BY GERRY CHIDIAC
Lessons in Learning
Most people are familiar with the famous quote by the German cleric from the Nazi era, Martin Niemöller: “First they came for the socialists… then they came for the trade unionists… Then they came for the Jews – and I did not speak out… Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
It is terrifying that so few people speak out when other human beings are threatened, despite the danger to their own well-being. Our knowledge of the atrocities of World War II and the millions of deaths that resulted – including six million Jews – seems to have no impact in a world where so many people care only about their own comfort and amusement.
A case in point is the non-reaction in the Canadian mainstream media to Donald Trump’s recent speech at the United Nations General Assembly. While discussing his country’s war in Iran, Trump threatened genocide by asking, “Do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?”
The fact that the leader of the country with the largest military and the largest nuclear arsenal in the world would say this in front of delegates at the institution we created in the wake of the most destructive war in history should be horrifying to everyone on the planet.
To his credit, Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to a reporter in French, calling Trump’s words “langage de la guerre” (the language of war) and called for international law to be respected.
Can Carney be taken seriously, however? His government is under scrutiny for not upholding its commitment to international law by allowing a fugitive of the International Criminal Court, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to again fly over Canadian airspace, this time on his way to and from the UN General Assembly.
Many would argue that Canada is in a precarious situation. We share an undefended border with the United States, and the size of their military dwarfs our own. We are also rich in the raw materials that they so drastically need. Indeed, the Americans recently took control of the oil resources in Venezuela, and referencing this in the same UN speech, Trump stated, “To the victor belong the spoils.”
Many Americans are horrified by Trump’s discourse, including the popular independent podcaster Judge Andrew Napolitano and his esteemed regular guests, drawn from the American military, Secret Service and diplomatic corps. Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, a former chief of staff in the George W. Bush administration, stated, “It was despicable. It was deplorable. It was uncalled for, and it cements in the world’s mind the image of the empire as being utterly out of control.”
In a discussion with the podcaster Professor Glenn Diesen, former American Ambassador (and Napolitano regular) Chas Freeman stated, “It is very hard not to conclude that he (Trump) is thinking about the use of nuclear weapons and if so, that would be the gravest crime against humanity that he has committed. One gains a bit of solace, however, from the fact that he is well known for making outrageous threats and then failing to implement them. So, we shall see, but this is a moment in which many things are going wrong for the United States, not least in West Asia.”
Is Trump indeed making empty threats, or is he a menace to global – and Canadian – security? Clearly, he has shown blatant disregard for the United Nations and international law.
Now is not a time for polite hypocrisy. World leaders, especially those who have traditionally been allies of the United States, must recognize that we could be falling into the same chaos that resulted in the deaths of over 70 million people in World War II.
It is time for the mainstream media to report honestly on the very real threats to international order. And it is time for our citizenry to recognize that life is more than bread and circuses.
Gerry Chidiac is an award-winning high school teacher specializing in languages, genocide studies and work with at-risk students. Check out his website here. Find him on Facebook. Or on Twitter @GerryChidiac