After the
2000 elections, the internet was crawling with people promising to immigrate
from the U.S. because they were worried about the coming Bush II
administration. Many celebrities
promised to leave for Canada or Europe.
As it turned
out, the Bush II presidency was disastrous for the U.S. However, I don’t know of any major celebrity
who renounced U.S. citizenship and left for better political climes. When one considers that the media celebrity,
actors, and other prominent public figures can afford to fly to other nations
for lunch or a long weekend, and often do; does it honestly matter if they choose
to reside in a smaller vacation home or apartment while demonstrating their
discontent with the political and social situation. Bush II did indeed involve us in two
undeclared and unpaid for wars while allowing financial manipulation that
nearly destroyed the world’s economy. I
can’t however, recall any celebrity who immigrated or in any manner changed my
life. The names Robbins, Baldwin,
Sarandon, and Streisand come to mind but caused no concern for me. We survived the Bush II years, incurring
horrid damage to our nation
When Obama Replaced
Bush II the same threats to leave the U.S, came pouring out of right wing
celebrities and religious fanatics.
Huckabee, Limbaugh, Nugent and a host of others whom I would not
recognize on the street if they carried a large ID banner, and whom I would not
miss for one instant, routinely display their pettiness and bigotry on what
seems to be a weekly basis. Like their
more left wing analogs, they have not fled the country and most likely will
not.
During the
Bush II years, Gloria and I often expressed out displeasure with the course set
by the theocons, neocons, cronies, and those who became the teavangelists. We did not threaten to leave our nation of
birth for another place more in concert with our views of how life should be
and how the nation should be governed.
When my older
son decided to move to Canada and become a Canadian citizen, both Gloria and I
felt it was a good thing for him to do.
His wedding allowed us to see a bit of Vancouver and to meet my cousin
Danny. Both of us are quite intrigued
with the Vancouver region.
Now the
electoral cycle has the nation in turmoil again with people backing both
candidates while promising to leave the nation if their preferred candidate is
elected. This year, Gloria and I are
truly worried. If Romney-Ryan wins the election,
we are worried that this nation will be shoved back in time, culture and social
safety nets to the 1900s. It is not
difficult to see a theocracy replace our republic. It is not at all difficult to see every
social and political gain such as Medicare, Social Security, and women’s
suffrage stripped from existence.
For the first
time in my life, I’m seriously thinking that immigration might be the best
course for Gloria and me to follow. This
is not a promise or a threat, not a prediction or a plan. We think that we might be better able to
enjoy the next part of our life without the threat of religious fundamentalism
hanging over us. We don’t want to see
our access to medical care vanish; we don’t want to be governed by financial
houses and greed. I’ve never feared the
results of a presidential election as much as I do this one. That pronouncement even includes the 1968
election that directly concerned my personal safety and longevity.
For the time
being we will vote, watch the returns, and hope for an outcome that doesn’t
hand the nation over to the oligarchs, theocrats, teavangelists, and
thieves.
Just for
useless information, as the crow flies, it is 3 miles to North Carolina, it ca.
709 miles to the Canadian border.
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