One’s enemy reveals himself by degrees.

Vladimir Putin’s Russia did not suddenly show itself to be the enemy of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. At dawn on that day, yes, Russia launched air and ground assaults on Ukraine, from the North, South and East. Yes.

But Russia had been massing troops on its border with Ukraine since 2021. Putin had penned bellicose essays justifying his planned war, promoting “the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians.” Threats were made, over and over, to Ukrainian leaders. Russia’s transformation into the enemy of Ukraine did not happen overnight. It had been underway for some time.

So, too, Donald Trump. He has transformed himself into Canada’s enemy, and the word is not overstatement. The dictionaries define “enemy” as “a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.” That is effectively what the newly-returned President of the United States is, now: the one who is actively opposed to us, as a people and a nation. The one who has repeatedly shown hostility towards us.

The evidence is not difficult to find. There has been a lot of it, for weeks, both before and after Trump took the oath of office (without, we note, placing his hand on the Bible).

• Trump has said he will use “economic force” against us

• Trump has repeatedly said he will impose 25 per cent tariffs on us – which will result in hundreds of thousands of Canadians losing their jobs and a recession

• Trump has said he wants to take over Canada, and make us the “the 51st state”

• Trump has mocked our leaders, from Justin Trudeau to Pierre Poilievre

And, this week, Trump broadcast his apparent hatred of Canada to the world – to an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davis. (And, permit us some amusement about those who used to loudly fulminate about WEF-related conspiracies – and how they have gone deeply silent since their hero showed up there.)

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To us Catholics, there are sins of “commission” and “omission.” 

Sins of omission happen when we know we should have done something right, but didn’t. A sin of commission is one where we actually take some action – in thought, word, or deed. Those sins can be intentional or unintentional.

Politically, there have been an awful lot of sins happening this week. Sins of commission and omission, everywhere.

The American ones are well-known.  Newly-reinstalled President Donald Trump pardoned about 1,500 convicted rioters who stormed Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021. Among them were white supremacists and neo-Nazis. One, Robert Keith Packer, became well-known for wearing a sweatshirt that read “CAMP AUSCHWITZ” and “work brings freedom.” On the back, it said “STAFF.” He got out, which is Trump’s sin of commission.

Trump’s top unelected advisor, Elon Musk, also was arguably sinful, too.  Musk got onstage at Capital One Arena in Washington, where Trump was holding a rally.  Musk thanked the assembled MAGA folks for “making it happen” and then – twice, not just once – made a stiff-armed salute.

A debate immediately commenced as to whether Musk made a Nazi salute or not. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, who is a history professor at New York University, said on X: “Historian of fascism here. It was a Nazi salute and a very belligerent one too.” Israeli academic and activist Shai Davidai wrote on Instagram that “doing a Nazi salute is never okay…you’re normalizing that which shouldn’t be normalized.” The Anti-Defamation League, which used to take issue with Nazi symbols, posted a much-maligned message saying “this is a delicate moment,” can’t we all just get along, blah blah blah.

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