It's discouraging, at the moment, to be a liberal in the US. With Hillary Clinton getting almost three million more votes than Trump and Senate Democratic candidates getting 23 million more votes than Republican candidates, we are a marginalized majority, playing second fiddle to an increasingly radicalized, reactionary, monumentally propagandized, and frequently racist minority. The triumph of the minority has much to do with voter suppression and gerrymandering.
The Supreme Court recently declined to address, in time for the 2018 midterms, a case of extremely partisan gerrymandering in North Carolina, where in 2016 Republican congressional candidates won 53% of the statewide vote but 77% of congressional districts. The legislator responsible for drawing the map, Rep. David Lewis, was quite open about his self-serving intentions. As he put it, "I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats. So I drew this map to help foster what I think is better for the country." And now it is very likely that this cabal of unfairly elected politicians, who clearly do not represent the will of the majority, will install a hard right Supreme Court judge, who will continue to promote an inequitable system for decades to come.
Canada has been looking increasingly attractive lately. Trudeau, even more so when compared with Trump, appears to be the thoroughly decent and ethical leader of a thoroughly decent and ethical nation. Canada wins over the US on immigration, climate change, women's rights, universal health care, education, gun safety, and fair trade. Canada is, according to the World Happiness Report 2018, the seventh happiest nation in the world, after Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The US ranks 18th. The parts of Canada that I have visited -- Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, and parts of British Columbia, including Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler, and Victoria -- are beautiful, interesting, and enriching places. British Columbia is spectacularly gorgeous! I fell in love with Victoria, which appears to have everything, from cream teas to hundreds of breathtaking beaches to incredible scenery to nearby lakes and mountains to the kind of weather I like.
As Craig pointed out this morning, white fascism is a global problem and hardly unique to the US. He sent me an article about racial discrimination in, of all places, Denmark, where "ghetto children" are required to attend assimilation training in "Danish values". Every country has its own problems.
I think my family would be happy in Canada. And, yet, we are very fortunate and advantaged here. I'm not sure my children would necessarily be happier or have better opportunities there. This is in part due to the fact that we are relatively privileged Americans. We have a lovely, spacious home in a beautiful area, outstanding health insurance, and wonderful opportunities for our children. I recently had the opportunity to examine four Canadian universities/colleges, to spend at least a night in a dorm at each, and to sample their dining hall food. Nice as each was, I think my kids have better standards of living at their colleges here. I'm not sure that a Canadian university education would be quite as individualized or rigorous as that my children are receiving here. Paige has been taught one-on-one for harp, voice, and piano, and is being individually tutored, with a little class tailored entirely to her interests, over the summer in preparation for her honors thesis. Her classes have all been tiny. She is taking a geology class this summer at a local community college. She's using the same textbook that students at elite schools use, the class comprises about 20 students, the instructor is outstanding and engaging, and, being in Colorado, she's having amazing field trips and options for geological exploration. As much as she's learning in the classroom, I think she's learning far more outside of it. Daniel has been showered with attention by his teaching staff and has been offered unusually good research opportunities. His education has been challenging, broad, and thorough. He's in an honors society and has attended weekly physics lectures, intended for graduate students, throughout his time at the School of Mines. Laura has also been given a great deal of individual attention and enjoys small classes sizes. She has been able to find work and volunteering opportunities suited to her nurturing nature while studying at community college. She is considering transferring into either CSU Fort Collins or UCCS to study dietetics. Both would be a lot of fun for her. UCCS is becoming increasingly appealing to out-of-state students because of its location. It's star is in the ascendant, particularly in the areas of health sciences, engineering, and music. The new residence halls and student town homes are unusually comfortable and well-appointed. Emma has the good fortune of being about to head out to Grinnell, where I feel she will have the best of everything, from science labs to athletic facilities to an outstanding and highly individualized education.
Perhaps more importantly, as my kids point out, we should stay here and try to change things, rather than running away. As they say, progress is like the stock market -- lots of ups and downs, but the general trend is up. Emma has already been instrumental in going to Washington D.C. and lobbying for climate change legislation. There is certainly much we could do to be agents of change and much to appreciate here.
Yesterday, Craig and I went for a little hike near our house. The air was clean, the surrounding terrain beautiful, and, on the way home, we stopped off at our country club for drinks and snacks. We sat out on a terrace with beautiful views of the Front Range and soaked in the glory of our surroundings. We have a lovely home in a beautiful setting. There is much we would miss if we moved.
Our little part of "flyover country" is very pleasant. According to a 2018 US News & World Report, Colorado Springs, just to the south of us, is the second best place to live in the US, and Denver is third. I'm not sure how accurate this list is, given that Des Moines, Iowa, ranks fourth. However, also according to US News & World Report, Iowa is the best state to live in in the Union, based on metrics that include health care, the economy, education, opportunity, crime, infrastructure, fiscal stability, and quality of life. Some of the happiest cities in the US are in Colorado. Boulder is supposedly #1, followed by Fort Collins at #4, and Colorado Springs at #18. According to a 2016 Business Insider Report, Colorado also contains some of the healthiest cities in the nation, with Boulder at #1, Fort Collins at #5, Denver at #8, and Lakewood at #16. According to a Forbes report, Colorado Springs is the fifth most-educated city in the US. On top of all that, Colorado has recently transitioned from red to purple to, at least, light blue.
While the political situation is certainly not ideal, we have good lives, the kids have fabulous opportunities, and we have the power and freedom to, per Ghandi, "be the change we want to see in the world". Canada would certainly be an attractive option, but we could do worse than staying where we are. I have far more faith in my children's generation than in my own. Perhaps they will be the ones to restore decency and sanity to this country. It could happen sooner than expected.
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