Okay, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Canada is great. It's probably a lovely place to live, and it’s not that I don’t want to move to Canada. Here’s the thing though: I don’t want to leave America.
We’ve all been hearing for the past year or so that “if Trump wins, I’m moving to Canada,” and, “if Hillary wins, I’m moving to Benghazi since I know she’ll leave me alone there.” I understand the sentiment, and I agree that America may not be a very pleasant place to live in the coming years. If you want to move to another country, that’s fine, and I totally understand. The idea of escaping from the current state of affairs is definitely appealing. With the number of people claiming that they’ll leave, I won’t be surprised if some actually do. I won’t be one of them, though.
I am way too proud to be an American to leave. I absolutely love travelling and experiencing new places and cultures. Every time I read about a significant place from history, I want to go and see it and stand where the people in the books stood hundreds or thousands of years ago. I have a special piece of my heart that will always love other places, and sometimes I get “homesick” for a place where I’ve only spent a few days. I even love sitting on the airplane to get there. I’m sure that I’ll always love travelling, but travelling is temporary. When I go to other countries, I stay as a visitor, not a citizen. I’m a citizen of the United States of America, and I intend to stay that way.
Chances are that you’ll read this after we know who our next president will be. I’ve prepared myself for each outcome, and I’m bracing myself for the news. Instead of dwelling on the current state of affairs, though, I try to remember how our country began. I remind myself often of the words that were written when our nation was born. I go over the preamble to the Constitution in my head: “We the people . . .in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, . . .promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Francis Scott Key wrote of “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Our Founding Fathers had such great dreams for our wonderful country. We’re driving those dreams farther and farther out of reach, but those words still contribute a large part to our country’s identity.
There may not be much justice soon, and the general welfare may one day refer to welfare checks being given out to the general public. The blessings of liberty may start to be taken away, and our home is already becoming less and less brave. However, all hope is not even near to being lost yet. We’re still one of the greatest nations in the world, and there are obviously plenty of people who want to live here. If you’re an American citizen, you’re already part of one of the best countries in history. Why on earth would you want to give that up?! Yes, our prospects are looking a little rough at the moment, but we still have a fighting chance. Take a moment and count your blessings, step back and look at the big picture, and realize that you should be proud to be an American.
