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Why We Want To LeaveWe're not inherently anti-American: personally, I take pride in the fact that I grew up in a country that was founded by immigrants, people who took charge of their lives. Americans, by nature, are undaunted by any task; the stereotypes are true: we'll climb mountains because they're there, and I like that. While other countries may whither with complacency, Americans say 'just do it.' But 'just do it' is an ironic theme, since it also applies to a major corporation renowned for oppressing foreign workers and subverting overseas economies. Tonight we'll turn on the television and see anti-drug public service commercials that imply buying a joint supports terrorists, while it says nothing about the millions of dollars the last few administrations have poured into Columbia, funds that have gone directly to supporting the drug trade. And we'll see mind-numbing sitcoms that glorify mediocrity and intellectual atrophy; and perhaps we'll even see the ridiculously ironic concept of 'reality television'; or maybe a news program littered with impressive special effects and anchorpeople who have been so iconocized that they've taken it upon themselves to editorialize throughout lead stories. Or instead maybe we'll see a half hour of 'investigative journalism' celebrating itself, where journalists interview other journalists in one great backpatting orgy. No matter what the show is, it will almost certainly consist of some type of technological opiate taking itself very seriously while masking the painful reality that people are little more than markets, desire is constructed by advertising, and mad and wealthy, power-hungry cowboys in Washington really don't know what's best for you. And beneath it all is the obvious refrain that if you don't like it, you just ain't American. We want to leave because Bush America is beginning to look frighteningly similar to Hitler Germany, where a tyrannical ruler self-righteously appropriates countries through violence while citizens of 'suspicious' ethnicities are routinely rounded up for questioning and dissenting voices are oppressed in general. Our purchases are examined; our online and telephone activity monitored, and the whole time we're told others hate us for our freedom. We want to leave this country because we think it’s best days are past; a thirst for knowledge and pursuit of a perfect society has been usurped by an addiction to materialism that can never be satiated, and like a snake swallowing its tail, will only end in its own destruction. We want to leave because capitalism dehumanizes its citizens and celebrates mainstream popularity at the expense of true innovative art and philosophy. We’re leaving because this country has become a lie, and we simply want to live in a better place. Although few Americans will ever be convinced of it, there are better places. There are places where original thought is rewarded and intellectual curiosity respected. There are places where arrogance and aggression are not lauded. And there are places where it is not only allowable but recommended that one express one’s dissatisfaction with the government — a concept upon which democracy is based, but in this country is no longer practiced. And we want to leave because we know this country will be at war for many generations to come: defeating terrorism with violence is not only illogical, but impossible. Our military arrogance undermines any hope of victory over terrorism, as bombing countries back to the stone age will only foster more recruits against us. Besides, it isn’t their weapons that make terrorists dangerous: it's their passion, and it's a measure of our failure as a society that we can't understand that. Americans have little concept of wars that last longer than a few weeks; we are likewise horrendously ill-prepared for one that will outlast the lifetimes of our children. The only way to defeat terrorism is by changing the environment that fostered it to begin with. Imagine, for a second, that industrialized nations thought to pool their resources and actually help those impoverished: tried to feed the starving and create infrastructures in torn societies that would allow them to be self-sufficient. Imagine if we were more interested in finding clean means of energy instead of drilling for more oil and destroying the planet. Imagine if we weren’t interested in being the only country in the world capable of nuclear destruction. But we have our priorities, and they're clearly spelled out. Candidates may give obligatory lip service to improving our system of education and upgrading crumbling and increasingly dangerous schools. Once they're elected, things change, and it's apparent that as a country, we'd rather raise a million-dollar cruise missile than the average teacher's salary. We just want to live in a country that is interested in evolving; one whose highest cultural achievements are more significant than video games and drive-through restaurants; a country that prides itself on more than its military accomplishments, and that actually seems to care about its citizens. It may turn out that it’s not where we’re headed, but at least we know for sure it isn’t where we are. You might find us selfish in our "pursuit of happiness" elsewhere; you might ask why instead of staying put and fighting the good fight, we're calling it quits. The truth is that we are convinced American society is proving Orwell right, and it's high time to get out. |
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