Leaving America?

During the 2004 election, I was a graduate student in history, and I was amazed at the level of hysteria I found among my colleagues, both faculty and students, surrounding the re-election of George W. Bush (of whom I am no fan). Several people I knew, who were highly knowledgeable about history and who should have known better, made grumbling remarks about moving to Canada (a nation of which I am quite fond). I said at the time that this nation has survived wars, depressions, assassinations, and the presidencies of Franklin Pierce, Warren G. Harding, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter, and that if you have so little faith in our society, people, and government as to abandon it because you don't like the results of an election, then I for one welcome your departure and would like to encourage you in your emigration.

Something similar applies here. If you have so little faith in our nation that you would seek greener pastures in Third World nations and elsewhere because of fear, loathing, and what appears to me to be an unjustified panic, then please do so. You see, my part of the country, California, is getting kinda crowded because of all the people from around the world who want to come live here, and we could use the extra space. Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.

-—My comment on Rod Dreher's Crunchy Con blog at Beliefnet.com