OT: Exile -- or maybe not

There's a pretty powerful piece at dKos by karendc going over some of the elements leading to her and her husband's decision to leave the country -- apparently to move to Canada, though it's difficult to tell, since the focus shifts so often in the post. The point is not where they're moving to, the point is that they're moving. So long. Bye bye.

Since the advent of the Bush regime, there have been periodic outbreaks of "That's it! I'm leaving!" from various progressives, liberals, and anti-Busheviks of all stripes, and some Americans have chosen to expatriate themselves or to actually exile themselves from their country, at least until the Long National Nightmare of Bushevism is over, if not forever. Some, like Glenn Greenwald, have chosen a half-way "outta here" solution. An escape to Brazil, but still able to return to the USA when a new book is out or the spirit moves him.

Americans in exile from the Busheviks is often compared to Jews who chose to leave Germany as the Nazis consolidated their power. They were the smart ones. They got out in time. Who would have imagined the Holocaust that awaited those who were left behind?

Many of those who were left behind in Germany, and approximately all the Jews who were eventually slaughtered by the Nazis in the rest of Europe and the Soviet Union had little choice in the matter. They couldn't afford to leave, or they had no place to go if they could afford to leave (how many potential Jewish exiles were sent back to the Reich for "processing?"), or they were prevented from leaving, or their nations were conquered so quickly by the Nazis they had no time to get out. Or, as was often the case, they had no idea what awaited them when the Storm Troopers marched in.

And so, by the millions, they perished, while almost no one did anything to interfere with the slaughter.

And we hear the cry, "Never again!" And we know it is hollow. Slaughters of the innocents continue apace. And not solely in darkest Africa.

Is there a reason for Americans to choose exile or at least temporary expatriation while the troubles of the Bushevik era are worked out? Of course. Will any substantial portion of them be sent to the camps and thence to the ovens if they stay? Hard to say. Will things get worse before they get better? More than likely. Are there havens outside the country for Americans choosing to leave now? Apparently.

For the Ché household, leaving the country seems ridiculous. Though we've travelled extensively within the country, we've never been out of it, and never had much urge to travel in foreign lands. Besides, some of us at Casa Ché are indigenous. Whose motto is "You! Get off of my ranch!"

Internal exile is something else again. Someplace to go within the confines of the country, if everything starts turning to shit (oh, it already has, has it?). Many Americans have already chosen that option; it is the traditional American response to social and political developments not of ones liking. Find some remote corner of some backwater and settle in there, make a community of like-minded folks, put up a "No Trespassing" sign and be done with it. Until the winds of whatever change have blown over or you've become acclimated to the changes that have occurred.

Thankfully, my prognostication powers have diminished over the years, so I have no particular insight into Things To Come any more. My sense (such as it is) is that there will be no President Barack and there will be no President Hillary. There may not even be a President Princess McCain. Could well be that events of some sort will intervene, and come November, we may not have an election, and come December, we may not have a President, except perhaps in a hyphenated version, like "General-President" or "Acting-President" or what have you. And for the most part, at least at first, this shift from the hollow shell of a Republic to the outright declaration and imposition of Autocracy will have little direct effect on most people. Other Things, let's say, will take priority.

But over time, maybe a relatively brief time, the Autocracy will be felt more and more by more and more people. A highly regimented and conformist society, much like the nation experienced in the 1950's, would be the goal. More than likely, it will be successful in time. There may be much misery in store before Victory Day, however.

If history is any guide -- and of course, we're entering uncharted territory for Americans -- those who choose internal exile will mostly do fine, though there will be some high profile exceptions, as various "militant camps" are raided by private armies or exterminated by Hellfire missiles fired from Predator drones. Public dissenters will be rounded up and sent who knows where. Many will probably not return, but their fate will not be known to their loved ones. "Disappeared." Oh well.

Most Americans will get right with the New America right away. It's what they do. There is no significant constitutency for the Self-governing Constitutional Republic that will be gone once and for all, and those who insist on fighting the Autocracy will be routinely jeered and denounced as rabble deserving of whatever Fate has in store.

As Naomi Klein has long pointed out, when it happens, it will happen very quickly.

We are nearly there.