The flip of a calendar into a brand-new year brings with it hope, anticipation, and sometimes trepidation, even fear.
Our nation has come through an exhausting and divisive election season, with about half of Americans pleased with the outcomes and the other half of us less than thrilled. Paul Krugman, a retiring columnist for the New York Times, wrote in his final column about the disparity of optimism 25 years ago when he penned his first column and now. He notes that it is “hard to convey just how good most Americans were feeling in 1999 and early 2000. Polls showed a level of satisfaction with the direction of the country that looks surreal by today’s standards…. The public no longer has faith that the people running things know what they’re doing or that we can assume that they’re being honest.”
Krugman is hardly alone in his observation that our outlook on our country has changed dramatically in the last quarter century. In addition to our own opinions—whatever they may be, there are more concrete indications of declining optimism.
Perhaps most startling is the reality that some Americans—no one knows how many—are thinking of leaving the United States for nations they believe to be more stable, have a better quality of life, have a less contentious electorate, have a lower cost-of-living, or are just more appealing for whatever reasons. Some have concrete plans to leave their homeland, and some are already gone.
Evidence of this movement, however small it may be, is clear. CNN reports that searches for “move Canda” hit a 12-month peak in early November, before dropping back to last year’s level. Other nations, including Portugal, Spain, and Italy report increased American traffic on their websites and calls from Americans exploring the possibilities of relocating. Expatsi, an enterprise that helps Americans move abroad for whatever reasons, said that in the runup to the November elections, 60,000 people used its service to match with another country.
Since the elections, more than 48,000 more Americans have done so. Two of my own friends have purchased homes in Europe and spend time there, one in France and one in Italy. Both are middle-aged men.
No one knows, of course, how many Americans are considering or acting on a move to another country, and the numbers are surely small. Moving one’s home is inherently complicated, and moving to another country takes that to another level.
The gulf that divides us is wide, deep, and, for some, bitter.
We have been here before.
Historians tell us the decades surrounding our own Civil War saw strong divisions, and within the memories of many living Americans, the social upheavals bookending the American conflict in Vietnam remain fresh and painful. We have survived and thrived despite these and other difficult periods in our relatively brief national history.
Our past is one of a diverse, innovative, and tolerant people.
We bring our own experiences to the collective table, and so far, we have been able to reconcile ours with those of others who come from different places and traditions.
I have hope that 2025 will be a year in which we heed the words of the centuries-old serenity prayer---accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
I wish all of us a healthy, happy, and peaceful New Year.