Why is emigrating from the US considered such a radical thing to do? Why does it dismay or even infuriate so many people that an American would consider leaving?
We readily accept people moving to the US from just about anywhere else. No one thinks immigrants have deserted or abandoned Russia, India, Ireland or the Dominican Republic. (No Americans, anyway.)
That must be a clue. We think of the US as someplace people move to, in search of a better life. We grow up hearing that the US is the greatest country in the world - and so many Americans believe it. The idea that anyplace could actually be better is simply unthinkable.
Guess what? People also emigrate to Canada - in droves. They come from all over the world, looking for the same things as immigrants to the US, plus greater tolerance, the guarantee of health care, a burgeoning economy that welcomes immigrants, and a generally more humane way of life.
8 comments:
Most of my closest and dearest friends are liberal. We have had our best of times going to concerts,getting tattoos together(no, not swastikas), watching indie films, attending festivals across country, and visiting art museums. Really great times. I love them and love all Americans. We just have different politics. They tolerate me and I tolerate them.Most of all we are friends first.
I never really thought the sky would fall with a Kerry victory and never really considered leaving. I wish you guys would reconsider.But,if not I wish you luck in Canada.
Remember some people you have had your best of times with could be a "red stater". Just my two cents.
It might be hard to understand if you're not a very political person, but I can't just say "our politics are different". I can't compartmentalize my life into "politics", "friends", "work", etc. My politics are my world view; they inform everything I do. It's not just how I vote. In fact, voting is the least of it. It's how I see the world, what I value. It's the core of who I am.
I don't demonize people who vote Republican. Swastikas would have never crossed my mind. But I can't be friends with people I don't respect. And I can't respect anyone who supports this war and this evil administration.
I don't love all Americans. (Why only Americans?) I love all people who seek peace and justice, no matter what country they happen to live in.
If you read this blog, you will see that we have been planning on moving to Canada *no matter who won the election*. This has little, if anything, to do with John Kerry. The US is an undemocratic, inhumane place, and getting more so all the time. I'm seeking a different kind of society, and I think Canada comes closer, no matter who lives in the White House.
Thanks for your good wishes.
"Remember some people you have had your best of times with could be a "red stater"."
I can assure you with total certainty that this is not true! We are all free to believe whatever we believe, but best of times? With me? I think not!
Ok, good luck anyway.
Peace.
Backatcha, Eraserhead. Thanks for the rational thoughts. :)
The above comment was from Veritas, who I respectfully requested not post here again. He offered some of his so-called conservative (read: reactionary) opinions, including an anti-abortion comment, which is not welcome in this space.
I am, among other things, a staunch supporter of reproductive freedom and an abortion access activist. I am on the militant end of the pro-choice, pro-woman spectrum.
Lest there be any blather about how leftists don't tolerate dissent, this blog is not a space for open debate, nor for hit-and-run one-liners. This is my personal space, and I am under no obligation to give equal time to points of view that disgust me.
A note on these comments and several that follow.
Since Blogger changed the way comments may be deleted, making it possible to erase them completely (without a "comment deleted by..." marker), I have gone back into older posts to completely expunge some unwanted and offensive comments. I have not, however, deleted my own replies to those comments.
My replies to now-invisible comments may be confusing. But I left them to stand as markers for where and when these offensive comments originally lived.
notice that u just cheered for my goal here. Thanks!! :)
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