Should I still consider myself an American?
I have given up on our government. In fact, I have no faith in any level of American government – Populated as it is with lefty politicians and a complete left-wing bureaucracy.
I have given up on our elites – Corporate, academic, journalists and other media players, military brass, the legal system, etc. This is the outcome of fifty years of subpar and subversive education.
I have given up on half our fellow citizens (voters). Ultimately, these are the people responsible for our mess. I can no longer believe in respectful disagreement. In the past, I believed that we all wanted the same things, but disagreed on how to get there. Now, I no longer believe we want the same things.
And all three of the above groups allow no room for debate anyway. Why attempt to engage with anyone who does not wish to engage with you. And in fact, wishes you dead. Overstatement? Okay fine...silenced.
Are there aspects of being American that I still value? Sure, the place. That is the geography and landscape. The founding ideas and our founding documents. The idea of the melting pot. The lost ideals of individualism and self-reliance. But these are all passé according to the tenets of the current bien-pensants.
I just cannot be part of it anymore. For me, the stench of the Left's value system has become intolerable. Yet, their values have become pervasive. The stench permeates every nook and cranny of our society. For me, their heavy-handed response to Covid was the last straw.
So I had to leave. My wife and I have moved to her country, the Philippines. I would never say that the Philippines is a better place to live than the US. It has its own set of problems. But unlike the US, they are not my problems. I do not feel compelled to address them.
I do not know how long I will be away from the United States. Perhaps indefinitely. But I have given some thought to what it would take for me to return. One or more red state governors will have to say no. No, my state is not going to do that. And if you cut off funds, we will cut off federal tax revenue. And if you want to enforce it, we will arrest your agents for violation of state law. And we will not allow our national guard to be nationalized.
What everyone seems to forget these days is that as large as the US federal government is, it largely depends on states to enforce its nonsense. Stop! If actually pressed, I think you'd be surprised at how impotent the federal government is, at least domestically.
And red state governors would also have to root out the lefty enablers within their own governments – Because even those governments are full of them. Start with the universities. If necessary, cut their funding entirely. Ask yourselves: What purpose do they serve? Move on to K-12 education; fund students not teachers.
I feel sure that it is going to take this level of resistance, perhaps even more, for the US to begin to again feel like the US. To feel more like the US than Europe or even China. It may take war. So be it. Texas cattle ranchers versus New York and California educrats unsure of proper pronoun usage? Versus the whole Chicago and Albany grifter establishment.
And if I am wrong? Either about what is required or the will to get it done? Well, the American experiment is over. And the Philippines is a pleasant enough place to live.