Alien

« In front of a headstone shop on Mechelinkatu, near the cemetery, an alien sits on the sidewalk as a suggestion for something different to liven up the headstone landscape. [The Helsingin Sanomat featured an article in 12.2004 explaining that this is a sculpture by Sakari Peltola entitled Lähettiläs [envoy]. »

As the crushing reality of the US election sinks in, I feel fortunate to have escaped Jesusistan well ahead of the rush. I hear a lot of friends back home say that they're going to stay and fight which, while quaintly patriotic, is a futile and masochistic endeavour. After reading some voter responses as to why they voted for Bush, I more certain than ever that the America we once knew, the one we think of in our dreams, is gone and has been replaced with people who have no intention of upholding the separation of church and state and have no intention of ever giving it back. Those who scoff and say that Roe v. Wade will never be overturned should really take a hard look at all the things falling into place necessary for that to happen. The people who voted for Bush want it and it will come. To quote someone who makes me laugh, "You don't have to be a church-addled fag-stabber to vote for Bush. But it helps!"

Leaving the US will take some time and planning so it would be best to start now and prepare for the difficulties that accompany the transition in becoming an expat. Harper's has a cute, if not terribly useful or informative for the serious to leave, article Electing to Leave. The only statement burning your passport makes is "I am an idiot." You have to have a reason to enter another country with the intent to reside there and those legitimate reasons usually fall within 1) student 2) family ties or 3) work. There are exceptions, of course, but Americans don't qualify for refugee or asylum status in any country as far as I know. Pick a country and talk to the consulate for details on how to apply for a residence visa. Reading some expat blogs may also help understand what life is like as well as choose a country.

It's far better to be an alien in a strange land than to be an alien in your native one.