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Niagara Falls
Friday, February 7, 2025
Letter: Should ‘manifest destiny’ worry us here in NOTL?
Opinion. FILE

Dear editor:

In Niagara-on-the-Lake, we can see the former American Fort Niagara right across the river. Some Niagara residents nip over the border to shop.

“Manifest destiny.” It is a phrase used in the Jan. 20 inaugural speech of the newly-elected president of the country to our south.

Canada and other apparent “enemies” are threatened with economy-killing tariffs and other “punishments.” Boastful retaliation possibilities via Canadian supply of energy, power, oil and gas has to stop immediately. Rethink, rephrase and reread your history, immediately.

Manifest destiny is the American doctrine from the 1800s resurrected, on Jan. 20 this year. Star columnist Rick Salutin raised this issue in his prescient column several weeks ago.

Britannica’s definition: “Manifest destiny was the belief that the United States had the divine right to expand westward — and that all such exploration and expansion was God-ordained.”

Oxford notes that the expansion of the U.S. throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

The other critical phrase in U.S. jurisprudence includes the notion of a “clear and present danger,” originating in 1919 for protection of free speech and expanded now to include any real or perceived threat to the country.

Star columnist Salutin noted the stated intention of the U.S. “reclaiming” the Panama Canal, trying to buy Greenland for its abundance of minerals and other precious commodities and the casual mention of “economic domination” (annexation) of Canada.

Manifest destiny runs through these plans and Salutin provided clear examples — the U.S. buying Louisiana from France, Alaska from Russia, conquering much of the Southern U.S. in the Mexican wars, “the major genocides on First Nations,” the invasion of Vietnam in the 1960s and intervention in both Middle Eastern and South American regimes.

The Jan. 20 inauguration address included the following: “(W)e will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars,” said this new president.

When our premier and others threaten to cut off energy and power to the northern U.S. states in one of the worst winters ever, and the Alberta outlier throws a monkey wrench into a concerted effort to build a national Canadian front, the possibility of being considered “a clear and present danger” potentially justifies unilateral action against us.

One source (reginfo.gov) notes that Canada accounts for approximately 90 per cent of annual electricity imports in the U.S.

A critical and related fact — in the state of New York alone, there are 19 military bases, installations and headquarters (see the New York State’s Division of Military and Naval Affairs page: dmna.ny.gov) and yes, there have been over the years, suggestions to point that military power north.

Some of these bases are headquartered in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Rochester (3 Aviation Regiment) and Buffalo (Company A, Brigade Support Battalion, Engineering Company Support). There are military installations in Jamestown, Buffalo and Rochester in the mix.

In Canada, we are not allowed to shut down power to anyone in the middle of winter. What reaction do you think there would be should Canada take similar action against the U.S. this winter? A clear and present danger of freezing to death?

One Star reader stated bluntly that America wants our water. That’s a start.

Daphne Lavers
NOTL

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