I hear it all the time: America is doomed! It’s a dumpster fire! Democracy is over, etcetera, etcetera! Let’s all move to Europe! Oh wait, they have far-right, anti-immigrant leaders, too? Okay…New Zealand? Or there’s always our good old friendly neighbor to the north, right?!?!

Lefties have been threatening to move to Canada, off and on, since George W. Bush was elected in 2000. The cries grew significantly louder after Trump’s first and second elections. And I get it—these are two administrations that were elected despite losing the popular vote; two administrations who have launched unnecessary foreign wars while simultaneously chipping away at American civil liberties. And let’s be real, Trump’s greed, narcissism, and lust for power makes Bush look like a thoughtful elder statesman in comparison.

Of course, we despair when it felt like our votes didn’t matter and as we’ve watched congress and the courts cede more and more of their duty to act as checks and balances.

But I’m not ready to give up on America, and neither should you.

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America is Not Nazi Germany

World War Two looms large in the American imagination, and with good reason. There’s been plenty of scholarship devoted to recording and sharing the stories of those Hitler persecuted, particularly Jewish people. Who upon hearing these stories of lucky escapes, doesn’t imagine themselves in their shoes, fleeing the Nazi death machine? Who among us doesn’t scan the headlines from time to time, wondering about our country’s own descent towards fascism?

And yet, thankfully, we are not there. Yes, there has been persecution of certain groups, particularly Brown and Black immigrants. This is awful, disgusting behavior that we should not tolerate. And the good news is, most Americans (60%) don’t.

We saw the power of resistance in the fight for Minneapolis last January. We’ve seen it in the national outcry against Trump’s thuggish policies. And we’ve seen it in Trump’s cratering approval ratings. Yes, there is a core of MAGA followers who, it seems, will follow their dear leader to the gates of Hell, but most Americans won’t.

Using Our Privilege Wisely

It’s one thing to stand in solidarity with those who are persecuted, it’s another to imagine ourselves persecuted when we are not. As I wrote about last month, we must always check our fears against evidence. And when I look at the evidence I see that I, a middle-class white woman living in Seattle, am not being persecuted.

What to do with all this privilege, then? Move to Canada out of some fear of what could, hypothetically, happen?

Moving would be a lot easier for me than for most of the folks reading this. Immigration is always—bare minimum—a huge pain in the ass, but I’ve lived in Canada before. Both my kids were born there. (Thanks for the c-sections, British Columbia!)

But when I think about the people I admire, such as Martin Luther King and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, these were people who stayed and fought. Bonhoeffer came to America during the Third Reich to learn from American Civil Rights leaders. He could’ve stayed, but instead he wrote to Reinhold Niebuhr (author of the Serenity Prayer):

“I have made the mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period of our national history with the Christian people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people”

Bonhoeffer was eventually killed for his acts of resistance against Hitler. And, of course, King was assassinated for his activism. Do I undermine my own argument by holding them up as examples? I must concede: resistance is never a safe road. For reminders of this, we need look no further than the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

And yet, I keep coming back to Kant’s Categorical Imperative.

What in the What Now?

Don’t be scared, I’m not going to pummel you with philosophical jargon. Basically, the Categorical Imperative is a way of asking if an action is morally permissible by imagining that everyone is allowed to do this action and then asking whether the resulting world would be better or worse.

Take stealing. If I want to know whether stealing a pack of gum from the 7-11 is moral, I can imagine a world where everyone is allowed to steal packs of gum from 7-11. I imagine gum shelves gone bare and gum companies going out of business because no one pays for their products anymore. Probably there would be chewed gum stuck everywhere. Clearly this is a worse world; therefore, stealing gum is unethical.

So what if I make the rule that every time a president comes to power whom you didn’t vote for who enacts policies you find unjust, you are allowed to move to Canada? In our current polarized situation, wouldn’t that mean half the country emigrating every 4-8 years? Who would be left to push back? Who would hold wannabe dictators accountable? Wouldn’t we just be ceding our country to extremists?

Introducing “Stuck Together Summer”

This question goes beyond where we live. I think our culture is one in which it is very easy to leave. We are people who move frequently, who can quit clubs, groups, or friends with few repercussions. We’ve seen this in the decline in religiosity and civic groups and the rise of going no-contact with family members.

In some ways this is good and necessary—no-fault divorce saves lives. No one should be forced to stay in a relationship or a community that’s abusive.

And yet, I do wonder if this era of The Big Sort has shortchanged us in some ways. If we’re always eying the exit, do we miss opportunities to repair and build deeper relationships? Are we becoming too thin-skinned and individualistic?

So this summer, I want to look at the idea of Commitment, or what I’m cheekily calling “Stuck Together Summer.” Here are some questions I have:

* when is commitment helpful vs. harmful?

* how do you know when to quit a relationship or community?

* how do various communities work through conflict?

* how do groups set up rules and norms?

* what about the Tragedy of the Commons and things like climate change?

* should Liberals reclaim patriotism?

* what role do progressive Christians have to play in fighting Christian Nationalism? (i.e. can we save the church in America?)

* when is it a good idea to reach out to others with different beliefs vs. to stay in our own bubbles?

What comes to mind when you think of commitment? (Fun fact: this word eliminated roughly half of the 7th grade during my middle school spelling bee.)

Do you have communities or relationships where you glad you stuck it out? Or the opposite: times when you stayed too long?

As always, I love to hear your thoughts (seriously, this group is the smartest comments section on the internet!) Feel free to comment publicly, or DM or email me if you’d like to share something more privately.

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