Dave Allan

** I lifted this off Facebook. It is a great post by Mick Doyle ** I keep hearing Americans say: “I’m not responsible for Trump. I didn’t vote for him.” Okay. But let me tell you how this looks from outside the United States. I live in a major border town. I see American licence plates every day. Lots of them. And here's the uncomfortable truth: I don't stop to wonder whether the person behind the wheel voted for Trump. I don't know them. I don't know their politics. I don't know whether they despise Trump or worship him. I see the American plate. And whether it's fair or not, I automatically associate them with the country whose government is doing these things. That's what national identity does. That's how the rest of the world sees you. When the United States invades a country, threatens another, imposes economic warfare, supplies weapons for a war, or attacks the sovereignty of another nation, the world doesn't have the luxury of separating every individual American from the actions of the American state. The United States invaded Venezuela. The United States is waging economic war against Canada. The United States has seriously contemplated military action against Mexico, a sovereign country. The United States has repeatedly threatened the sovereignty of Greenland. The United States is supplying Israel with weapons and military support while Gaza is being devastated. The United States continues its decades-long economic strangulation of Cuba. And then comes: “But that's Trump. I'm not responsible. I didn't vote for him.” Maybe you didn't. But here's the problem: The rest of the world sees the American flag. We don't see your ballot. We don't know how you voted. We see your government. And if you genuinely oppose what your government is doing, then don't simply ask the rest of the world to distinguish you from it. Make the distinction visible. Protest. Organize. March. Speak out. Put pressure on your representatives. Make your opposition impossible to ignore. Because the midterms are still up in the air. There is no guaranteed deliverance from this menace waiting around the corner. Trump could lose. He could win. Congress could change. It could remain divided. Nobody knows. And while everyone waits for an election to potentially save them, American power continues to be exercised around the world. So no, I don't believe every American is a Trump supporter. But I also don't believe Americans can simply wash their hands of what the United States does by saying: “That's Trump, not me.” Because whether you like it or not, national actions create national reputations. I live with that reality every day when I see those American plates. And so does the rest of the world. You may not be Trump. But the world sees the American flag. Full stop.