Duncan Frissell wrote:

At 02:44 PM 11/5/96 -0800, Sean Roach wrote:

...

May I remind you that if you want to leave this country, all you have to do is board a plane. Many people have suggested similar things about various groups for about two centuries. The major difference between this list and this government is that it is easier to start a new list.

However since governments attempt to maintain a geographical monopoly and there are a very limited number of them, it is not possible to find another country you can enter as a matter of right so you may not be able to escape. In contrast there are millions of private organizations of various sorts (corporations, etc) and it is trivial to find one to join if you like.

What both of these arguments (moreso the first) fail to mention is an individual's investment in time and possibly a lot of money in various memberships, with expec- tations that they will have the opportunity to develop and express themselves to their utmost capability. When I have a problem with some of the dirty things my representatives in Washington DC do on my behalf, people say "like the U.S. or leave it", etc., as though my father, his father, his father, etc. clear back to the 1600's in the colonies here, wasted their blood on the battlefields defending these assholes who like to say "you can just leave if you don't like it". The squashing of people's dreams begins at birth with selfish and shortsighted parents, and since that and other oppressions permeates our brains at every level, it's a wonder that some people are as accomplished and expressive as they are. This topic as it's been handled so far by most of the subscribers is prima facie evidence that most of the people in the industrialized countries are just good little suck-up fascists.