Yesterday, my Thursday Thirteen was a list of 13 things that I’m going to miss about the USA. I don’t know why, exactly, I chose to write on that topic, but I did. I think I was just feeling a little nostalgic. It’s almost the 4th of July, which is our Independence Day, and it’s my favorite American holiday. My uncle and cousin are coming to VA this weekend to spend time with me, my parents, and my grandparents. So, basically, I’m just taking part in life’s little pleasures.

I guess that made it sound like I like it here. Let me clarify: I am actually ecstatic, over the moon, thrilled, and overjoyed about leaving the USA. A lot of my friends and family take issue with or don’t understand this stance. [Although I don’t know why. It’s my business how I feel about my country. I was born here, I was raised here, and as an American, I have the Constitution-ensured right to think whatever the hell I want to about the good ol’ US of A.] I’m sort of tired of explaining over, and over, and over again why I’m leaving the US, why I’m going to Costa Rica, and why it’s so hard to be proud to call myself an American.

So I decided to write this post. Maybe in the future, I will just direct questioners to this blog post; then I won’t have to repeat myself a thousand times. But also, I just want to get this out there. I want people to know that I don’t categorically and completely hate my country. I want people to know–really know–that not all Americans are created equal: some of us (many of us!) disagree with Bush and the decisions he has made. And generally, I want people to know a little more about me. So off we go.

The United States of America is a beautiful country. As our songs say, we have beautiful, spacious skies, majestic purple mountains (coincidentally, this is where I live now), fruited plains, shining seas, and so much more. We are called the Melting Pot because we are a mixture of many world cultures. If you go to the downtown of any major city, you will experience the beauty of our Melting Pot: beautiful colors, wonderful smells, many languages, and just a rich diversity of individuals. This feeling has no comparison. From a historical and ideological standpoint, I also love my country. We were born out of the desire for freedoms: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to do whatever the hell we please, as long as it doesn’t hurt others. When I read the Preamble, my chest cannot help but swell with pride and love for the language and ideals of my country’s past.

These are the reasons that I love America; they are also the reasons why I cannot bear to be here anymore. Imagine being in a wonderful relationship. You love your boyfriend/girlfriend with all your heart, and this relationship is pure beauty to you: the culmination of everything you’ve ever wanted. Relationship bliss, if you will. Now imagine that the relationship start to go to shit. It is the most painful thing in the world to watch something of beauty crumble into ruin. My country is crumbling, and it makes me want to cry.

There are so many things that I have a problem with, but here are just a few:

1) Immigration: What ever happened to “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!� This country was FOUNDED by people seeking refuge from their injustices and problems of their home country. Yes, I realize that things are different now: our population is growing, our economy is sucking, and the influx of immigrants is huge. But to build a wall! To make illegal immigration a FELONY! Oh my God, I just want to bury my face in my hands and bawl myself to sleep.

2) Privacy rights: Or should I say, the lack thereof? The Constitution is one of the most sacred documents to me, and it SHOULD NOT BE MESSED WITH. But somehow, our bumbling idiot of a president has managed to destroy many of the rights therein guaranteed. It only took him a few years, too. The Patriot Act really steams me up. Wire taps? They make me want to scream. And you know what the worst part is? WE VOTED FOR HIM! (Well, okay, maybe not the first time!) It is our fault, and this is a huge source of shame for me. He is no dictator, nor were we duped: we had the chance to throw his ass out of office, and we didn’t. To God and the world, please forgive us.

3) The education system: As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we should have an absolutely killer education system. But we don’t. Do you know what a common response is when I tell people that I’m moving to Costa Rica? “Oh! I’d LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE to live on an island!” Yeah, me too, smarty. [FYI: Costa Rica is not an island. It’s a country in Central America whose northern border is Nicaragua and southern border is Panama. As in, the Panama that has the canal.] No Child Left Behind makes me cringe, as it is clearly a poorly designed and even more poorly implemented program that will never work. Private education costs are through the roof. And, while I was incredibly lucky to attend an absolutely amazing public school, I know that many aren’t. This makes me sad and scared for the future of my country.

4) The so-called War on Terrorism: Holy crap, I don’t even know where to start. But, essentially, I have a problem with the lying, the real motives, and the general idiocy that followed 9/11. I have a problem with sticking our nose NOT ONLY where it doesn’t belong, but where it is not wanted. I have a problem with the fact that we’ve killed thousands of people, and yet we somehow have not even managed to capture the one man responsible for only serious attack on America in my lifetime. I take issue with it all, and yet there is nothing I can really do. I speak my mind, I fight for what I believe in, but this will not change Bush’s past actions.

5) The bigotry and hatred: This partly has to do with immigration, but my heart hurts to see my compatriots categorically dislike, fear, or even hate people of other cultures, religions, nationalities, or creeds. I love diversity. I find so much beauty in our differences, and the exploration of those differences makes me happier than almost anything. And so, my country makes me sad. Racial slurs are everywhere. People see someone from the Middle East, and immediately they are an Iraqi or a Muslim out to kill us. Someone sees a Latino, they automatically think they’re Mexican and that they’re lazy. The list goes on, and it’s all equally disturbing.

These are just 5 of my reasons. There are many, many more… So please don’t think that I hate my country; I just hate what we’ve become. And I can’t do anything to change it, either. So I am moving to Costa Rica, and country with no army, less stress, and a better climate. A country that is more socialist, which happens to be my political leaning. A country where healthy food is more readily available and where consumerism doesn’t pervade and invade every aspect of life. A country whose people opened their arms to me when they didn’t even know me, and who showed me what it’s like to be at home.

I will continue to vote and to speak my opinions, but I will do it from afar. I no longer want to be here, in this country of faded and broken dreams. Yes, there are things that I will miss. But, sadly, those things will be far outnumbered by the things I won’t. So off I happily go, to disappear into the Costa Rican sunset.