Post-President Trump expat life tempting, but fundamentally un-American
In light of Donald Trump’s perplexing presidential campaign continuation, many Americans are beginning to face the frighteningly real possibility of a President Trump, but some foreign countries say they have a solution.
A website called Cape Breton Island If Trump Wins has recently appeared offering a “new life in Cape Breton, where women can get abortions, Muslim people can roam freely, and the only ‘walls’ are holding up the roofs of our extremely affordable houses.”
The clear allusion to some of Trump’s more contentious political stances has resonated with many Americans, and the website has been flooded with responses. So much so, in fact, that the website’s owner, Ron Calabrese, has created a FAQ page to intercept some of the more than 2000 inquiries the website has received so far, according to Time Magazine.
And Cape Breton isn’t the only place deemed friendlier than a Trump led America. The internet is now host to countless posts along the “Top Seven Countries to Move to if Trump Wins” derivative, and even some more questionable suggestions have surfaced, such as Rwanda. That may serve to call into question how harmful Trump’s politics could truly be.
This may not come as a surprise to many, given the reality TV-esque 2016 election season rodeo unfolding before us. Trump’s divisive views on everything from immigration to Rosie O’Donnell, cataloged on his infamous Twitter feed, have driven many Americans to despair. Rather than uphold our most sacred pledge as a country to provide “liberty and justice for all”, Trump seems to believe in liberty and justice for all of Wall Street maybe, or just all white Americans.
So, it’s easy to see why Canada or Australia or even Ecuador host so much appeal for the beleaguered American voter. Yet, to do so, to leave America and become an expatriate is fundamentally un-American. It’s an affront to the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have fought to create this land of the free, who have given their lives to protecting this bastion of democracy, who have built homes and lives and families and histories here. It’s an affront to the immigrants who overcome staggering odds to give their children and their children’s children a free life, one of opportunity and possibility.
Yes, America is facing complex social issues, a legacy of racism and prejudice, and many economic travails. Yes, there are devastating problems in how our country has evolved and how our government functions, but the true heart of America is that this is our land. We cannot forget that America has moved forward so much, and will continue to do so, with our support. We, as the American people, cannot allow the smallest, most vocal, most schismatic portion of our country to dictate what America stands for. If the compassionate, reasonable people who uphold America’s greatest values leave for parts unknown, we will have failed to uphold the Constitution and the ideals that built the foundation of this free democracy.
We must not forget that anger is part of democracy too. Rather than give up, abandon all that this great country should and still can stand for, we need to join together. We must be active citizens, informing our neighbors, starting the tough conversations about sensitive topics that have been neglected for too long. We need to vote for a president who stands for the ideals of all of America, not just the select few. We need more educated young people, like those at Skyline College, to be involved in the election process, and committed to joining together as one nation, indivisible, truly with liberty and justice for all.
Our civic duty as Americans is to stand together, and to remember that it is not through the hostile politics of Trump or a mass emigration, but rather through the bond of community and the commitment to our country that we will genuinely make America great again.
Alex H • Mar 11, 2016 at 6:41 am
So being an Expat is un-American, eh? I’m an expat and served honorably in the Navy. So tell me, how have you served your country you ungreatful ignorant fuck?
James • Mar 10, 2016 at 4:37 pm
“To leave America and become an expatriate is fundamentally un-American.” Excuse me, I thought America was the land of the free? If you really believe people are unpatriotic if they live somewhere outside their home country, you would feel right at home in North Korea.
John • Mar 10, 2016 at 3:40 am
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are ultimately American. And if that means moving abroad, so be it. Americans like you have completely lost the understanding of what it means to be American. The original Americans moved abroad to escape persecution and seek better lives. The American revolution was fought to unshackle colonists from imperial taxation, yet the U.S. does the very same with its expatriates. Please try to become less provincial. Myopia like yours is killing the country.
David Nicol • Mar 10, 2016 at 2:25 am
You say: “to leave America and become an expatriate is fundamentally un-American.” As a US citizen who has lived outside the USA for 30+ years, you not only offend me and the millions of hard-working Americans living abroad for a variety of reasons. But you expose yourself as an unthinking fool. My children, probably around your age, both US citizens born and raised abroad, agree with me (in fact, they’re less polite in their responses).
Of course, I agree with your point that leaving the USA just because ‘your’ candidate didn’t win is stupid. The fact is, no one ever actually does so. In my three decades abroad, having met hundreds or thousands of fellow US expats, not a single one left the USA because “xxx got elected”. We left because of many reasons, among which that many countries are much better places to live in than the USA.
Still, your remarks are offensive to expatriates, tarring us all with a sinister brush. Though if you’re a student, then you may be off the hook. The underfunded, myopic American education has failed you for making you so closed-minded toward the rest of the world.
Alexander • Mar 9, 2016 at 11:33 pm
Are you saying that the seven million+ Americans who live and work outside the borders of America are ‘un-American?’ Even though they pay citizenship-based taxes to the USA while also being taxed by the country where they live? Even though they may be running businesses which are related to exports and imports? Or working in overseas universities or promoting America as a destination? Are study abroad students un-American? Is falling in love with someone and moving internationally for their job un-American?
“Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us.”