So, so, SO much this. And it sure as shit is complicated. As in, European migrants didn't exactly arrive on empty, unoccupied land. But arrive they did.
And I think of the courage, the passion, all the things that were kicking around as they did so. I've linked to this song before, because it fucking WRECKS me:
Leaving behind all you ever knew, all you ever were, crossing an ocean to make a new life and a better future. Knowing that you might never return to the land of your birth. Fucking hell.
And yeah, that mobility has been a key to American success. African American migration from the south to the cities of the north. The Dust Bowl migrations. The people fleeing the rust belt as it collapsed in the 70s-80s (Houston was full of 'em). Our AMERICAN story is written by people who bravely moved forward, to new places, and made them their own. And in the process, enriching them. The trade that is human migration is ultimately a mutually beneficial one.
And fucking this. Seriously.
20 years ago, the Economist was basic kitchen-table stuff for most Republican voters. They'd read positions in there like "tariffs are generally a shitty thing," and "racism and anti-semitism are poison," and genuinely nod along. Today? They LITERALLY call the Economist a "liberal rag," as it says.....exactly the same things it said 20 years ago.
They are in the thrall of a cult, and I hate every last one of them.