To the Editor

During the last couple of weeks I have been struck by three examples of missed opportunities for Truth to be spoken to Power. Not surprisingly two of these involve President Trump but the third is truly local. At the recent NATO conference President Trump betrayed his ignorance of the real issues of effectiveness of the alliance by resorting to bullying his allies for not spending enough. None of the attending (mostly military) audience was prepared to challenge this behaviour at least not in the style of the child who called out “the emperor has no clothes” in Hans Christian Anderson’s story. I am sure many of us can remember reading or having those stories read to us playing in sandboxes and learning the habits and tactics of companions clearly recognizing those who bullied those who co-operated quietly and those who grew to be outspoken champions of clear thought.
Then only a few days later in Helsinki in the presence of President Vladimir Putin Donald Trump fluffs his words so badly that the literal meaning of what his voice came out with gave reason for his political associates to accuse him of treason. Those words clearly stated that Trump found Putin’s denial of involvement in U.S. election manipulation to be more credible than the extensive disclosures of the FBI and other U.S. security agencies. And this is the guy who boasts of having the “Big Red Button.”
My third disappointment this time local was the weak response of our elected representatives ( Echo Tuesday July 17 2018) to the new provincial government’s practice of cancelling very promising industrial projects which would have kept money spent on energy in local hands. Projects like these are truly necessary for those of the next generation.

Peter Brogden
Haliburton