The Trickle Becomes a Flood?Recently by Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers: 'Good Morning!' as a Defense Mechanism in Modern America
"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." ~ Maya Angelo I had many reasons for leaving the USA and moving overseas. One of the big reasons was, because of traveling outside of the USA a lot in university days, I began to realize that the story (brainwashing) about the USA being the "Greatest Country on Earth" (that we were all taught in school) wasn't exactly true. The propaganda involving American exceptionalism and how "we are different (better)" certainly wasn't true either. Many people's of the world are proud of their countries (rightly so) and think they are living in the best country in the world... I've met many those outside the USA. Before I had met these people, I was under the impression that everyone was desperately trying to find a way to escape their country and get to the USA... Maybe trying to escape to the USA was the dream of most people during World War II. It's not that way today. In fact, it seems that it's definitely become the opposite of that today; American people are trying to leave the USA.
I notice that, over this last year or two, this talk and the topic of folks escaping from the USA has gotten bigger and bigger. Of course, the MSM doesn't report it. The fact that online and offline publications (like my favorites International Man and Dollar Vigilante) as well as many other that have popped up supporting expatriation or diversifying out of the dollar, shows you what readers of LRC have known all along: People who can read the writing on the wall are getting out of the USA.
LRC has had many articles about this subject since just after the Invasion of Iraq. When I told my friends this in the early 2000s, they all scoffed. I doubt that they scoff anymore (or maybe they are still clueless or in denial). People with a basic grasp of Modern European History should have seen the parallels of what happens to a country that wages wars of aggression to what that means for the domestic populace. The historical record of the Jewish people and some wealthy and educated people leaving Germany and Europe in 1938 was a clue. By September 1, 1939, even those who wanted to leave, couldn't. That the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq were a precursor to today problems in the USA should have come to no surprise to anyone. Of course these types of foreign adventures and wars of aggression lead to a collapse of society; they always have throughout human history. To think that these incidents and wars would not lead to the current US debt, economic problems and a loss of freedom is foolish. To think that foreign wars would not lead to a suppression of the people and a rise of the police state is to ignore history... These economic problems and despair, and other recent examples such as the police beating of OWS protesters were completely predictable and the situation will only get worse. Or, even this wonderful tidbit about how well life in America is today from Reuters about a shopper pepper-spraying other shoppers or a man getting shot or the grandpa getting beaten while shopping should surprise no one.
Merry Christmas, USA 2011! Did you remember to bring a helmet and a flak jacket? And while we’re on the subject, what's the problem here, officer? What’s wrong with a woman pepper-spraying shoppers? If you guys can pepper-spray peaceful protesters then why can't this lady pepper-spray a pack of insane and possibly dangerous people out buying crap? I mean, think about it, anyone who would get up early and line up to buy cheap made-in-China junk must be insane and dangerous... At least dangerous to themselves! I think I can safely write this sort of review of the USA today, but even 7 years ago, when LRC ran a post I wrote about how bad the USA was becoming, in America is Bankrupt, I received much hate mail and even a few death threats. Today, from seeing so many different writings and publications on the Internet similar to what I had written, talking about USA expatriation is no longer laughed at, but has now become a common topic. The window has almost closed, folks. If you can get out now, you should. You won't be able to so easily in the near future. Jeff Berwick recently wrote an article right here on LRC entitled, "Escape From America":
Like I said, the people who can have gotten out while they can. It is not unusual to write about these things today. It was risky to do so seven years ago... But when I first decided to move to Japan in the early 1980s, there was no one that I could tell my fears to... In those days, if you had told anyone that you believe that the USA was way overstepping its authority and turning into the new Nazi State, American people would have thought you were nuts. To recall an experience when I was working at a company office before I came to the USA allows me to exemplify one case of just how twisted the modern American mindset has slowly become. In 1983, Ronald Reagan ordered the US invasion of Grenada. For me, this was a quick preview of what was coming for the USA. I didn't like it at all. In 1981, I had worked as a salesman / broker. The other salesmen were nice guys and most of them were typically at least 20-30 years older than me and many of them were ex-military men.
One day when I came to the office they were having a celebration. I walked in and it was a happy scene. A few dozens guys eating and having several "toasts." When they saw me they shouted, "Mike! Come on in! Have a drink! We're celebrating!" I grabbed a drink and was very happy to join the party! "Wow! Drinking at work? Cool!" I then asked, "What are we celebrating?" To which several guys smiled and said to me, "We won a war!" An older gentleman who was ex-navy said, "We invaded Grenada and won a war! The Vietnam war is over! We've won!" At first, I was happy too. But then it dawned on me... "What the heck are we doing invading some Caribbean nation. Why do these people celebrate? They probably don’t even know where Grenada is!" The MSM was reporting that we invaded that island nation to save US university students... Then the story was something about 5,000 Cuban regular army on the island building an airport... There were so many excuses. (Sounds like Iraq?) Later, I went to the public library and found out some truths. First off, if you are Cuban, everyone is in the army so 5,000 "Cuban regulars" probably means about 600 scruffy ille-equipped Cuban soldiers, their wives and their 8 kids. The University students were never in any danger and that the UK and several other nations severely protested the US action as US imperialism (Nah! Couldn't be! We're the good guys, remember?) And that a US puppet government was put into power. So much for being the good guys.
Everything the US media was telling us about this naked aggression was a complete lie. I remember thinking, "Hey! We're supposed to be the Land of the Free! We're supposed to be helping people and spreading democracy (and I don't mean from the barrel of a gun). We're not supposed to be invading other countries!" The writing was on the wall for me. I could see what kind of right wing America we were heading for. I was surprised that no one else saw it coming, it seemed to me. I was still young, cocky and believed I could do anything I wanted. And I wanted to be free. I left the US police state. Now there are many following. I do feel vindicated. I feel sorry for those in the USA who fail to see what's coming. I feel so sorry for the 14 million homeless in the USA children living in poverty. I am still, to this day, astounded that even university educated people in the USA support the vast US empire and military industrial complex. The day of reckoning is almost here. November 30, 2011 Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers [send him mail] was born and raised in the USA and moved to Japan in 1984. He is the president of an Internet & Cross Media advertising/marketing agency and a media production company named Universal Vision. He writes about marketing, the Internet and Social Media at the Modern Marketing Japan blog. His book, Schizophrenic in Japan, went on sale in 2005. Copyright © 2011 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given. Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers Archives
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