Failsafe systems said
to be infallible that fail

The more we attempt to provoke change, the more vulnerable we are to failing

By Georges Dupras

January 15, 2026

There isn’t a system in the world that is immune to failure. Banking, justice, medical, military, computers, politics and so on. The more we attempt to change, the more vulnerable we are to failing.

Democracy is a work in progress, and thus imperfect. When, in my youth, I questioned the American political system, I was told that it was one of the best in the world. Many failsafe barriers were put into place to prevent abuse at any level.

Rationale Trump(s) laws

When Donald Trump was first elected President of the United States in 2017, the first hints of significant change began to emerge. In 2025, when Donald Trump was re-elected, the electoral system, the Constitution, the justice system, education, and the Defence Department (now the War Department) were tested in an unprecedented manner. Freedom of speech and expression have been challenged as never before, and the geopolitical landscape has become a chessboard for personal power and wealth. The American government is now seen as unreliable to its allies and a liability to their sovereignty.

Freedom of speech and expression have been challenged as never before, and the geopolitical landscape has become a chessboard for personal power and wealth.

As we approach the November midterm congressional elections, Mr. Trump has suggested he may cancel them due to unreliability. At the time of this narrative, the President appears to have stepped back from this suggestion. How can a man with his tainted record qualify as the leader of the strongest military in the world? This question must be addressed and resolved by the people of the United States as soon as legally possible.

Power corrupts

Since the Congress was never consulted, his military incursion into Venezuela may be illegal. With his repeated statements of taking over Greenland, one way or another, it is becoming increasingly difficult not to take him seriously.

Pursuit for oil aside, the illegal drug problems in Venezuela must be addressed by the people of Venezuela, and the Sovereignty of Greenland must be decided by the people of Greenland and Denmark alone. The U.S. President has acted unilaterally, without congressional approval, and he even undermines NATO—the defensive bulwark against threats, including his own.

There is a history of one man, not taken seriously at first, surrounded by a core group, invading a neighbouring sovereign state, then another, and another. This resulted in the deaths of between 50 and 85 million people.

‘Law enforcement must be held accountable and not protected by national security shields. Environmental protection laws and regulations must not be reversible, on a whim by one office.’

I’m not suggesting that the Trump Administration will follow through on his musings of a 51st state, but I am saying that we should seek resolutions, without alienating the American people, who are not our enemies.

Prime Minister Carney has begun this process by expanding our trade partnerships to include other countries and making Canada less dependent on U.S. trade.

Controlling key departments or ministries

Times are changing rapidly, and the whole idea of Supreme Court Justices, appointed for life, needs to be rethought, as do the powers of the presidential office. Law enforcement must be held accountable and not protected by national security shields. Environmental protection laws and regulations must not be reversible, on a whim by one office.

If we have learned anything, it is that no system is infallible. As computer hackers can compromise the most advanced firewalls, there are those who can, and have, manipulated our best national safeguards, for personal ideologies or profit.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WestmountMag.ca or its publishers.

Feature image: Sarahmirk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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