Fear

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Bloganuary writing prompt
What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?
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I have to admit that I am struggling to find an answer to this one. I have a couple of thoughts, but nothing I would ever share publicly. The difficulty is the second question. There are a lot of things I am scared to do, but none of them are things that I would ever consider actually doing, you know what I mean?

There is one thing that comes to mind that fits the spirit of this daily prompt. One thing that I am scared to do that I will do if the circumstances require it… or at least I would consider doing it in the right situation. What is it? Move out of the United States.

In 2016 the prospect of a nazi winning the US presidency led to a lot of discussion about possibly emigrating to a new country. Jen and I discussed it a little and agreed we could not leave our family behind even if we did find ourselves in a fascist dictatorship. We talked in general terms about where we could go. Some place where English is the first language and (hopefully) had a warm climate. In the end we didn’t leave even though the nazi did win the white house. 

Unfortunately for American Democracy and for civilization, that same nazi is running for president again. His rhetoric was bad in 2016 but it is already so much worse now. He is openly talking about dictatorship and half of the registered voters in the United States are still supporting him. He may be in jail by the time the election rolls around (he should be in jail now, but he will never see the inside of a cell because that’s how corruption works, right?) but he’s still going to win the republican nomination and he still could win the general election in November. 

If he wins again, do we consider leaving the United States again? Maybe. I think we will at the very least need to revisit the discussion. The topic is a little terrifying in terms of figuring out where to go, figuring out how to get there, figuring out the legal issues, and not to mention the implications for the US itself. It’s pretty scary, all right. Would I do it? No, I don’t think so, but I would have to think about it. We’ll see what happens. 

Would we move to Canada? That would be easiest but it’s cold there. England? Scotland? Ireland? Australia? I think Scotland would be the favorite for us, though it’s cold there too, isn’t it? If it were just me it would probably be Ireland, but for my family as a whole it would be Scotland. I doubt it will ever come to that, and the prospect is very scary to me, but if it does… I guess we’ll see.

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Published by robertjames1971

I'm wicked tall.

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7 thoughts on “Fear”

  1. I’m so scared about this happening. I wish I could say there’s no way he would win, but I said that last time and look what happened! Back in 2016, I was *this close* to leaving the US. I did have some limited resources where I could leave the US. Maybe I should have done it because now, today, in 2024, I can’t even afford to move across the street!

    I’m really terrified that the Oompa Loompa will somehow pull it off this time. If he gets in, he WILL turn this place into a dictatorship, even worse than the first time around. And, we’ll be trapped. He’ll probably try to block all planes and ships from leaving the US so that none of us can escape. OK, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but you can never count anything out with that Orange Hitler! Be prepared for the worst. But, in the meantime, also hope for the best!

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    1. I agree with your fears. They are very real, and each day it appears we are closer to a new reality. As for leaving the country, I might do what many of my acquaintances have done, move to Mexico. The language is easy and the weather is warm. US dollars are worth more there. Medical care might be a question.

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  2. If you can figure out a way to move to Scotland on a permanent basis, I sure hope you let us know! We’ll be coming with you. But I believe it’s pretty hard to emigrate permanently to another country, without at least someone to sponsor you. I tried to look into it back in 2020 (when the Nazi won the first time) and could find no way to actually accomplish it.

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  3. We’ve tossed around the idea of moving to Canada. It’s cod, but it seems to be the easiest option. I’m in a position, I could apply for dual residency now through ancestral ties, if I wanted/needed to. We obviously haven’t done it, and likely won’t, but it does come up, more often in these politica years..

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  4. Assuming the worst, I think many of us who stay may be forced to discover our own latent capacity for violence. I overcame my fear of guns by buying one and learning how to use it. It goes against everything I believe in, but one has to make exceptions for the basics of human life; eat, sleep, mate, and DEFEND. For all the fearful scenarios the right has concocted over the years about the govt (and i’ve been listening to them for decades, FEMA camps etc…), it’s those on the left who will bear the weight of those projections.

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