It's like the old saying about free speech. I may disagree with the laws you're passing, but I will defend to the death your right to pass your own laws.

I don't know why everyone assumes the use of military force to annex Canada would take the form of a massive conventional invasion. Hybrid warfare approaches like spreading misinformation, covert ops, stirring up local pro-American militias, etc. could do 95% of the work, without the sort of overt violence that generates insurgencies.

It's very possible to defend against hybrid threats, but only if we recognize the threat exists instead of assuming a US invasion would necessarily be a catastrophic strategic blunder.

That would also make it a lot harder for the Canadian government to track whether pro-American annexationists are amassing guns. We can't assume everyone who wants a gun is a Canadian patriot, especially if the US ramps up hybrid warfare techniques to stir up unrest here.

Trump is already trying to extend anti-diversity mandates to French companies that supply the US government, and at some point soon it's going to hit Canadian companies. There's a very real chance that in certain cases, complying with his demands would violate Canadian human rights laws.

It's time for companies to start picking sides - will you comply with the laws of the country you're in, or will you voluntarily let Canada become the 51st state?

You see, their wives are the good ones.

This kind of thinking happens all over MAGAland. People with undocumented spouses proudly voted for Trump because "he's going to deport the illegals", then they're shocked when ICE shows up at their door. Their minds were so quick to interpret "illegals" as "others I don't like" that they literally didn't even realize their own spouses would be targeted.

This is the power of misinformation combined with cultivated hate.

Unlike a lot of other countries where there's been mass mobilization, there's little recent memory of serious government oppression. Americans have generally had it pretty good when it comes to civil liberties over the last half century or so. They assume they can trust institutions like the courts to do the work of protecting democracy. So most people don't realize how much worse things will get if they don't actively resist now.