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Thanks for this Jason. I understand and empathize with your feeling of dread. I'm with you. I feel it even when I leave Chicago and Illinois for a less-civilized state---one with regressive politics and retrograde views on humanity.

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Having gone from living in rural East Texas to metropolitan New Jersey I know the contrasts you speak of within in our own country. My short time abroad was a good reminder that even in my more humane New Jersey we can't escape the forces vying to implement a radical reactionary agenda. I have been thinking this week, for example, about the potential debt ceiling crisis.

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Great essay Jason. I'm out of the country right now and man the level of dread is ratched down to about 5% of normal everyday life in the US. So glad to be gone even if I miss a few things.

Oh and I don't think you need to hedge your feelings by proclaiming your love of the US. Its just an arbitrary border set by white supremacist colonial ideology. Its OK to dislike it.

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I'm not hedging, I do love this country. It's like love of family, something I have no control over. I'd still be fine emigrating, but I do not possess the skills that other nations would want.

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