Is It Time To Leave The Country Yet?

I hear tell that several very wealthy Americans are setting up shop in the Caribbeans. Are they getting worried about something? My grandfather always said that you don't poke a polecat, and our fearless leaders are preparing to do just that. You see, we don't want Iran threatening Israel with weapons of mass destruction, but we REALLY don't want them to dump the dollar, which they are on the verge of doing. Of course, any sensible non-psychotic government would have invested in alternative energy technology long ago, and greatly reduced the dependency on the Middle East for oil, but it's too late for that now. And, Iran certainly will fight back, giving
Bush the perfect excuse to finish off the last of our civil liberties.

Another item of grave concern is the surreal announcement by John Snow, Secretary of the Treasury, that we have passed our debt ceiling, and are now in technical default. This is bound to make foreign investors awfully shaky. But still, the band plays on, and a war with Iran will take our debt to where no debt has gone before.

Halliburton has just been given a 385 million dollar contract to build internment camps for Homeland Security. There are over one million Iranians in the U.S. today. Do we have a match here? At any rate, SOMEBODY'S going into those camps. And, those who vigorously oppose the deployment of such camps when the shit hits the fan will probably find themselves IN one of those camps, and not particularly enjoying the experience. Perhaps it will be safer to oppose this policy from a distant vantage point as an expatriot. The question is, where to go?

Canada has gone over to the dark side, so that option doesn't hold up so well anymore. Australia is under the U.S. boot, and New Zealand has extremely strict immigration laws. Everyone knows that you can't migrate permanently to Europe unless you're wealthy, or a really good jazz saxophonist. That leaves the Third World and the communist countries, and neither is very appealing. I could see driving one of those 1955 Chevy cabs in Havana, but I don't like cigar smoke or president-for-life characters.

Hugo Chavez seems like a pretty good guy. I wonder if he would allow a large influx of American muckrakers, troublemakers, malcontents, and hippies into Venezuela. He could put us to work teaching English as a second language, and have all of his people fluent enough to understand what comes out both sides of our ruler's mouths. Then, they'll never doubt the veracity of what Chavez has to say about the U.S. And, lord knows, the Bush people would be glad to see us go. Maybe they'll give us travel stipends, and send us on our way. Bon voyage.

I would miss some of what still remains here, but, being a rootless cosmopolitan, I don't think culture shock would be an issue. They obviously play baseball in South America, and they're damn good at it. What major-league star isn't named Ramirez or Martinez? That works for me. Bohemianism and the arts flourish, and the same language of the soul is spoken. And, those enjoyable "jazz herbal cigarettes" are never far away. So what is there really to miss, besides friends and family? The Buddha recommends the way of non-attachment, and so it makes good practice to move on. Lawrence Ferlinghetti once said, let us arise now and go. The time for going may be at hand.