Unpack That Suitcase!

All during the Bush years and now at the thought of a McCain/Palin presidency, I continue to hear the same whine from some people: If X or Y happens, I'm going to leave the country. I'll go to Canada or something. I can't stand living here anymore. I know that some people don't really mean it when they say it. Sort of like saying, "I could just kill him." But some do mean it, and I absolutely cannot stand it when people say that. It hits a nerve in me for multiple reasons.

I think the primary reason it really scabs my liver is that it's such a cowardly thing to say. It would be different if, you know, the government was rounding up American political dissenters by the droves and imprisoning them, blackballing them from work, killing people because we were rioting everywhere, massively controlling the content of schools (you know, rewriting the history books like North Korea does), etc. This government does not do those things. I get that George Bush sucks. But as much as he sucks, I cannot honestly believe that some regular Americans feel so persecuted by his being in office that they must simply move away. It reminds me of Xians whining about persecution because they can't forcibly make kids pray in schools, when the early Xians got devoured by lions. Know the damned difference. Are you really that wimpy?

And on the subject of cowardly wimps, what the hell is everybody else supposed to do back home? You know, the ones who can't afford to leave. Who will help them and stand up for them? Who is going to stick around and make sure the children are not indoctrinated? (Think of the children! lol) If the problems with education, for example, are so severe, seems to me that calls for intelligent people with backbones to stand up and make a difference. That's how things get changed--by individual people working at small things that end up making a big difference. That's always how it happens. Who is making a difference now?

And on the subject of making a difference, that's another corrolary to what makes me aggitated at people who say such things. What are you doing to make it better? Are you exhausted because your efforts have gone unnoticed, unappreciated or because they were opposed? Most of the time it turns out the person doing the bitching has done nothing to try to fix the problem other than whine about it on an internet forum. And that bothers me, because if the person ever stopped to think about why there were such problems in the first place, they would discover that they are part of the problem.

I'm sorry, but it simply is not enough anymore to cast your vote, or even to be an informed voter. The problems our government has are due to the fact that people in power are no longer beholden to the people who elected them--they are in the pockets of lobbyists and at the mercy of power players behind the scenes who could make it difficult for them come re-election time. There's more to it than that, of course, but that's sort of a quick and dirty DV analysis. In order for the people to become more important than the lobbyists, the people are going to have to get louder. Not whinier, just louder.

Call, write letters and email the people in power. Go to their stump speeches and ask them difficult questions. Actually meet the people who are elected to represent you, especially at the state level--they are easier to meet than you'd think.Write into the newspaper, join a political group. Join a nonprofit that actually does things in your community. There are plenty of things you can tackle that actually doesn't require the government to really do a damned thing, like helping clean up that stream that runs in your neighborhood. Or getting out and befriending the neighborhood kids so that they have more role models and safe adults to turn to in times of crisis. Boycott something loudly. Just quit bitching on the internet as though you've had all you can take. You sat on your hands and opened your mouth, so don't be surprised at what was on the spoon. (What a weird analogy.) It's not like you spit it out or slapped the spoon away or offered to fix a different meal. So quit bitching about what somebody else cooked for dinner. Quit being a bunch of lemmings.

Even if they really wanted to leave the US, though, people obviously have done very little research on this "choice," which is likely indicative of how little thought and preparation they put into their own political activism. At some point, if there was a mass "migration" to Canada, I'd love to be sitting on the border watching, preferably with a few cold beers, when the Canadian immigration officials basically said, "WTF do you think you're doing?" People can't just up and move to another country. I know some people think the USA is the only place that has immigration laws, but it isn't. 99% of all known countries have some sort of rules about who gets to move there permanently. Our system is just so bogged down because of the sheer number of people who want to come here (in spite of George Bush). It is difficult to relocate to Canada. Here's a link that demonstrates how you can do it, if some of you are actually still interested. Just like the USA, some of the categories for immigration include being adopted by a Canadian family (if you're a kid, of course), if a Province "nominates" you, or basically says it desperately wants to have you there, or if you go through Quebec, which has its own set of rules, or if you have family there with at least permanent resident status who can apply for you. Otherwise, you can only apply through either the business class or the skilled worker class. As an example of what the business class immigrant must demonstrate, check this out from the link:

The business class is further separated out to investors, entrepreneurs and self-employed people. Investors must have business experience, a net worth of $800,000 Canadian and must invest $400,000 Canadian into the Canadian economy to qualify. Entrepreneurs also need to show business experience, either in owning a business or a share of a business. They will need to have an net worth of $300,000 Canadian and be able to manage and operate a business that creates at least one full-time job within 3 years of becoming a permanent resident. Self-employed applicants need to have experience, intention and ability to establish a business that will create employment for them as well as make a contribution to the Canadian society. Or, they must purchase and manage a farm.

Proving you can be viably self-employed is far more difficult than you might think. You can always try to declare asylum; most countries allow you to declare asylum. But that entails proving that you are in imminent danger if you are sent back to your home country--no? Ah. Well then. Of course, you could always stay in Canada for about 3-6 months simply by stating as you cross the border, "I declare asylum!!" It works basically the same way it does here in America. While your case is pending a hearing to grant you asylum (or not), you remain in Canada. In one of their jails.

In any case, why not simply stick around and actually engage in civic participation for a while? You want national healthcare insurance? Fine. The American Medical Association actually agrees with you, as does the majority of American people. How are you going to make your voice heard so that you get what you want? One thing you could do is check out their voicefortheuninsured.org and check out what they're doing with that. Want Bush impeached? Who are you going to complain to in order to see that it happens? A good hint would be: not an internet forum. If you're fed up enough to see things change, as opposed to just whining for whining's sake, then roll up your sleeves.

There's a lot of work to be done, and we need fewer slackers.

-- DV