On Leaving America: A new series

Conversations about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness abroad

For the last eight years, I have thought at length about what it means to be an American citizen in the world today. I have thought endlessly about the moral value of kindness, decency, and generosity for the collective good—instilled in me from a young age—and its evident deficit. And I have considered the extent to which the nation has upheld its prom…