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October 27, 2004

should i stay or should i go?

a lot of people talk about moving to canada or some other country should the presidential election go to Bush this year.

it's something i think about, too. another four years of Bush and America will become a strange, deluded world unto itself, where women have no control over their bodies, and everyone who isn't wealthy will be struggling, at best, to make it through their elder years (or just to make it at all). we'll be shunned by the world; perhaps we'll even be attacked again by terrorists. we'll ignore the fact that entire continents are falling into chaos because their populations are being decimated by AIDS, until the chaos laps at our borders. our liberties will continue to be systematically removed in the name of safety and decency; formerly cutting-edge broadcast organizations will become bland wastelands. dissent will be considered morally wrong, as will any religious belief that isn't Christian.

it'll suck.

i'll stay.

i went to a quaker college during the era of south african apartheid. the quakers do a lot of work to bring political refugees to the states, to help them lead safer, better lives. i met a man named gordon who had thick scars across his back where he had been whipped by the police in south africa. he had seen his entire family murdered by the police. i met a man named mojomotse who told the story of finally making it to america, after a harrowing escape from south africa. he said that the day he arrived, he was so excited to be in a country where civil liberties are guaranteed that he accosted a man on the street and recited portions of the bill of rights to him. mojomotse was astounded to be living in a country where the law guaranteed that he'd be treated as an equal with other men, a country where he could express dissent without fear of whipping, arrest, or death.

if we leave, who will hold back the tide of morons who would change that?

Posted by lisa at October 27, 2004 09:54 AM | TrackBack

Comments

I've heard talk about moving to Canada to flee Bush too. But I think a lot of the people who say these things don't really mean it. And very few of the ones who do mean it would follow through. And I wonder how many of those would succeed? Emigrating to another country isn't as easy as moving to another state. I think Canada might have something to say about it if a huge influx of US progressives suddenly all wanted to move in. Can you imagine the editorials about those shifty US immigrants taking away their jobs :)

Posted by: Sarah on October 27, 2004 12:06 PM

yes, i think in the short term, you are correct-- few who say it/joke about it are really serious. however, over the long term i fear that progressives may become discouraged by the long-ranging effects of 8 years of bush (supreme court appointments, dismantling social security, the deficit, etc) and decide that life is too short and they need to go live elsewhere (if they can manage it).

so i wanted to say that not only should we stay, but that we should take an active role in pushing back the tide, undoing the damage. it's like voting; one person's contribution seems small but it's still important.

Posted by: lisa on October 27, 2004 12:18 PM

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