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Originally Posted by Goliath
Sorry, Shea, but I've given up on this country. I honestly believe that this country's best days have already past. The only reason why I'm still here is because of my job. If I can someday land a tenure-track academic position in a Mathematics department in a university outside the US, then I'll be more than happy to leave this country and never look back.
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I can point you to a discussion I'm having with Gurdur about a position in Germany...
I dunno, maybe I am just taking the results too hard, but I truly have been crying since last night. And I never cry. I am disgusted with my state, I am disgusted with people in general. I am sick of feeling like a freak because I don't believe in their sky fairy. I am sick of having to defend good science education in the face of beliefs that should have gone the way of the dinosaur more than a century ago. I am sick of being looked down upon for being intelligent and valuing logic and critical thinking.
I have done the activism. I worked with MoveOn and spent several weekend mornings going door to door. I've written several LTEs both to my local (mostly democrat) and my hometown (overwhelmingly Republican) papers. I've donated money we really don't have to all kinds of causes. And right now I am just tired and nauseated, because it came down to "moral values" (whatever those are of Bush's, I have no clue) and willful ignorance. You can't fight those.
So I am truly thinking of leaving. It wouldn't be immediately; I have a contract through June 2007, so I'm here until at least then. But if 2006 goes the way it did this year, and 2008 is looking to be a repeat, I will certainly be paying attention to vacant professorships in Europe or elsewhere. I would like my kids to at least experience a culture where tolerance isn't just a buzzword; if it can't be here, then perhaps I'll search for it elsewhere. But in the meantime, I am certainly not giving up on the causes I've worked for; I will continue to be active and will continue to fight as long as I'm here.