In the 1930s some thinking Germans, sensing the coming storm, fled. Others stayed. Some of those who stayed later spoke of their life under the Nazis as a kind of "inner migration." Outwardly they were good burghers; inwardly, they were aliens in their own country.

If the Bush Republicans return to power in November, 2004, winning the presidency and holding or expanding their majorities in Congress, and if they continue the type of oligarchical, imperialist governance that we’ve seen since 2001, a thinking American must begin to consider very carefully what kind of country this will become and—can it have come to this?—to stay or flee.

If the "war on terror" continues to go badly, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that further, drastic edicts and laws will be put in place for the sake of "homeland security", further eroding the rule of law, the Bill of Rights, and the balance of power.

How far will these people go to make us "safe"? If you look at their record since 9-11, it’s also difficult to avoid the conclusion that, given on-going terrorist attacks, we may be on the verge of a government that, though still under the shell of demoracy, will become a de facto dictatorship.

We’re close already, given the rubber-stamp behavior of both houses of the Republican congress. Congress proposes, Karl Rove disposes.

At this point, only the courts continue to exercise some restraint on the executive and legislative branches. With several Supreme Court vacancies coming soon, even that safeguard will be lost.

Dissenters to and opponents of the regime will of course be setting their sights on 2008. And, who knows, maybe enough of the constitutional mechanism will survive to allow a valid plebiscite then.

Or maybe not.

For now, one must watch, analyze, and proceed with great caution. Sooner that we want to think, some of us may be facing the choice: to stay, or to leave.

If we stay, what then but an American re-run of the good Germans’ inner migration.

Lately, thinking about such dire prospects, I’ve found myself weighing options. Sometimes, as I do, I get cold chills because I become aware that I am performing precisely the same mental exericises that were performed by intelligent German 70 years ago:

"I’m too old to leave," Cop-out, right? Previously, it was easy to condemn the old Germans who stayed. But now?

"I have to stay for the sake of my family." Hmmm.

"I have nowhere to go where I can expect to continue my career."

"I must stay and do what I can to change things here. It is after all my country too."

"If I’m not safe here, where will I be safe?"

And so on.

A small but unsettling inner truth that I’ve had to face recently is that my inner migration has already started. A symptom that’s trivial but possibly significant and reveals an inner reality that has, without my conscious knowledge, begun to form: Lately I have tended, quite unwittingly, when choosing novels to read, to opt for non-American works: British, Canadian, Australian, and various non-English books in translation.

Mere escapism? Maybe.

Or perhaps denial, immersing myself in other cultures so I don’t have to think about the reality of what’s happening to my own?

Or maybe healthful therapy, helping my mind to remember that not all societies are on the downward spiral that my own country is on?

Pundits are supposed to be clear-eyed, unambiguously analytical.

This pundit, alas, is still traumatized at the thought that America could have got itself to such a place where I would even have to seriously think about staying or leaving. Maybe when I’ve gotten more used to dealing with that concept, I will be able to begin coping with the brutal reality of the either/or decision.