It’s the single most hackneyed, overused cliché in political propaganda: war.
Whenever politicians oppose something, they pound the PR war drums and pretend they’re George C. Scott. Doesn’t matter what they oppose either.
And they’ve been doing this for a very long time:
Forget foreign policy. Even the domestic rhetoric is warlike. Everything about our domestic policy invokes the thought of war. We don’t like something is this country, we declare war on it: the war on poverty, the war on drugs, the war on crime, the war on AIDS, the war on cancer.
—George Carlin, Jammin’ in New York (1992)
And, of course, about a decade later, the war on terror. (Plus the war on climate change. And the war on racism. And the war on COVID.) You get the idea.
Sometimes, instead of declaring war on what we don’t like, we’ll accuse our enemies of declaring war on what we — and, presumably, the voters — do like. Hence the war on women, the war on democracy, the war on decency, the war on science, the war on history, and [checks notes] the war on black trans women.
In Carlin’s retelling, this reflected a uniquely American ethos: We’re a warlike people in a warlike country. (“We got the only national anthem that mentions [expletive] rockets and bombs in the [expletive] thing!”)
But Carlin was wrong. It’s not just a U.S. phenomenon.
New York Post (Aug. 23, 2026): Canadian PM Mark Carney Claims Country ‘At War’ With Trump on Trade After Tariffs: ‘We Got Attacked’
“We were attacked. You’re at war when you get attacked. We got attacked,” Carney told reporters on Saturday. “That’s fine. We’ve got the reserves. We’ve got the resilience. We’ve got the plan. We’ve got the focus. We will respond.”
So what dastardly military tactics were wielded against Canada, Mr. Carney? How, exactly, did President Donald Trump unleash the deadly dogs of war?
The Hill (Sept. 1, 2026): Carney Suggests US Officials Stop ‘Doing Memes,’ ‘Throwing Shade,’ ‘Trying to Be Tough’
“When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” Carney told reporters, discussing a possible trade deal.
“But it’s, look, it’s not constructive,” he added.
Canada says it’s “at war” with America — and “will respond” — while accusing Americans of “trying to be tough.” (Which is “not constructive,” of course.)
And for the love of hockey, lay off those evil memes!
Sorry, Carney, but you can’t have it both ways. You can’t echo Patton one week and Gandhi the next.
We’re either at war, or we’re not.
But that’s the ol’ Canadian two-step: Do one thing one day, do something different the next. It’s been Canada’s M.O. for decades.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is a state-owned TV network. On Aug. 26, a Toronto Sun columnist named Warren Kinsella blew the lid off the CBC’s directive to redefine 9/11 as a non-terrorist event:
This week, I received a memo — presumably confidential — addressed to CBC News staff. It is authored by one Basem Boshra, who is the “Senior Director of Journalistic Standards and Public Trust at CBC News.” In Boshra’s memo, reporters are editors are told this:
“Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.”
Boshra states that all in bold letters, italicized, as if to emphasize the point. To make clear it is a directive, not a suggestion.
It goes on. “The hijackings led to passenger jet crashes,” it reads, again in italics. There is no recognition in the CBC memo — none — that “hijacking that leads to passenger jet crashes” is not a protest, or a vote. It is a terrorist act, full stop.
[…]
[The CBC’s directive] is not fair and it is in no way accurate. It is rewriting the historical record. It is manipulating facts to fit an ideological perspective. It is cruel and despicable. It is Orwellian.
Literally the next day, President Trump changed the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. The Canadians were outraged.
In Canada, the move prompted incredulity by officials on social media.
Carney said Canadians will call the body of water Lake Ontario "now and always," while Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said "we're into some real foolishness now."
"It's Lake Ontario, buddy," Houston said.
Overlooking the glorious irony of someone named Houston defending Canada, why is renaming a body of water so scandalous that it became an international incident — yet the state-owned Canadian media can strip the word “terrorism” from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Americans are supposed to look the other way?
Mark Carney wrote on (American-owned) X: “Canadian women and men also know that things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario — today and forever.”
Yeah? And the name of what happened on 9/11 is TERRORISM. If “things must be called by their name,” then why is the CBC renaming the deadliest TERROR attack in U.S. history?
The Canadian two-step strikes again.
Along with curling, sanctimonious hypocrisy is what Canadians do best. It’s the game they’re playing in NATO, where they cosplay as battle-ready, “unwavering” military allies yet haven’t honored their 2% spending agreement in nearly 40 years.
Our commitment to NATO's Article 5 is unwavering, so we're working with our NATO allies, including the Nordic Baltic Gate, to further secure the alliance's northern and western flanks, including through Canada's unprecedented investments in over-the-horizon radar, in submarines, in aircraft and boots on the ground, boots on the ice.
—Prime Minister Mark Carney, Jan. 20, 2026, Davos address
At least since 2006, NATO defense ministers have “agreed to commit a minimum of 2% of their GDP to defence [sic] spending.” This means that all NATO countries needed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on military readiness…
The United States, of course, has always honored that commitment.
Let me remind you why we’re here: NATO isn’t a book club! It’s a military alliance. But we can’t deter aggressors if NATO members shirk their military commitments, because they think Uncle Sam will always protect them. That’s greedy, cowardly, and unfair.
[…]
Canada says all kinds of flowery things about the importance of alliances and the sanctity of NATO. According to Prime Minister Carney, Canada is a model NATO member that’s being bullied by bigger countries.
Oh, by the way, Canada also spends a paltry 1.5% of its GDP on defense.
Question: If NATO is so important, why won’t Canada pay its fair share?
That was a rhetorical question, because the answer is obvious: Canada won’t pay its fair share because it prefers to spend its tax revenue on social programs that only benefit Canadians.
This is quite literally the definition of selfishness.
Yet that’s the Canadian way: Speak loudly and carry a little (hockey) stick. Tell everyone how wonderful you are while contributing less than your neighbors. Hide behind America’s shield while picking Uncle Sam’s pockets clean — and insisting his wealth is your birthright.
I wrote in a follow-up article:
Because 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S. border, they’ve built their budget on the back of America’s military might. It’s freeriding writ large: Instead of paying their fair share, the Canadians shortchange the alliance and enrich themselves.
And then, while blanketed by America’s protection, Canada attacks the very country that keeps it safe.
Naturally, some Americans are siding with Canada. And you’ll never guess which ones:
Unearthed Audio Shows Abdul El-Sayed PRAISING Canada Over The United States As Being Better to Achieve the 'American Dream'
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 1, 2026
"If you want to achieve the American Dream, you should move to Canada because it's twice as likely there"
All he does is glorify foreign countries while… pic.twitter.com/wErz4nmFD2
“Bad for our country” is expanding a trade war with Canada that’s costing us all thousands of dollars. https://t.co/abD9cPADHB
— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) August 31, 2026
I guess it’s to be expected: Every war has traitors and turncoats.
Including make-believe wars.
Because, very obviously, America and Canada aren’t at war. The suggestion is stupid: Memes and bombs are different.
We’re neighbors in a trade dispute. Nothing more, nothing less.
And thank goodness we’re not at war: Canada has an active military of just 62,300 troops. America has over 1.3 million.
Canada wouldn’t survive.
But just as Canada has every right to pursue its national interests, so does the United States. What’s good for the (Canadian) goose is good for the (American) gander.
It’s the height of hypocrisy to shortchange NATO for nearly 40 years, free-ride on America’s largesse, shirk your military obligations, memory-hole 9/11 — and then claim Canada is “at war” because a trade deal fell through.
Especially when you follow it by whining about internet memes.
Access to American markets isn’t a Canadian birthright. Sorry, but that’s not how this works.
If you want unrestricted access to American markets, there’s a way to do so: become the 51st state. Which is why President Donald Trump keeps saying that Canada wants “the benefits of being a state, without being one.”
Because the Canadian two-step isn’t legally binding. It’s merely a rhetorical device that Canadians use to obscure reality.
“All warfare is based on deception,” wrote Sun Tzu. And not just warfare.
Political propaganda, too.
One Last Thing: 2026 will reach a crescendo with the midterm elections. Nothing less than the future of our country teeters in the balance.
Never before have the political battle lines been so clearly defined. Blue wave or red wall, one way or another the 2026 midterms will transform our country.
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