ROTHENBURGER – A week with some new American friends reminds us where the problem is

FLEW HOME TODAY after a week cruising the St. Lawrence and Thousand Islands with a bunch of Americans and some fellow Canadians.

There were only 65 of us on the little Canadian Empress. No casino, no television, no children running around. For the most part, we put away our cell phones except to check in on the Blue Jays and Dodgers once in a while when the games were on.

We watched the scenery go by, stopped at historic sites and museums, enjoyed good food and entertainment, and played silly but fun games — music trivia, a version of bingo, the usual cruise ship fare — between ports.

We talked with our new American friends about our lives, our kids, our pets and our communities, and compared the bull pens of the Jays and Dodgers. Just average, thoughtful, pleasant people connecting across the border.

We didn’t talk about how they were welcome in Canada but that we wouldn’t be setting foot in their country ever again while Trump is president, or our personal boycotts of U.S. groceries and anything else that comes from there.

Within a day or two, though, we were comfortable enough to delve into some politics without having to worry about offending each other. We compared our two political systems, e.g., how when a budget doesn’t pass in the U.S., the government shuts down while in Canada an election is triggered.

This was the week when Trump threw a fit and slapped another 10 per cent penalty on us over Doug Ford’s TV commercial about Ronald Reagan’s anti-tariff comments. Trump, obviously, believes he can muzzle free speech in Canada as well as in his own country. It was also the week when it was announced that Canadians travelling to and from the U.S. will have to have their photos taken for facial recognition.

(And this is president gets offended when there’s a 35 per cent decline in Canadians visiting the U.S. by land, 21 per cent by air, and wonders why we’re not at all interested in becoming his 51^st state.)

There wasn’t unanimity onboard that Trump is an idiot but I’d say there was a fair amount of agreement that the two-party system in America is failing because Democrats and Republicans just can’t compromise with each other on anything anymore.

One of our new friends, a Democrat whose husband is a Republican, loaned me a lengthy New York Times profile on Zohran Mamdani, the social democrat and Democratic nominee who’s a shoe-in to become the next mayor of New York. Later, we compared thoughts on his impact on American politics.

Meanwhile, her husband, an airforce veteran, believes strongly that the Trump-and-Pete Hegseth dog and pony show in front of U.S. generals was “long overdue” and that the American military has been short-changed for many years despite being expected to always save the rest of the world.

Well, I said, the U.S. “was a little late coming to the table in World War Two but we appreciated you joining us.” His smile acknowledged my point, and he went on to say that people should be able to disagree without being disagreeable and that, sadly, it doesn’t seem to be the case right now.

And that’s what we were rectifying in our own way, pleasantly disagreeing on some things but very often agreeing, with no more rancor than if we were discussing the weather.

When you spend a week on a small, crowded ship out on a river, there’s no room for egos or high horses. You break bread together and enjoy the comfort of being able to exchange ideas in a safe environment.

(It was kind of fun that much of the history of this part of our country, and therefore a major focus of our various stops, was the War of 1812 between Canada and the U.S. That war was supposed to end hostilities between our two countries.)

On the final day, as we disembarked, there were hugs, fond farewells, invitations to “come visit,” and maybe even a few tears. It was a reminder that our disagreement isn’t with Americans, it’s with Trump’s version of America.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.