by guleblanc
Tue Jun 28th, 2005 at 06:01:44 AM EST
This is not completely on topic for the European Tribune, but perhaps it's not too far off.
I'm thinking seriously about emigrating from the US to the UK. I have several reasons for this.
- I have two sons, one 9 and one almost 13. I am dreadfully worried about the draft in the US. It's hard to see how the US administrations, now or in the future, can meet current military needs without it.
- I am also worried about the pernicious influence of religion in the US. The military, especially the Air Force, is riddled with evangelical believers, whose fealty to their religion seems stronger than their fealty to the constitution or the nation. I wonder, if the Rs lose one or both houses of our national legislature in the 2006 elections, if the military will take the loss with equinamity, or will declare the election void, and establish the Christian nation they say they believe in.
- I also worry about the effects of the uncontrolled US deficit, and how that will affect US influence in the future, for good or ill.
- Finally, as my friend Dan says, I ask myself this question: What should a German liberal in, say 1930, have done? Clearly, many of them chose to flee, and I wonder if that is the correct thing now. Clearly, Germany suffered materially after the Great World War. The US is not looking at anything so materially devastating. But the impending loss of the War in Iraq, following the loss of the War in Vietnam, will have a devastating psychological effect on the US population. Americans have seldom coped with such malaise well.
I have found that there is a UK program for people with letters behind their name, so I think I can be admitted , and can find employment there. But I wonder if it is really a good idea. I had been reading Stirling Newberry, Armando and Jerome à Paris on dKos and here, and I wonder what is the future of the EU, and will the UK actually withdraw if the going gets difficult. It's hard to believe the UK can survive without hitching itself to some other star. Other than the EU, what are the alternatives, after all? If my intuitions about the US are right, aligning with the US is a disaster. Aligning with the Chinese, as Australia seems to be doing, seems difficult for the UK. Is Russia a possibility? Probably not. And if my family and I emigrate to the UK, and the UK flounders, what good is that?
So, I guess my question is, how can I find out more data to help me answer my fundamental questions, which are:
- Is it a good idea for a US citzen to emigrate to the UK, or to another EU country?
- Is the future of the US as grim as the future of Germany in the 30s, and, if so, what should a liberal minded, technically skilled secular humanist do?
Thanks for any help you may be able to give me on this.
