Would You Leave the United States If You Could?

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

“Where else can we go when this country turns on us?” That’s the question author Wajahat Ali wrestles with in his recent column for the Daily Beast, “Is It Time for Me to Leave America?” Ali, who is Muslim and U.S.-born, says it feels reckless not to have at least an exit plan if you’re a person of color in the United States in this political and cultural climate. He also says that in his heart, he knows he will stay. We’ll talk with Ali and others who’ve contemplated emigrating about what’s prompting them to leave and what’s keeping them home. Guests: Wajahat Ali, author, "Go Back to Where You Came From;" columnist, the Daily Beast; co-host, Democracy-ish Areyon Jolivette, Los Angeles-based writer Bridget R. McCurtis, DEI and leadership strategist, living in St. Kitts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport.
0:05.3	You can fly back in time and visit SFO's Aviation Museum and Library to learn about the history of commercial aviation.
0:12.2	No boarding pass needed. Learn more at flysafo.com slash museum.
0:17.4	Greetings, boomtown. The Xfinity Wi-Fi is booming.
0:23.6	Xfinity combines the power of internet and mobile. So we've all got lightning fast speeds at home and on the go!
0:26.6	Learn more at Xfinity.com.
0:29.6	Restrictions apply.
0:30.6	Xfinity, Internet required.
0:31.6	Actual speeds vary.
0:32.6	From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, this is Forum.
0:53.3	I'm Mina Kim. Where else can we go when this country turns on us?
0:58.1	That's the question writer and commentator Wajahat Ali wrestles with in his recent column for The Daily Beast called Is It Time for Me to Leave America?
1:06.5	And it sounds like a question a lot of you, our listeners have been thinking about too, judging from the response we got to our call-out a couple of weeks ago, even if, for practical
1:14.9	or financial reasons, you really cannot leave.
1:18.3	Well, look at what's happening in this political and cultural moment that's causing people
1:22.3	to lose faith in the U.S. and talk to Ali about why, in the end, he says he knows he will stay. Join us.
1:34.5	This is Forum. I'm Mina Kim. Mass shootings, racism, are backsliding democracy, the taking away of a constitutional right with the overturning of Roe. Those are some of the reasons you, our listeners gave when we asked if you found yourself lately wanting to leave the U.S. Yes, one listener wrote, recording artists based in Long Beach, California, looking into options to move with my toddler and partner.
2:03.3	It's so complicated to move, but I can't imagine sending my little one to school here for safety and culture and suppressed knowledge reasons.
2:11.5	Lewis wrote, my grandfather fled following the Soviet takeover of then Czechoslovakia and met my grandmother in Australia,
2:17.9	they then immigrated to the U.S. I'm working on my visa to return back to Australia to flee
2:23.2	the neo-fascist takeover in America. And Jen commented on Instagram,
2:28.3	Definitely not the first person who said this, but leaving is the new American dream.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.