An Appeal to My Canadian Friends

If I wanted to get the hell out of Dodge, could you help?

By “me,” I mean myself, my husband, and our three cats. We’re a unit.

As much as it would break my heart to move away from my sister and everything I know, I can’t fathom living the rest of my life in Trump’s America.

And, as each day is lost in the sinkhole that is the pandemic and we’re inundated with even more bad news, the unthinkable proposition that the monster could be re-elected becomes ever more likely. Because we’ve been told that there is decisive evidence that once again, Trump’s comrade, Vladimir Putin, has his dirty hands where they don’t belong.

We didn’t think it could happen four years ago, why not again?

I know I’m not alone trying to wrap my head around this but why, even when we’re presented with this most disturbing revelation that we can imagine — Russian re-involvement in promoting a Trump win— nothing is being done! Nothing that we’ve been made aware of, anyway.

Donald J. Trump is guilty of crimes against humanity, felony, and treason. And the bastard is getting away with it. The Teflon President.

I am aware that lately, my thinking has been muddied by the non-stop attempt to slog through the monotony and fear of daily life. But that said, how the F is this guy getting away with all the damage he’s done and continues to wreak?

Is no one on our side? “Our” meaning those of us who witness the havoc perpetrated by POTUS and hope for the eradication of the true virus that has only been making this country sicker by the hour?

I sat, stunned, and watched CNN’s Wolf Blitzer inform the world that Russian intervention in the 20/20 election has been confirmed!

“Hello…what?” And again, WHAT is being done to stop this? Why isn’t Trump being marched out of the White House in cuffs?

He may win. That is my fear and my expectation and this admission sickens me. But we need to prepare ourselves here in the States, for four more years of hell.

I remember the first go-round when Trump and Putin stole the election from Hillary Clinton…waking up in the morning after the final count was in and learning that this failed reality TV star was going to inhabit the highest office in the land.

Still trapped in the cobwebs of sleep, I turned on the TV to the news. My husband still talks about the shriek that escaped my lips after learning that we were going to be deep in the shit for the next four years.

But I had no idea how virulent that “shit” would be. None of us did.

In all the days leading up to the election, I’d never thought much about Trump other than he was a complete joke, a waste-of-space born with a platinum spoon in his mouth who’d never done a day’s worth of real work, in his life. And that was it.

And then, he became President of the United States, and then it hit me like a punch to the gut that this human stain was at the helm of…everything.

Only in America, folks. Or it sure seems like it.

Over 200,000 people dead in the U.S. and by tonight, that number will have climbed.

What happened to us? Where is the fire that we displayed so fiercely in the 60s and beyond?

We sit on our asses binge-watching our favorite shows, gobbling our favorite snacks in our attempt to avoid “real life.” And I get it as I’m there with everyone else.

We’ve been through enough. We’re tired and despondent and all we want to do it “party like it’s 1999.”

Yeah…well.

So, in my attempt to prepare for the unthinkable once again, I am seeking a Canadian “sponsor,” someone who will show us the ropes, offer up some advice, anything that will help us get the hell out of Dodge if Trump is re-elected.

I’m a Chicago girl born and bred, and this will hurt. But the pain of leaving would be far less severe than trying to withstand another four years of lies, deceit, and death.

© Sherry McGuinn, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Sherry McGuinn is a slightly-twisted, longtime Chicago-area writer and award-winning screenwriter. Her work has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and numerous other publications. Sherry’s manager is currently pitching her newest screenplay, a drama with dark, comedic overtones and inspired by a true story.

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