Award-winning singer John Legend has chosen to live in a Trump-led America for four years.
But eight may be undoable.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan UK published Friday, John indicated he and model wife Chrissy Teigen have considered exiting the U.S. if Donald Trump wins in November.
It might be worth leaving all he’s known to shake a country in which POTUS can be chosen as POTUS:
“Every once in a while, you think about it. We were born and raised here, all of our families are here. It would be hard to leave. But I don’t know what one’s supposed to do when you have a leader who is trying to destroy democracy.”
Democracy, of course, is a system in which people choose their leaders. But if they choose Trump, evidently, impeccable irony’s afoot.
And John’s open to better places:
“At some point, if that project (to destroy democracy) was to be in any way successful, you’d have to think about going somewhere that is a true democracy, that has respect for the rule of law and human rights. If America chooses to be that place then people will have to start thinking about going somewhere else. It is truly disturbing and concerning.”
Certainly, among Democrats — Hillary Clinton, in particular — much has been made of Trump’s threat to the “D” word.
We must defend our democracy, and the painful truth is that the occupant of the Oval Office is waging war against it. https://t.co/PHav51evya
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 10, 2019
Legend didn’t make clear how the president could have any effect upon democracy, but it appears there’s a good chance:
“We can’t bear another four years of this. As Michelle Obama said, we have to vote like our lives depend on it. I honestly think the American people will do it. I truly don’t know if we would be a democracy when we were done if we went another four years.”
As for timing, the “All of Me” hitmaker’s picked precariously. Fox News correspondent Gillian Turner notes he and his wife just purchased a $17.5 million mansion:
Fact check: he bought a new $17.5M mansion in Beverly Hills this week https://t.co/EbKH4Lp89K
— Gillian Turner (@GillianHTurner) September 25, 2020
Personally, I believe John is right: The most powerful way to protest a place you hate living is to move.
Such a revolt’s currently occurring, as many hightail it out of California over governmental mismanagement.
Nothing makes a statement quite so bold as no longer being there to express it.
Might the celebrity pair find something more enjoyable elsewhere? If so, it would definitely make the news. Others may learn and follow.
It’s the American way — the Constitution lets states compete for citizens.
Countries should do so, too.
John hasn’t been shy when it comes to ways his homeland can be improved. As covered by RedState’s Nick Arama in June, he signed a petition calling for a defunding of the nation’s police.
He also explained “defunding” doesn’t mean they don’t get funds:
I know this word “defund” has caused some controversy, even from some who are inclined to agree with a lot of the underlying arguments. Some hear that word and envision The Purge, some dystopian descent into anarchy
— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 7, 2020
This doesn’t mean there will be no police; it means there should be significantly fewer police and more professionals of other types with expertise in their fields, whether it’s social work, health care, conflict resolution, drug treatment, etc
— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 7, 2020
As for criticizing leadership, the pianist’s no newbie.
One of history’s most notorious head honchos — Adolf Hitler — reportedly stated the following:
“Humanitarianism is the expression of stupidity and cowardice.”
“Conscience is a Jewish invention.”
“The victor will never be asked to tell the truth.”
“Here [the Jew] stops at nothing, and in his vileness he becomes so gigantic that no one need be surprised if among our people the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew.”
“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subjugated races to possess arms.”
In November 2016, John had this to say:
“It’s dangerous for us to think that it couldn’t happen to us like it happened to Germany in the Thirties and Forties. Trump is saying Hitler-level things in public. The world and America have done some atrocious things in the past, and we could do it again if we had the wrong leadership, and if people of conscience don’t speak up.”
Strong words; no wonder he wants to leave.
Will he and his wife escape to elsewhere?
The election comes soon; the power couple may not wanna unpack their spoons.
-ALEX
See more pieces from me:
Radical for Racial Justice Comes out of the Closet, and It Couldn’t Be More 2020
Say Cheese: Costco Cancels a Pimento Based on Mayor’s Portrait of Black Lives Matter
A Brown University Researcher Demands a Refund From Airbnb Due to ‘Racist’ Trump Signs
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