#ImWithAmerica
Liberals threatening to leave is just as bad as “Make America Great Again.”
Here’s a fun fact about me: I have been living in Japan for the last six years. This summer, my husband (a Japanese national) and I decided to come back to the States with our 1.5-year-old to plant our roots in what we thought would be an America that was more progressive and thriving than the one we left behind in 2010. I was excited to bring my son back home with me and raise him in a place where diversity was normal and celebrated, and where I could tell him that he could be whoever he wanted, do whatever he wanted and love whoever he wanted, without fear. That’s the America I saw on the horizon. I could taste it.
Although I voted for Bernie in the primary, I happily cast my absentee ballot for Hillary Clinton a full month before the election.
Results started coming in around 9:30am Japan Standard Time. I woke up, fed my son and then turned on the TV to watch, full of hope. She had this in the bag. There’s no way the majority of people in America could support a racist, sexist, bigoted, xenophobic con man who sexually assaults women and literally asks Russia to meddle in our election or his supporters to take out his opponent. That’s not the America I know or love. I was actually already drafting a very different article for The Overtime to celebrate her victory.
My husband went out to pick up lunch because we planned to watch the whole thing unfold and celebrate every state that turned blue. But then the first two states didn’t, and I felt it in my gut. Something was wrong. Even though I wasn’t surprised by Indiana and Kentucky going to Trump, it made me feel anxious. It seemed ominous.
As the day wore on, Hillary picked up states, but every time it seemed like she might get some momentum going, another two or three went to Trump. It became obvious to me early on that this was going to be a rough ride. But I still had hope… until I didn’t.
Around 3pm my time (1am EST), I cried (for the first time). I knew it was over. We had done the unthinkable and it hit me like a sack of bricks.
Admittedly, like most liberals, I have made jokes in this election cycle about moving to Canada or New Zealand if Trump won. I even looked up the requirements for the latter (out of curiosity — mostly). In the months and days leading up to the election, friends would sometimes say that I was lucky not to be in the U.S. and that I should just stay in Japan or at least hold off on repatriating until after The Trump Years.
Predictably, as the results kept rolling in, people across the Internet started proverbially packing their bags to head to greener pastures. Advice from friends to stay put or questions about how sure I was about returning became more frequent. And maybe, in my initial disgust and shock at what my country had done, I even entertained the idea for a moment or two.
But here’s the thing: all of the places that people say they’re going to run off to have their own problems. Canada is not free from racism. New Zealand’s economy struggles like the rest of the world’s and is facing a healthcare crisis of its own as a result. And Japan is not the bastion of peace and tranquility many seem to think it is.
Also, you do not or would not have a voice to express your dissatisfaction in any of those places.
But all of that is beside the point. America is my home.
My husband and I have a whole host of reasons for returning stateside, none of which originally involved the government. Although raising a child in Japan is a lot easier for a few reasons (mostly healthcare), we still decided to leave. And one of those reasons was the social apathy that permeates Japanese life as a result of avoiding discussion about sociopolitical affairs.
I wanted to show my son a country where he can be, look and act however he likes. I wanted to show my son what it looks like when people really believe in something and fight for it until it changes. I wanted him to see that a rising tide lifts the whole boat. I wanted him to see the power someone exercises when they use their voice to improve the lives of others. I wanted to show him what acceptance and heart and guts really mean.
And that’s exactly why I am still coming back. And why you shouldn’t run away. This is our chance to do exactly that.
It’s time for fight, not flight.
Aside from the fact that most of the people who make the threat to pack up and run have no idea how hard it is to get a working visa or start over in another country, even making the threat to leave is everything that is wrong with Trump being elected. It is a gross exercise in privilege and entitlement. (Plus, many of you might be shocked to learn that if you’re a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident, you still have to pay U.S. taxes even if you’re not in country… and not doing so could have serious consequences. You maybe feel like you can put everything behind you, but you are not out of sight, out of mind for the U.S. Government).
The America I wanted to come home to… the one I know we are still meant to be… may still be years away. But rushing off to whatever country you manage to convince to take you is grossly selfish. It’s exactly the kind of conservative thinking that I despised about this election — What’s in it for me? I didn’t personally do it, so why do I have to deal with it? How can I find some peace of mind? It completely disregards the people who have been, are, and will struggle. The ones who are unable to leave. The generations after us that will have to sort all of this out by themselves, just like we’re now having to sort out the problems that generations before us dumped in our laps.
If you leave…. if I stay here… nothing will change. Ever. Everything will play on repeat. Voting from abroad is fine, but being overseas removes you from a lot of the political process, and it renders you somewhat powerless. This election will have repercussions all across the globe; it doesn’t even matter where you go. You will feel the effects without having much control over them, and you will be abandoning the very people you claimed to be championing by not voting for Trump. You will be a hypocrite, and you cannot run away from that.
So now, after having some time to wallow in my anger, despair and denial, I am fired up. I am coming home. I will do my part to fix this. I will work to make sure the America my son grows up in will keep moving forward toward kindness, love, and caring for all people. And you can do the same.
Get to work.
All hope is not lost. In 2018, the midterm election will mean every single seat in the House of Representatives and over 30 in the Senate will be up for grabs. That means in just two years, we could flip Congress. But it means staying. And canvassing. And phone banking. And volunteering to register new voters. AND VOTING.
I vow to do this.
Do not abide hateful and abusive speech toward women, the LGBTQ community, Muslims, Latinos, Blacks, the disabled, welfare recipients, etc. If you feel safe in doing so, call those people out. Be a safe haven for the ones who are under attack. Be an ally. And when you disagree with others, do so calmly. Do so with facts. Do so with storytelling. Do not incite. Do not yell. Do not give them a reason to use your delivery as an excuse not to listen.
I vow to do this.
Write letters. Make phone calls. Sign petitions. Protest when policies that you object to come up. Vote on referendums. Make Trump’s job hard as hell. Make him regret taking this job. Make it a pain in his ass. I’m not asking you to openly disrespect him the way he disrespects others. I’m asking you to get so vocal about the things you hate about his policies (which are vague at best) that you hold up the line to the point that he crumbles. We know it doesn’t take much, and there’s no rule that he has to seek a second term.
I vow to do this.
You can run for office. It doesn’t have to be for Senate or Governor or President. You can run for school boards, city councils, state congresses. If you learned anything from this election cycle, it should be that a grassroots campaign can be very powerful. If no one is taking up the causes you hold so dear, then maybe it’s time to get out of your comfort zone and do it yourself.
I am seriously considering this as a possibility for myself in the future, even though I have never once thought that I wanted to be a politician. It’s that important.
Because we don’t belong to this country. It belongs to us.
Dig your heels in and roll up your sleeves, America. Don’t turn tail and run. That’s never what we’ve been about.
I’m with you.
