The Resistance supposedly circulates a list of the latest “key” words and phrases in a weekly blast, although if that’s true I’ve never seen it. But Jenny and I avoid talking about the past as much as possible, as well as avoid talking about the future. Occasionally she’ll give me a “crème brûlée,” a sugarcoated version of some event, leaving it to me to try to figure it out. The best I can make of it is she hasn’t dated anyone else; I know I haven’t, either. It is strangely comforting to find yourself focusing on your social life in the midst of the American Apocalypse.

Through all this, I know how lucky I have been. I easily could be languishing in some form of imprisonment. I could think of many forms of torture by citing examples of American culture, but this isn’t the place for humor. I simply set out to do the right thing; I had no intention or desire to overthrow the president of the United States.

I have been welcomed here and within weeks received several job offers. For the time being, at least, I have not accepted any of them. I am freelancing, appearing semi-regularly on Canadian television to comment on events in the United States, writing a regular column, and working on this book. The CBC has been kind enough to make an office available to me. In all of those efforts I have been trying to understand exactly how this could have happened in America. It may be too late to make any difference, it may not be possible to restore our democracy, but I refuse to accept that. And remember, I’m the cynic. What I am trying to do is prevent this incalculable tragedy from being repeated elsewhere.

I recently wrote an article for Maclean’s, trying to sum up events, an article I believe is worth including here:

HOW IT HAPPENED

by Roland Stone, American in exile

In 2019, American scientists employed an array of telescopes to take the first photographs of a mysterious black hole. It was an extraordinary feat, comparable to photographing the date on a quarter in Los Angeles using a camera in Washington, D.C. So it remains astonishing that a nation capable of that feat could fail to see what was happening in plain sight: the theft of its most precious possession, American constitutional democracy.

Like all of you, I watched it happen. As a result of my efforts to prevent it, I am now living in exile in Canada. Since my escape from America I have spent considerable time trying to understand how it happened. And perhaps, to offer some suggestions about what happens next.

The United States had always been a noble idea, an experiment, determining if people from all the varied cultures of the world could live together in harmony and freedom. That big word, united, was often overlooked or taken for granted. It referred to an agreement between the states, and between we the people, that we would be governed by a set of laws enumerated in the Constitution.