in their tent homes, live so much more comfortable and prosperous lives today.

 

Yet there is no end to the search for wealth. Elon Musk is generally regarded as the richest man in the world, whose wealth makes today’s King Charles look poor by comparison. Yet he wants more.

 

He and his admirer, President Trump, are slashing services (many of which actually come under control of the legislators, who refuse to intervene) at the expense of ordinary Americans. Those who will suffer are, in many cases, the very people who elected Trump to the presidency. These people who seemed so important to Trump during the election, don’t matter now that he is in office.

 

That’s one thing that has changed over the years. British royalty no longer has unfettered control of the British people - not since lords forced the Magna Carta to be signed in 1215 by King John. Since then, little by little, today’s democracy has grown.
Some of that growth came about because of the American Revolution when American revolutionary leaders set up a constitution that gave white men (women and slaves were ignored) the right to elect their government.

 

Now, as Trump and Musk try to reverse the progress that gave ordinary people control over their government, 200 years of progress are at stake. They want rich men to have even more control of their country.

 

All this happens at a time when we Canadians are experiencing a federal election. We have far more freedom than we have ever had before, and more wealth and comfort. Despite complaints from some in Alberta, who seem to want to be in Texas, we have good, free lives. 

 

Meanwhile in the U.S., Trump continues on his own demented way. He is against immigrants, if they aren’t white. Hundreds of student visas have been revoked and some of the foreign students have been deported - some to prisons in El Salvador.

 

Meanwhile, aware of his election, white South Africans who moved to a  breakaway area after white rule was abandoned in South Africa with the rise of Nelson Mandela, have called for the U.S. to recognize their country. Trump so far has refused, but he has welcomed these racists to immigrate to the U.S.

 

Meanwhile, U.S. universities, famous for being places of protest, are being punished for allowing pro-Palestinian protests 
before Trump was even re-elected. The U.S. government has cancelled $210 million in research grants to Princeton, $510 million at Brown, and an astounding $9 billion at Harvard. And of course there are the tariffs Trump has imposed on nearly all his trading partners, even small islands that don’t trade with the U.S. at all because they have nothing to trade.

 

As the U.S. moves to follow the steps outlined in Project 2025, the assault on the very democracy of our neighbour has come into doubt. Polls show a majority of Americans disagree with the direction their President has taken, but he keeps forging ahead. We’re only just over two months into his four-year term and already his long-time supporter Steve Bannon has suggested there are ways to get around rules that say he can’t stand for a third term.

 

We, next door in Canada, are witnessing the greatest democracy in history teetering on the edge of losing the freedom which has made it an example for the world of a successful democracy. As we approach the April 28 national election, Canadians need to examine the issues to ensure that we are electing a government that is our strongest protection against the autocracy that seems to be enveloping our neighbour.

 

With Trump repeatedly talking about Canada as a 51st state, (though larger than the U.S.) the independence of Canada has never been as important as in 2025!