Answering the question of whether returning home to the US after 15 years is feasible: Reflections on emigration, shared values, and the trajectory of the American nation-state
Excellent letter written by a very good wordsmith. I will restack and spread as far as I can. There have been moments when I was ashamed of my country. But they came and went as I hoped for a return to progress and better values. But now...but now my shame is enormous and it is also overshadowed by my horror and fear.
We are watching a fascist employ tactics that should have millions in the streets protesting. But we barely hear a whimper. How dull our senses have become. How ignorant of the consequences we are. It is going to be very ugly. A lot of people will suffer.
How bad will it have to get before we rise up and dispose of this nightmare?
Very eloquently put and so tragic in its conclusion. That healthcare issue has made things quite simple for us: we would not be able to afford to return even if we wanted to. But now, for the reasons you also describe, we do not want to go back. Sometimes, I guess, decisions are made for us, by the direction of external forces.
Here in Paris, none of my expat friends and I were consider returning. But we discuss it all the time. Like you, we have left but we still deeply care.
This is an excellent piece. Everything you write rings true to me, although I left the USA so long ago, and without a thought to health care. The French system is being chipped away bit by bit, and I actually support a bit of that, but I think the fundamental rights will never be taken away. I hope I'm not mistaken.
No road home for me, and I suspect not for my children either. We’ve been here a decade. They’ve grown up in Amsterdam, gone to Dutch schools. They’re saturated in the culture and values of Europe, and so am I, more so with every passing year.
I guess my main feeling these days is a hope that Europe keeps those collective values instead of following (as it does in so many ways) the way the wind blows across the Atlantic.
You’re right to put healthcare at the centre of American society’s worldview and values. Beyond the practical issue, it’s a measure of how Americans see mutual responsibilities on all levels; how they (we) define what a society is *for*. The other paradigmatic issue is public transportation. We guve a lot of lip service to equality of opportunity. Those two areas, if run well by a partnership of government and the private sector, well regulated and affordable to *all*, would enormously advance equal opportunity. The fact that there’s no will to di either (there are some exceptions) shows that equality is not a real goal, just a meaningless slogan. I’m more optimistic long term than you seem to be, though.
Yes, agreed about public transportation. I haven't had a car for 15 years, and frankly haven't felt I'd need or even want one. As for optimism, that's difficult to see right now, for me, anyway.
Excellent letter written by a very good wordsmith. I will restack and spread as far as I can. There have been moments when I was ashamed of my country. But they came and went as I hoped for a return to progress and better values. But now...but now my shame is enormous and it is also overshadowed by my horror and fear.
We are watching a fascist employ tactics that should have millions in the streets protesting. But we barely hear a whimper. How dull our senses have become. How ignorant of the consequences we are. It is going to be very ugly. A lot of people will suffer.
How bad will it have to get before we rise up and dispose of this nightmare?
Very eloquently put and so tragic in its conclusion. That healthcare issue has made things quite simple for us: we would not be able to afford to return even if we wanted to. But now, for the reasons you also describe, we do not want to go back. Sometimes, I guess, decisions are made for us, by the direction of external forces.
Thoughtfully written. My concerns for moving were different and healthcare here is a bonus. At this point, I’d never go back.
Sara S another ez-Pat in France
Thanks for reading and for your kind remark. How things have evolved makes me quite sad.
Here in Paris, none of my expat friends and I were consider returning. But we discuss it all the time. Like you, we have left but we still deeply care.
May I repost on my Substack “Out My Window”?
Hi Sara, Yes, by all means, feel free to restack my essay. Again, I appreciate your reading it and responding.
This is an excellent piece. Everything you write rings true to me, although I left the USA so long ago, and without a thought to health care. The French system is being chipped away bit by bit, and I actually support a bit of that, but I think the fundamental rights will never be taken away. I hope I'm not mistaken.
No road home for me, and I suspect not for my children either. We’ve been here a decade. They’ve grown up in Amsterdam, gone to Dutch schools. They’re saturated in the culture and values of Europe, and so am I, more so with every passing year.
I guess my main feeling these days is a hope that Europe keeps those collective values instead of following (as it does in so many ways) the way the wind blows across the Atlantic.
Yes, I share that hope as well. Things are looking grim there right now …
You’re right to put healthcare at the centre of American society’s worldview and values. Beyond the practical issue, it’s a measure of how Americans see mutual responsibilities on all levels; how they (we) define what a society is *for*. The other paradigmatic issue is public transportation. We guve a lot of lip service to equality of opportunity. Those two areas, if run well by a partnership of government and the private sector, well regulated and affordable to *all*, would enormously advance equal opportunity. The fact that there’s no will to di either (there are some exceptions) shows that equality is not a real goal, just a meaningless slogan. I’m more optimistic long term than you seem to be, though.
Yes, agreed about public transportation. I haven't had a car for 15 years, and frankly haven't felt I'd need or even want one. As for optimism, that's difficult to see right now, for me, anyway.