America First
There were many reasons behind my decision to leave my job and New York. A long held dream of long term travel; a quest for self; the overwhelming feeling that the time was now. Among these reasons was an increasing dissatisfaction with America. It was summer, and the Democratic party was licking its wounds after the eviscerating primary fight between Clinton and Sanders. The Republicans were scratching their heads, having ended up with the unlikely Trump result, like the twist at the end of a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie. The ugly populism of giant walls, healthcare repeals, and political infighting was rearing its head. I stopped being surprised by mass shootings. I couldn’t even bring myself to watch the Olympics that summer. My patriotism was spent; I needed a break from America.
So I left. I started in Tokyo, with its admirable tight gun laws, and moved on to explore most of southeast Asia. Along the way I met many expat Americans who, like me, had hit the road after growing anger with the US. They waxed poetic about living in Asia: the food, the culture, the much, much lower cost of living.
And I got it. I did. I loved nearly all the places I traveled in Asia. And on the whole, I felt safer than I typically do in the US (see above: gun laws). But getting out there and seeing more of the world also made me appreciate some big things I had begun to take for granted in my home country.
Health
Ok, the US definitely does not have its shit together here. Even as someone who has been lucky enough to be insured for most of her life, I have had my fair share of insurance company battles, out of network doctors, and unexpected bills…and that is as a healthy, insured person. But regardless of what you think about the Affordable Care Act, and the utter shenanigans of American insurance companies, imagine living in a country where if you get seriously ill, the best healthcare is a flight away. Imagine not worrying about the flu, but about malaria. A friend fell on his motorbike in the Philippines and the closest hospital didn’t even have an xray machine. I will never complain about having to go crosstown to find a specialist again.
Water
The water crisis in Flint, Michigan is terrible. But what a country where the idea of contaminated water is a major news story, not a daily reality for every single citizen.
It took me several weeks to fully expunge my Asia habit of brushing my teeth with bottled water. Imagine needing to use bottled water for nearly every single daily need, apart from washing your clothes. And then imagine having to pay for that bottled water when you are living in poverty.
Freedom of Expression
Propaganda billboards in Vietnam. Jail time for insulting the monarchy in Thailand. My appreciation of my right to speak my mind in America exploded when I was traveling through countries that do not have this freedom. Protests, directly engaging with our officials on Twitter…these are things I no longer take for granted, especially as, post inauguration, these rights are under attack.
After the election, my heart was broken and I was no longer so sure I wanted to return to America. I felt I no longer understood my country, my countrymen and women. Although no one was forcing me out of the US, I felt displaced. Perhaps an expat life was for me, after all.
But here’s the thing. All of these things that I came to realize are special? They still are. And they’re still mine. And yours, too. So yes, Donald Trump, I agree: it’s time to put America first. And I am going to do that by sticking around and fighting for the rights that are being threatened by you.
