I’ve been watching the news about the bills and amendments going through and the fights going on about what defines a marriage, or even a civil union. I’ve been watching the tug of war over abortion, over even organizations that provide abortion as one of their services. I’ve been watching the attempts at redefinition of rape, of personhood, of every possible incarnation to insert a few specific pseudo-religious value systems into a previously democratic government, across and in disregard of a multitude of diverse value systems. All of this despite the injunction to keep church and state separate.
Finally, I have to say that I am disgusted enough to truly consider expatriation. We considered it during the last days of the junior Bush’s administration. But it seemed for a while that things might get better. I’m not sure at this point that they will soon enough. I’ve never been much of an optimist, but I guess I did view this country with some degree of expectation and idealism. No country is ideal, because people are people. But here’s what it comes down to: What if Rosa turns out to be gay? What if she ends up carrying a child that endangers her health, or whatever the circumstance is that she feels that she can’t have a child? I’m pretty sure at this point, that she’s not gay, but who knows what will emerge when she’s old enough to realize that sex isn’t people kissing for a really long time. I despise the thought that in either event she will grow up in a state/country that doesn’t value her enough to recognize a significant part of her adult life, a committed relationship. Even worse, that it doesn’t value her enough to make medical choices that might save her life, whether psychologically or physically. I hate the thought of moving. I swore I was never going to move again. But I find myself considering the same question as my immigrant ancestors before they decided to come to America: Is there somewhere I can go to give my child a better life than the future I see on the horizon here?
