Could there come a time, when we won't be able to leave?

[CoffeeCat]

Set aside the--is leaving the US a good or bad thing--argument for a second.

Is it feasible that, in the not-so-distant future, getting out of the US may be nearly impossible?

Does anyone think that this is likely?

[fooj]

1. I know one thing. I'm getting a passport.

I told my hubby that it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Peace.

[Quakerfriend]

2. I am very worried about this, as well.

My husband and I both have very large families here and I can't imagine leaving them all.

But, we have begun to talk about the what ifs.

Ironically, we would likely seek safe haven in Colombia where my husband was born. I have to say that I love the people, the beauty and the peacefullness of Colombia! And, I have never felt afraid there.

[LaurenG]

3. I am more inclined to believe

That we won't be welcome any where else. I think bush has helped the majority of people in other countries to hate us. I am being dramatic here but I do worry about that.

[neweurope]

4. Know your history - the answer seems to be yes.

All non-democratic systems I can think of at the moment have tried to lock their people in. The USA have treaties with Mexico and Canada. And swimming across the Atlantic isn't an option.

------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[Crunchy Frog]

5. I wouldn't rule anything out.

This country is going in some really scary directions, and I wouldn't really count on anything being the way we've always been used to. That doesn't mean I think it's likely, but I certainly think it's possible.

[Kindigger]

6. Zogby poll I took yesterday

Couldn't figure out where the questioning was going. It asked about your level of materialism (shopping habits, brand loyalty,), what kind of car you prefer(would you choose a luxury car, or one that gets you around?) Then it asked if you'd considered moving to another country and where.

When's Hugo's birthday? Maybe we should start sending him cards. :think:

[DrRang]

12. Whoa! I took that same poll and answered the "would you consider leaving"

question with a fairly neutral answer, and the poll threw me out immediately, with it only 56% complete. I tried to get back in and finish, but it kept saying the poll was complete. Sent them a message, didn't hear back.

[annabanana]

14. ditto... exactly the same happened to me this morning...

My survey got dumped there too.. When I tried to reconnect I got the "you have already participated".. I think I chose "not sure".

on edit: help me remember the choices..
1) yes
2) I have considered it and decided "no"
3) no
4) not sure

Is that right?
Were there other options?

[Kindigger]

25. I didn't mention that part

the poll ending suddenly. I thought it was a glitch. :scared:

[CoffeeCat]

22. Wow! Don't mean to be paranoid, but it sounds like...

...the sole purpose of the poll was to find out your likelihood of leaving the country.

The few who have taken the poll also--in response to your post--said the poll ended after they answered that question.

I find that SCARY...especially in these times.

Anyone else think this poll was really just about that one "would you leave the country?" question?????

[China_cat]

7. It's already there

in the form of 'no-fly' lists that nobody will tell you how your name got on it, why it's there and won't let you get removed from it. The one that's expanding to busses and trains in the form of needing picture ID to purchase a ticket and get on board.

Right now it's in test run. Since nobody seems to be protesting about it too much the next step is the 'allowed to fly list'. Where, if your name isn't on it you can't go.

[laheina]

11. And they are building databases for border control.

I have thought about this a lot lately, and a lot of the homeland security measures would be just as effective at keeping people *in* as keeping people out.

[Skidmore]

8. Where would you go in a world flirting with conflagration?

What has happened in the last few years is a huge destabilization of existing relationships between nations and you see conflict arising in areas that were considered relatively safe from such. Where do you go when the world is at war? This is rapidly being blown into a global conflict.

[Delphinus]

13. This is an excellent follow-up question

to the original poster's question.

One, yes, I feel there will come a time when we get "locked in" this country. Not necessarily in the Haliburton-built detention camps, but not being able to go outside the US borders.

And, two, even if we could escape, where is there safe to go? I'm afraid this next war they're planning for Iran will, no doubt, erupt into a global conflict.

[rucky]

9. borders too big.... hundreds get in illegally every day.

if you have the means, you can escape. not to say they wouldn't try to clamp down.

[FloridaPat]

10. When the dollar is worth a penny to the euro we won't be able

to go anywhere else. We'll be too poor.

[xchrom]

15. you bet.

history shows that when a history begins to collapse along a certain lines -- it does so very quickly -- and it tends to impose strict isolation.

both coming and going.

[enid602]

27. $$$$

And currency controls could be enacted overnight. The bigwigs have probably gotten their war profits out of the country, anyway.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. The Nazis allowed the Jews to leave Germany up to 1940.

All they had to do was give the Nazis everything they owned as a condition to their leaving. Afterwards, they just took everything and deported the Jews to Auschwitz, Treblinka, etc.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005468

[mmonk]

17. Possibly.

Look at world history.

[mmonk]

18. The detention centers

are a concern for anyone who cares about the human condition as well. If you are going to deport illegals, why massive contracts to build detention centers? Will they only be filled with illegal aliens?

[Toots]

19. They will tell you the walls they want built are to keep illegals out..but

We have the Iron Curtain as a very good example....

[Nobody]

20. Which explains why the illegal immigration issue was

shoved down the nation's throat, at least in my state.

A few months ago a poll was taken in which various people were asked which issues concern them the most. They didn't get enough responses on the illgal immigration issue and then the questioners asked point blank whether the issue concerned them. Don't remember all the details, the newspaper article wound up in recycling. I remember reading it and laughing at the transparancy of these phone surveys.

As it turned out, most of the people here don't have strong feelings one way or the other, but if the government is trying to turn it into a huge issue ahead of economic woes, the war in Iraq, the loss of privacy rights whether by wiretaps or limits to Roe v Wade, that should tell us all something.

[Virginia Dare]

21. I will never leave..

I'm not cuttin and runnin--this is MY country. I'm very proud of some of things my ancestors fought for and accomplished, and not so proud of others, but I'll stay here and defend my rights, no matter what, for the generations to come. I owe that much to those that came before me.

[xiamiam]

23. interesting question since i have been thinking about that all morning

you know that gnawing feeling that just wont go away...and then i say no, this is America...this could never happen...even the fundies will shape up when the shit really hits the fan...but you know...im not so sure...

[demgurl]

24. Yes I do.

I have started investing in another country (where I am from and have citizenship papers) I am stashing money so people who need to be bribed can be. I have relatives stating I am always welcome in their home and I am ready if we are locked in. I even have camping equipment for those stealth trips across the border! I figure if I never need all of this stuff then that will be fine but it is better to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

[Sapphire Blue]

26. It happened to the Jews. Will it happen again?

Then They Came for Me

by Stephen F. Rohde, Esq.


First they came for the Muslims, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Muslim.

Then they came to detain immigrants indefinitely solely upon the certification of the Attorney General, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't an immigrant.

Then they came to eavesdrop on suspects consulting with their attorneys, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a suspect.

Then they came to prosecute non-citizens before secret military commissions, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a non-citizen.

Then they came to enter homes and offices for unannounced "sneak and peek" searches, and I didn't speak up because I had nothing to hide.

Then they came to reinstate Cointelpro and resume the infiltration and surveillance of domestic religious and political groups, and I didn't speak up because I had stopped participating in any groups.

Then they came for anyone who objected to government policy because it aided the terrorists and gave ammunition to America's enemies, and I didn't speak up because...... I didn't speak up.

Then they came for me....... and by that time no one was left to speak up.


Stephen Rohde, a constitutional lawyer and President of the ACLU of Southern California, is indebted to the inspiration of Rev. Martin Niemoller (1937).

http://www.janrainwater.com/htdocs/Rohde.htm