Herr ZellerSomething wrong with your car, captain?
Captain von TrappYes, we couldn't get it started.
Herr ZellerKarl. Fix Captain von Trapp's car so that it will start. Excellent, Karl. I've not asked you where you and your family are going. Nor have you asked me why I'm here.
Captain von TrappApparently we both suffer from a deplorable lack of curiosity.
Herr ZellerYou never answered the telegram from the Admiral of the Navy of the Third Reich.
Captain von TrappI was under the impression, Herr Zeller that the contents of telegrams in Austria are private! At least, the Austria I know.
It's strange watching this movie and thinking about our current political context. Disturbing in many ways. History portrays Nazism as spreading like a blitzkrieg, but in fact, the onset was insidious. There was time to sit and think, well, should we stop it now? Has it gone too far? In our current context we could say: well, Congress has, at the request of the President, suspended habeas corpus (had a chance to restore it in the fall, but voted against it 56 - 43, four votes shy of the 60 needed to cut off debate), suspended rule of law, created gulag, allowed wire-tapping and illegal search and seizure. What's the threshold? When is America no longer the America I know?
I've hit my threshold. There are times I regret not leaving this country when Bush Sr. was elected because I knew then - the country was done for. Now, at least once a week I find myself thinking about where to go and when to go. Do I want to wait until the last minute, until we have to try to sneak out under cover of darkness? I know, that sounds irrational and dramatic. But can you afford to be wrong? To wait too long? What then? As my son pointed out during the cemetery scene when Rolf and the rest of the brownshirts are looking for the von Trapps, "they're going to kill them aren't they? Aren't they?" I reassured him, "No, this is a musical, most musicals have a happy ending." Well, folks, I feel a song coming on.
3 comments:
Your post happens to come at a disturbing time, because just this week another pair of good friends of mine successfully emigrated to British Columbia. Which makes me ask myself: what am I waiting for? How bad does it have to get before I make a move, and at what point is it too late?
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person who thinks about this. Most people I know seem to accept or at least appear unconcerned about the direction this country is going. They certainly don't obsess about leaving like I do. As a friend once said, being paranoid is another way of saying that you're thoroughly processing your environment.
Where would you go?
O, I fantasize about Ireland, land of my forebears, but Canada's much more convenient...and British Columbia is so beautiful. Plus, if global warming continues apace, BS will be the Oregon of the future in terms of climate.
Only problem is that the Canadians don't actually want most of us. The two recent emigrants I mention above both have skills the nation actually needs (they're fluent Spanish speakers). Whereas I believe Canada has a thriving theater scene without my contributions...EHS, what am I going to do??
Post a Comment