Packing My Bags For Svalbard
I never ever thought I’d look into going to Truck Driving Academy, especially at my age. When I told a few friends and family in June that I was giving it consideration, they thought I was joking. Why would a wrinkled, absent-minded lady with joint replacements spend thousands of dollars to learn how to drive a tractor-trailer?
But I wasn’t entirely joking. Learning how to drive a semi became part of a rather inchoate plan of action I’d mulled over since the beginning of the year. I wanted to get through 2020 smoothly — all of the months leading up to the presidential election, as well as the election itself. I was concerned about the November election: Even in January 2020, I sensed that the that it would not go well. I figured then that it was time to look ahead. Maybe it would be a good idea to book a trip out of the country, I thought, around the end of October into early November. Canada sounded nice. Later in the year, I would purchase round-trip tickets to Vancouver, maybe, or Nova Scotia — places both I and my husband loved. I hoped he would join me. We’d watch the election from afar.
When the 2016 election played out, we were abroad — not by plan, just coincidence. On November 9, we woke up in Frankfurt, Germany to the news that Trump had won the election. We were flying back to Colorado that very morning. We were in shock. The hotel clerk who informed us of Trump’s win was in shock. The German mother and daughter who sat with us as we ate German pastries in the airport lounge were in shock. Passengers on the plane were, too.
And we would have no idea what we were in for.
Throughout the next three years, with each new, incredulous, reckless, cruel, vindictive act by Trump, we’d say to each other, Surely, they won’t keep him in. Surely, he’ll be removed. With the backing of his political party, this man was destroying our beloved country.
Trump’s impeachment, December 18, 2019, brought hope that he’d finally be held accountable for one of his more egregious abuses of power. He was charged with dirty tricks, blocking the release of military aid to Ukraine until the country publicly announced an investigation into Hunter Biden. The reason? Trump was terrified that he’d be pitted against Joe Biden in the upcoming election. The evidence against Trump was so incriminating, compelling, revealing. We held out hope that Republican senators might resurrect whatever decency and integrity and sense of justice they once possessed, and vote for removal. But only Mitt Romney had the courage to do so, and Trump was acquitted on February 5, 2020.
There was this, though: 2020 had arrived. It was the year we’d been waiting for, the year in which finally, FINALLY, we could exercise our right to vote and rid our country of this miscreant. We had the power of the ballot box, we reminded each other. And we had a line-up of many qualified, sane, Democratic presidential hopefuls, one of whom would run against Trump in November. In our despair, we looked to this.
Little did we know, at this time, a virus had begun to spread. Just two days after Trump’s acquittal, he told Bob Woodward that the COVID19 virus was deadly, more deadly than the flu, and transmissible through airborne particles. We Americans, again, didn’t know what we were in for. 8,694,927 cases as of today. 228,760 deaths, and counting.
On March 20, 2020, Canada entered into an agreement with the U.S. to ban non-essential U.S.-Canada travel. We could not anticipate then what was ahead: the administration’s incompetency, Trump’s deceit, his idiocy, his lack of empathy for the suffering, the millions of newly unemployed, the hundreds of thousands in food lines. All of this would play out before us as we could only watch in horror, helpless.
The skies got darker.
Trump’s incessant abuse of power continued, each outrageous assault on our democracy on full display: the pelleting and gassing of peaceful protestors in Lafayette Square; the attempts to squelch the press (the “enemy of the people”); manipulation of news stories; hiring cronies for “acting” positions, thereby trampling over checks and balances; an Attorney General as Trump’s lapdog. My anxiety was ramping up. I began to wake every morning in a panic. It was “fight” or “flight.” I altered my plan for an election-time getaway. Now was the time to plan for an extended stay in another country.
By June’s end, the ban against non-essential travel to Canada had been extended. The Canadian government did not want Americans infecting their country — and who could blame them? But, when I read about exceptions to the ban, that some health care workers and truck drivers were allowed in, that’s when it struck: I could become a trucker! I could go through school, get the licenses, and then — I imagined — gain entry as I drove up in a big rig with my CDL in hand and so much enthusiasm and motivation to prove my worth that the border patrol would allow me in.
It seemed so doable at the time. But it was a foolish idea, born of desperation. At some point, reality set in. Even if I’d gotten my CDL and learned the skills to drive a truck, I’d still have no experience. And, well, I was old. Who would hire me? Besides, I knew I wasn’t the only American who was dreaming of a temporary escape to Canada.
Joe Biden was officially nominated on August 18 to run against Trump for President of the United States. Trump was so threatened by this man that he would go to any lengths to keep him from becoming our candidate, even high crimes. It hadn’t worked. What would he do now?
Today, I saw chilling footage of Trump supporters in Texas who had formed a blockade around a Biden campaign bus in the middle of a highway. Many of them were armed. The campaign was forced to cancel three planned stops. The historian Eric Cervini, who witnessed the incident, wrote on Instagram: “As a historian who studied the rise of the Third Reich, I can tell you: this is how a democracy dies.”
The only thing that has always given us hope — our right to vote in a free and fair election — is in peril. A man with a bent towards fascism will certainly not allow this foundation of democracy to proceed without interference. A few weeks ago, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Barton Gellman told Dave Davies on Fresh Air that Trump will not accept anything other than a victory. Gellman joined a chorus of voices whose warnings became more dire, more accelerated, more pronounced, more likely. Militia groups have formed to ensure that — in one way or another — Trump wins.
So, this is where we are at. On some days, despair has so blanketed our skies, there is no room for hope. A couple weeks ago, I watched Trump admit that he owes $400 million to different entities, some possibly foreign, and I had a fleeting moment of optimism. Trump’s debts constitute a national security issue! I thought. Maybe someone can declare him ineligible to run for a second term! I knew better, of course. We all know better. There is, after all, his famous line about murdering someone on 5th Avenue.
I saw this coming long ago. Many of us did. I suppose there was a voice in each of us that countered, No, no, this is America! This doesn’t happen here! But it has. We have a dangerous man in office who has never played fair. Where can we escape?
I found a website that lists “50 Places to Flee If Trump is Re-Elected.” Svalbard, Norway is looking pretty good. I’m packing my bags.
