As a Brit abroad, 2016 was a tough year. The Nazis of Great Britain won, with Brexit becoming a reality none of us Liberals anticipated. This vote of ignorance, and the tears that were shed over my breakfast table, were enough to push me into leaving my family, and my (now ex-) boyfriend behind. I ran away to Los Angeles to be with the rest of my fellow creative refugees.
In the midst of one of the most bizarre runs at the White House, I sat with the rest of the world and watched as Donald Trump went from businessman to President. It was a move that no one truly anticipated, and it has stunned the globe into silence. Had I been able to vote, I doubt I’d have felt comfortable voting for either Trump or Hillary Clinton. That’s just my politics. In the UK, I’m a registered Liberal Democrat because of their policies and practice. In the United States, I’m not sure what I am.
What I do know is the data, and the numbers don’t lie. As Harrison Stamoudis wrote in a recent article, America is $20 trillion dollars in debt. That would scare me if I wasn’t already an international woman. I escaped one country that went to hell in a cheap, uninformed handbag, I’ll happily escape this one if it all goes wrong here too. However, I have this overwhelming feeling that it won’t.
“We seem to forget that America is still a baby by global standards, and may be entering its teens.”
When I first moved to California, I dated a hardcore Libertarian. He hated government, owned guns, and I’m fairly sure he didn’t “believe” in climate change. Whatever. He had other qualities that sort-of made up for this. Okay, so they didn’t in the long run, but at the time he was really wonderful. What my Libertarian lover did show me was that the American Dream is not dead. In fact, the United States may be one of the only countries in the world where individual dreams can be achieved, and those around you will support you every step of the way.
Coming from the UK, this was my biggest draw to the USA.
In the UK, we are surrounded by the word “NO.”
I want to be a professional content writer. No. I wanted to get married, own my own home, have 2.4 children, and have it all by age 30. No. I want to enjoy my work. No. I would like to breathe clean air. No.
Thankfully, my parents are bloody brilliant, and they raised me with a “YES, but first you must work” mentality. When I was eleven years old, I knew I wanted to move to California. In order to do this, I worked my arse off until I was twenty-two. Then my visa was approved. Over the course of that decade and a year, I was constantly laughed at, was the victim of the eye roll, and mocked for my belief I would one day move to California as a full-time writer. However, I did it. HA!
Now that I’m here, I think I understand why. Those years I spent stuck with the NO people, and the small holidays abroad to the United States, allowed me to entertain the concept that YES works. Upon moving to Californian, even my dumbass Libertarian boyfriend held this beautiful mentality that we will always win. ‘Murica!
I don’t know much about economics – and Harrison, I think you should fuck off your degree and go into finance – but I do know about macro and micro sociologies. Where the UK exhales NO, America eats, sleeps, breathes YES. I am blessed enough to live and work in this great country, and even if I don’t agree with Trump’s politics (except that “I Win” tax idea. I really like that) I believe in this country. I believe in the freedom I am granted here. I believe that this land, that is plagued with poverty, hunger, and rage, will always be a home for me, because I know how to make one here. That is the American Dream.
This country was built on immigrants, and I am a very Welsh immigrant that wants to give my skills, my tax dollars, and my love to this land. Here is the only place I have ever been granted the platform to practice my written abilities, and I am not giving that up for anyone. Sure, I may not be a born and bred American woman, but I am surrounded by them, and they are beautiful.
$20 trillion or not, vagabond blood runs through my veins, and I have faith that this country will navigate through the trials and tribulations of a right-wing government. We seem to forget that America is still a baby by global standards, and may be entering its teens. We want change! We want America to be Great Again!
Well, I think America is already pretty great. If it wasn’t, then I wouldn’t be here. I don’t think Great Britain is even slightly okay any more. 2016 was a really tough year, but I have faith in my new home. In my mind, it doesn’t really matter what the politics is, or how the economy is doing. If it all does fall apart, then my American belief and vagabond mentality will allow me to evolve, move on to somewhere new, and thrive. I have faith in myself, my skills, and my survival. I also believe in those around me, and our combined strength to overcome anything we might face.
After all, isn’t that what makes America great?
Kay Smythe, The British Bitch in America.
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