(LB)
Security vs. Freedom
EXPAT opposing view here. Throughout my life the consistent theme has been to seek more freedom. With freedom comes trade-offs. I knew this when I opted out of a corporate career in my early 30's to start my own biz. I knew this every time I evaluated health care coverage, or decided not to fund my IRA. Many years later and I too have found myself in Asia Pacific. Philippines to be exact. Life has its twists and turns, and my motivations for living here are many.
Choosing to live outside the bubble has risk. Sketchy medical care, as other expat anon observed. Sketchy elections, random government edicts and things like lock downs. As a non-citizen I have even fewer rights than a citizen. But I would not trade it for the world, and the reason is the absence of Big Brother. They can't afford traffic cams, body cams, and all the digital surfeillance you are used to in the West. They don't even really know your house address. There are parts of the country the govt. barely has control over, and mountain areas where they have no control at all. Murderers and rapists don't get off free here, and one of the most dangerous professions is Politician, with News Reporter coming in second. Street justice has its merits.
I too have gathered a big extended family here through marriage. Other anon expresses his voice is not heard and he cannot make a stand for freedom. But I feel almost the opposite: my voice has a lot more influence here. I am able to spread Christian beliefs, common sense, logic, and awareness to most people I meet. I prefer not to get sick, and work hard to keep myself in a healthy state, because the hospitals here are a gamble. That's OK. I am at the stage where life itself is a gamble. God didn't call me to cower under a security blanket, and I am ready to go when my time comes.
Sure I think about moving back to the US sometimes. I would kill for a Wendy's cheeseburger. But knowing my every movement was tracked and catalogued, knowing they have a psych profile that is continually updated, knowing they are just herding you around like a DIGITAL COW….you just have the illusion of freedom…. I gotta say no thanks. To younger anons i would say, look at your parents and try to reason out what freedoms they have traded for the security they enjoy. Is it worth it to you? Because your choice will be even more extreme by the time you are their age.
To other anons, I would say: when Trump is victorious and the white hats have won, how many of those lost freedoms do you suppose will be returned? They gonna turn off the surveillance on the phones? They gonna stop modifying your food? They gonna go back to a cash economy and shut down the IRS?