I’ve Been An Expat For The Past Two Elections. Thank God.
To say that the past four years have been tumultuous for Americans would be a severe understatement. They have been trying to grind out a living and get on with their lives in the face of an overwhelming amount of difficulties placed before them.
Unfortunately for them, there is no escape from the reality that plagues them.
Political instability, continued police violence, and the COVID-19 pandemic have all been playing out across media outlets 24 hours a day for years now, and American frustration can be seen as people take to the streets and spread vitriol over social media.
Whichever side you’re on for any particular issue, it’s almost become too much for any one person to endure.
It’s like watching a balloon being steadily overfilled with air. You know it will eventually reach the point where it explodes with a startling pop, only this time it’s filled with sarin gas. You feel it coming and you just hope that those responsible for it will finally stop.
It has become an inescapable reality of being in America. The ills of society and government leech into every nook and cranny of life, even if you don’t want it to. Every local news station, every primetime TV show, every radio station and podcast shoves it down your throat. Add social media like Facebook, which has become a cesspool of conspiracy and hate, and it becomes too much.
That’s why I’m happy that I’m not in America anymore.
I get to write this article from the comfort of eastern Europe. It may be cold and grey outside, but I’m warm and comfy at my desk, next to a warm radiator with a cup of hot coffee.
And even though I’m writing about the horrible state of the United States, I get to ignore it whenever I want. I can turn on Spotify, go shopping, and walk through the city, all without having to see or hear anything about what’s going on in the US.
I first left the US in 2014, relocating to the United Arab Emirates. I got to watch the 2016 election unfold, with pundits and voters celebrating a certain victory by Hillary Clinton. I watched as the country began to tear itself apart, with half the population buying into Donald Trump’s populist rhetoric and empty promises.
Then I watched as Clinton’s hubris cost her the election and placed the future of America into the hands of a celebrity real estate agent.
I was able to ignore most of what was going on in the US, simply by putting my phone away. I was afforded a luxury most Americans weren’t. I got to turn a blind eye to the sideshow going on on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Then the unthinkable happened: I moved back to the US.
More specifically I moved to Charlottesville, Virginia. On August 5, 2017.
The next weekend, everything I had been able to ignore and not bother myself over came to my front doorstep, when white supremacists descended on the home of Thomas Jefferson and killed Heather Heyer.
There was no more hiding from it.
The daily deluge of police killings, children being ripped away from parents and put in cages, and rampant corruption became too much. My wife and I made it two years, but that was it.
I’ve been gone from the US for about a year and half now, living in Cambodia for a year and purging the stress and anxiety as best we could. Even in the face of a global pandemic, I was happy to be away from the States.
When it came time to leave there and travel in the middle of COVID-times to Hungary, the 60+ hours of various flights and layovers was well worth it, just knowing I wouldn’t have to be back in the US for the upcoming election and the fallout.
I’ve watched as the outgoing administration has tried to subvert democracy and sycophants have lined up to support those efforts just to hold on to a modicum of undeserved political capital. I’ve seen the so-called “Million MAGA” marches and the dredges of society that have showed up to try and strike fear into the hearts of Americans.
But, all that has been by choice.
As someone who fancies himself a writer, particularly on politics and government, I have to be plugged into the news and social media to know what’s going on. So, I go out of my way to find the information and do the occasional bit of research for my own edification and to be better informed on the issues I write about.
But, I can just as easily put my phone away, close my laptop, and sit down with my daughter to read some Captain Underpants books.
Yes, there are downsides to being on the other side of the world. I don’t get to celebrate many holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family. When my grandmother passed away a few months ago, I couldn’t be there for my mother or attend the funeral.
These are just the realities that I have chosen to live with in exchange for what I get back in return, which is the ability to close it all off and enjoy some peace of mind.
Now, with a new administration coming in there may be a lull in the obscene thrusting of salacious news into the everyday lives of Americans. I don’t think that will come to pass, however.
With new extremist media outlets like One America Network and Newsmax gaining ground with the ultra-conservative groups across the country, it seems like it’s going to business as usual.
With that in mind, I’m going to close my laptop, put on some good music, ignore the news, and take a walk downtown for some groceries.
To those of you who can’t do the same, I wish you good luck.
