I don't recognize America anymore. I have a way out.

[sinkingfeeling]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ive-got-my-trump-card-will-i-use-it-to-leave-the-us/2019/05/27/eb347a1c-7d7c-11e9-8ede-f4abf521ef17_story.html?utm_term=.b429187d21a4

It represents an option to exit a United States I now barely recognize — one that almost daily distresses me with its xenophobia, its saber-rattling, its theocratic leanings, its denial of facts and science, its tribalism, and its petty and boorish president. I think of that visa as my “Trump card.” Come 2020, if the nation chooses to continue on this toxic path, it may well be my way out.

I have not made up my mind what my own course will be — nor can I until the United States again has the opportunity to voice its priorities and chart its future. As long as I am here, I pledge to promote American values. But at 68, I feel the need to live where I am at peace with the government and the people. I will vote at the ballot box, and then I may vote with my feet.

A year ago, I visited the German concentration camp Dachau. Our English-speaking guide, a retired army colonel, began by reminding us that Adolf Hitler came to power with a single compelling message: to “make Germany great again.” He repeated that comment and paused long enough to allow it to sink in before commencing a tour that chronicled the lunacy of a nation devouring its own.

But history does not come with warranties. And, in the end, the pursuit of happiness, be it political or geographical, must take each of us where it will. Is that not the definition of liberty? Yes, we are a nation built upon arrivals, but departures, too, are an essential part of the American story and, sadly, could be part of mine as well.

[genxlib]

1. I am sure that many of us feel this way

And I am keeping my options open.

But I do take issue with one paragraph in the linked article that was left out of your summary.

But unlike Germany after World War I, the United States has suffered no such humiliation. It was already great (I prefer “good”) — flawed, yes, but great nonetheless. I have no longing to join the ranks of the dispossessed, and I retain the hope that this country will find itself again.

I would disagree because I think 9/11 was such an event. It seems like ancient history but it is right in time with the slide from the Treaty of Versailles to the rise of fascism. I don't believe we will get anywhere near that bad but I see us vulnerable to the same kinds of manipulation. We fought two wars to try and satisfy our rage and yet we still felt nothing but emptiness and impotence. Our national psyche is suffering from untreated PTSD and it will lead us to some dark places if we don't find a way to deal with it.

[montanacowboy]

2. We too are checking our options

Getting paperwork started with a future meeting in SFO with Embassy for dual citizenship. We cannot live in this country if that monster is chosen by Russia again.

[Nitram]

3. Good luck finding anyplace in the world where there are not racists, xenophobes, and garden variety

a-holes. I've lived all over the world, and they are everywhere. They are called conservatives.

[Blue_Tires]

4. Anybody want to tell him #Brexit England is just as batshit?