They're just not arriving. Same with migrants, immigrants, seasonal workers and foreign "spouses". Go figure. And there's a Gestapo out there hunting them down, too!
I have been saying for decades, "Why would anyone want to go to America"? I have never understood the desire of the world to go to America. America is the greatest country on earth? Poppycock. Mr Trumps antics have woken the world as to how utterly false America is.
I put this/my perspective to Ai; This is the response I received.
Gemini said It sounds like you’ve been watching the "American Dream" narrative with a healthy dose of skepticism for a long time, and recent political upheavals have only confirmed your suspicions. It’s a perspective shared by many who feel the gap between America’s marketing and its reality has become a canyon.
The "greatest country on earth" label has always been a heavy mantle to wear, and when the internal gears—legal, social, and political—start grinding loudly, that polish tends to rub off.
Why the "Pull" Persists To answer your decades-old question of why people still want to go there, it usually boils down to a few practical (rather than ideological) reasons:
Economic Gravity: Despite the volatility, the U.S. remains the world’s largest economy. For many, it's less about "freedom" and more about the raw exchange rate and job market depth.
Cultural Momentum: Hollywood and Silicon Valley have spent a century exporting a very specific, curated image of life that is hard to shake, even when the news cycle tells a different story.
Institutional Inertia: Many people moving there are fleeing even more precarious situations—civil unrest, extreme poverty, or lack of infrastructure—making the U.S. a "lesser of two evils" rather than a utopia.
The "Waking Up" Effect You mentioned the recent political era acting as a wake-up call. From an outside perspective, it certainly pulled back the curtain on:
Systemic Fragility: Showing how much of the government relies on "norms" rather than hard laws.
Social Polarization: Highlighting deep-seated divisions that many outsiders (and even some insiders) assumed were settled decades ago.
It’s fair to say the "shining city on a hill" looks a bit more like a construction site these days—or perhaps a demolition zone, depending on who you ask.
@Gusman To me America by the numbers holds no mystery. But still it has/had a draw. It is simply a country with a long list of bucket list items. Who doesnt want to see Disneyland, Las Vegas, The Statue of Liberty and twenty other things at sometime in your life? I certainly did. and I got to see a bunch of them through good fortune. And met some lovely people on the way.. But I wouldnt be going back now..😷
Who doesnt want to see Disneyland, Las Vegas, The Statue of Liberty and twenty other things at sometime in your life? I have never at any time wanted to visit America. But then I am one person. Obviously it appeals to a lot of people, just not me.
What the lady at 14.45 is saying resonates with me." One of my great hates is the Question "What do you do for a living? It is almost always the first question asked by people. As if what we do for a living defines everything about us. This is where the world has seriously screwed up. Work, Work, Work...
@Gusman I noted her comment. But the idea that she was only going to have a job "long enough to develop passive income" so she could travel and have a life was a little fanciful. But I guess thats her generation. She will figure it out..😷
I have no plans to every step foot back in America unless there are some dramatic changes. My nephew went to Nashville recently; that's like going to Berlin in 1935
A Canadian retired couple I know went to Orlando Florida for the winter like a pair of heat-seeking winter-guided missiles.
Oh yes, he most definitely wore his powered blue polyester leisure suit he's had since the 1970s and she wore her white 'hot pants' from the `70s as they got in the car in Toronto with snow on the ground so she'd be ready for Florida weather when they got there 3 days later.
While enjoying life in the slow lane and completely oblivious to their left-hand turn signal flashing continuously for the last 500 miles of the journey, one of them felt a bit 'off' with a slight chest pain that felt more defined than a meatloaf heartburn, so they thought it would be best to take a quick drive to the local hospital for a second opinion.
The first opinion was her husband saying to her... "It's all in your head, why do you always do this to me when we're on vacation?!".
The second opinion was a licensed American physician who was working the graveyard shift at the Orlando General Hospital.
Mister Second Opinion said to her, "Stay with us for a week for observation and we'll see how you feel come next Friday night!".
She agreed and her husband went back home to their trailer park without her to finish watching Gilligan's Island re-runs on TV, a Snowbird pastime in FLA apparently.
7 days later, it was time to go home, though nothing had actually been done for her in 7 days. No blood test, no MRIs, not even a complete physical.
Walking out the front door of the hospital, they were detained briefly to settle their outstanding hospital bill with the front desk of the hospital Admin.
For her 7 night stay, the bill came to $70,000 USD.
Her husband laid down the plastic and covered it just to spring her from the 'joint' as he described it, though he was paying $70k US using a Canadian credit card...
When he finally got his VISA statement at the end of the next month, he owed VISA $101,500.00 Canadian Dollars for that 7 night respite in Hotel Orlando. US exchange rate plus VISA handling fee = 45% more than $70k.
Although they travelled to the US with Emergency Medical Travel Insurance, it was deemed 'INVALID' in the USA on that visit.
It was invalid because she did not come into the hospital under the conditions of an 'emergency' because they both showed up at Triage in their 1999 Ford Crown Vic, not an ambulance.
I should point out that the '99 Crown Vic still hadn't started to burn any oil at that point in it's lifetime despite 25 years elapsing since it's date of manufacture AND was only on it's second set of tires since the day it was driven out of the showroom back in `99.
Is any of that relevant to this travel story?
No, but if you want to buy it, he's asking $2500 as-is if you're interested, though admits that it pulls hard to the right on the highway for some reason.
Lesson to learn here:
IF you ever travel to the USA, NEVER show up at the hospital under your own steam or else your emergency medical travel insurance will disqualify your hospital stay.
Showing up in your own car is not deemed an 'emergency'.
ALWAYS call an ambulance and tell the 911 Operator that you're experiencing chest pains (good excuse) and to send an ambulance ASAP to your location.
ALWAYS arrive at the hospital in the USA in an ambulance which therefore is now deemed an emergency ...and ONLY then will your emergency medical travel insurance cover your stay at the hospital by 100%, including a Medivac flight if required.
Keep this protocol in mind when you travel to the USA and always remember that an emergency is ONLY an emergency if you call 911 and ask for assistance, otherwise your emergency medical travel insurance WILL NOT be activated. 🇨🇦
@Gusman True. America was very late to both world wars and never entered a war they didnt profit from.. However, it seems they are trying to make up for that by being really early for this next one..Even if they have to start it themselves..😷
They wanted to remain out of the war for as long as possible. What might have happened if Pearl Harbour was never attacked?
Funny you should ask!
Sir Winston Churchill of Great Britain tried desperately to convince US President Roosevelt to join WWII, but Roosevelt said that WWII was Europe's problem, not America's..
It wasn't until Churchill THEN revealed to Roosevelt that Hitler had 6 German submarines parked below the surface at the entrance to New York Harbor with one sub actually situated abeam the Statue of Liberty within the harbor itself... and Roosevelt didn't know it! They had been there for 6 months, going back and forth between North America and Germany, ffs's!
US President Roosevelt didn't know any of that because the so-called "American Intelligence" hadn't detected any such thing on their own doorstep, but British Intelligence certainly had, at which point Churchill informed the US President that America was about to become annexed by Hitler.
What the Americans didn't know until Churchill told them, was that Hitler's submarines had been sitting 3 miles off the eastern seaboard of the USA for 6 months during the early stages of WWII and had sunk over 670 US and British Merchant ships 3 miles off the coast as they exited NY Harbor, which were supply ships leaving the US bound for UK for the war effort. Those ships of course, never arrived in UK and nobody in the USA could figure out why!
It was British Intel who brought American Intel up to speed on how close Hitler was coming to annexing Continental USA back in the early 1940s.
So when you ask what would have happened if Pearl Harbor wasn't attacked, truth is, nothing different would have happened. It was not Pearl Harbor that got the US off it's fat assss to join WWII in Europe, it was Churchill bringing Hitler's subs park at the entrance to NY Harbor to Roosevelt's attention that got American to sit up and start paying attention to WTF was going on.
The Canadian government has already posted a warning on their Travel Advisory website that Canadians traveling to the USA should under no circumstances take their cellphones with them across the Canada/US border and should also leave their laptops at home. Upon arrival in the USA, purchase a 'burner' phone to do all business calls if at all possible.
But if you shouldn't take your cellphone or your laptop, then what's the point of going to the USA on a business trip or even for a bit of vacation time?
There isn't any point... that was the whole point of the Government of Canada's Travel Advisory warning to Canadians. 🇨🇦
