Just leave!

“All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go. I’m standin’ here outside your door. I hate to wake you up to say goodbye.”

John Denver’s song, covered by Peter, Paul & Mary, who took it to Number One in 1969, is about the heartbreak of a life on the road, taking him away from someone he loved. I’m not talking about that!

I’m talking about all these celebrities announcing that they are leaving because of how the election turned out. Just leave already! 

Enough of announcing your departure, just depart. Tell your mailman. Tell your hairstylist. Tell your barista. But I don’t care. Nor do hundreds of millions of Americans. As the saying goes, don’t let the door hit you in the (derrière) on the way out!

I’ve always felt that someone who announced their departure is just begging for attention. Sharon Stone, Cher, Raven-Symone (who?), America Ferrara, Whooping Goldberg, and Cardi B. all proclaimed they were leaving. I don’t know, or care, what they do. 

“Hey, look at me! Yeah me. Over here. If you don’t pay attention to me, I’m going to leave. Hello! Are you listening? Are you going to stop me?”

Uh, why are you still here? 

Don’t like Trump? I get it. But his net job approval rating is positive since the inauguration, with nearly half the country in his corner. If he’s such a nightmare, why are only 6,100 leaving (according to news reports), out of 340 million? That’s 0.0018% of the population. I wish it were higher. 

To be fair, I’ve heard people on both sides of the political spectrum claim they are leaving at various times, although far-left actors, musicians, and artists seem to make a bigger deal about it. 

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day (if you said “who?,” I understand), a punk rocker of note, said he was renouncing his U.S. citizenship after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. But he hasn’t yet done it. Chicken. I could go on, but why? There’s 340 million of us. Occasionally a few will be disgruntled enough to leave. But 99.99082% of us just work to make things better.

I can’t imagine leaving America for good. As much as I love Ireland, I’m not following Rosie O’Donnell as the E.U. is something I can’t tolerate. J.D. Vance was spot on when he attacked Western Europe for its attacks on free speech. The leftists attack any speech that doesn’t exalt the fair, wonderful, and loving policies of the leftists. Romania just disqualified the leader in their presidential race because he didn’t adhere to their definition of democratic standards. Riots ensued.

So give me the First Amendment, still a wonderful recognition 250 years after its inception. I applaud the Founding Fathers for recognizing that right. Give me a court system that is a separate but equal branch. And give me some revolution every once in a while. It’s good for our soul.

Kelly Burke was born in Knoxville where he spent his younger years, followed by high school years in Atlanta where he graduated from Georgia Tech. He then graduated from Mercer Law School. He has been in private practice, a magistrate judge, and an elected district attorney. He writes about the law, politics, music and Ireland. He and his wife enjoy gardening, playing with their Lagotto Ramanolo named George Harrison, and spending time with their grandchildren.