American Brain Drain

It isn’t an accident. It’s the plan.

This newsletter is available to paid subscribers early and will be available to all readers on Tuesday. Your contributions enable me to produce more content, keeping readers informed and engaged. Thank you!

I’ve started getting this question from readers: Should they consider leaving the US, or under what conditions would I recommend it? Many Americans, who might be able to relocate to another country, struggle with the tension of wanting to stay and fight and wanting a safer and/or easier life. They struggle with having the privilege at all, how much responsibility they have towards those who don’t, and what will happen to them as America’s decline continues. I never have a good answer for anyone thinking about this, but I do appreciate that readers see me as a trusted source of information and a thought partner here.

Of course, I don’t have an easy answer. I can’t tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t do, and I think there are valid reasons to make either choice if you have one. That’s probably not a satisfying answer, but it’s the best I can come up with when people ask.

By now, you’ve probably heard that three Yale professors who are experts on fascism are leaving the US for the University of Toronto, including On Tyranny author Timothy Snyder. The New York Times published a video op-ed from these professors, ostensibly about their decision to leave, but more offering their final words of warning for the rest of us. It’s a chilling but worthwhile watch. However, you feel about their collective choices, I do hope people take their view of where America is and what the future could look like seriously. As well as their advice on how to push back.