On departing the U.S. (simulcast at contentgoeshere.com)

[substitute]

Since a lot of my Internet-linked friends and acquaintances are either liberals, libertarians, or leftists I have heard a lot lately about leaving the U.S. because of disgust with or fear of the current government and their policies.

Let's talk sense about this.

1. You can't just "move to Canada" or Sweden or France or the U.K. or anywhere, really. Unless you're independently wealthy and/or retired it just doesn't work that way. You have to go through an immigration process and it's long and painful. It can easily take years for even an experienced professional with a job offer to get through the thicket of bureaucracy that any well-run country erects for immigrants.
   
   
2. You can't run from Imperial America. Canada is an especially laughable choice here; when we sneeze, they get a cold. The long arm of U.S. power extends to every place in the world, certainly to every place you could stand living. Go up there and watch things get worse here if you want. At some point an apologetic Mountie will arrive to explain that you're being deported back because of a joint security agreement.
   
   
3. Foreign countries, surprisingly, are different. The peculiar luxuries, freedoms, and opportunities of our country will not be present there. Things cost a lot more, the weather is different, and the justice system may shock you. If you're not already an experienced traveler who enjoys surprises and strangeness, it's entirely possible you'll hate everywhere but home.
   
   
4. Cowardice is not rewarded, either in respect or in results. Stay and fight for what you believe. Whether you are a libertarian who despises Ashcroft's new police state, a liberal who rejects warmongering and theocracy, or a core leftist despairing at corporate America, there is work to be done here. Defeatism is a self-fulfilling apocalypse.
   

In sum, don't leave unless you have another good reason to do so and a plan for achieving it. The wealth and privilege and freedoms you have as your birthright carry with them the obligation to serve your country in its time of need. Be a citizen first for a change. If you leave here, your new home will demand no less of you.

Comments

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[yoscott.livejournal.com]

First off, great post.

I have always valued your opinions on many number of subjects, however... As a citizen who's concerned about the future of America and what appears to be a social regression on the horizon, what am I to do? I am not going all Baldwin and fleeing the country because of the election.

However, that said... This truly is going to be a landmark election, with anywhere from 2-4 new conservative Supreme Court Justices being appointed, and only nobody knows how many other crazy policy changes on the table, such as changing the requirements for presidency, constitutional amendments BANNING things (the first since prohibition.) This could change social policy in America for anywhere from 15-20 years minimum, and could have a ripple effect until long after we're dead.

So, as someone who doesn't believe in the system (the electoral system, the political beauracracy system, and most importantly the the system of government where there are no checks and balances (a system we are about to enter into, as all three branches will be politically aligned)... What am I supposed to do? Just sit back and suck it up?

I sat in my 14x14 cubicle today, knowing that over the next 6 days I'm going to work 14 hour days without overtime, or any form of compensation for working so hard. I just got home... and I know that each night as I get home I'll have at least 2 to 3 hours of studying for a meaningless degree that I've been asked to get by employer. And I've been going at it like this for ages, working and working and working for what? nothing. No hope for a better life. I can get more money, sure, but my vote still counts the same. And all the taxes I pay on my paycheck supports a country and programs that I don't agree with and don't support. Granted there are SOME programs I probably DO support with this administration, and in a perfect administration, I probably wouldn't support them all. But now some of my money is going to go to supporting children learning about Jesus in private schools, and in a year or so, my tax money will be supporting all sorts of other god over science intiatives like the fighting of stem cell research.

Man, and I dont even want to get into all the issues about how this administration will actually PROMOTE bigotry toward race, gender, sexual orientation and religious affiliation.

I didn't think this loss would actually affect me as much as it did, but it profoundly has. I firmly believe we're moving toward another 4 years living in a Kingdom of Fear and Hatred. And I dont mean Fear and Hatred of Bush. I mean Fear and Hatred of that which is not Us. Xenophobia will reach all time highs and Americans (particularly those who voted for Bush and buy into the Kingdom of Fear and Hatred) will continue to shun and push away that which we do not understand, assuming we have all the answers.

It's a vicious cycle that will unfortunately never end in our lifetime. For some, the idea of an alternative culture to our regressive one, such as moving to Canada or Europe where progressive values are more prevalent is appealing. Sure, there are downsides to these foreign lands, just like there are downsides to OUR land...

One thing you say in your post...

You say Defeatism is a self-fulfilling apocalypse. Well, that may be the case, but, by all accounts, the sanity of America hs been defeated for some time now. The apocalypse is just around the corner.

But it's a good statement, it shouldn't just be applied to politics.

Re: ...

[substitute.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the praise.

If anything can fix these problems, it's middle-class rage like yours. If we use that power before they take away the middle class, we might get the country back.