Great article, loved the read. But yet, despite the societal breakdown, immigrants (legal and illegal) are bracing turbulent weather and taking loans big enough to make them eternal bonded labor just to arrive on western shores like the US in even greater number. I am not talking about migrants from Latin American countries, I am talking about ones from India and China - whose economies have grown in leaps and bounds over the last few decades. Opportunities exist galore in these countries, which is why it surprises me that some of their best minds still make the journey abroad. China probably has some of the best physical and digital infrastructure in the planet today thanks mostly to the CCP. They are a country full of laws. You may probably not find a lot of crime there or citizens shooting series such as "Law and Order" or "Criminal Minds". Their middle class is growing, and yet Chinese still flock to Australia, the UK, Canada and US for better opportunities (despite the discrimination they may face). Take India for instance, despite her success and being the only economy in the world that is now clipping at almost 7% GDP growth, you would still find a huge influx of students and even immigrants heading there. This too even in an age where technology has levelled the playing field in many ways, I still see people applying for degrees in Columbia University and other Universities at almost 5 times the cost of doing it at a prestigious university back at home. Apparently whatever is happening in the US is apparently not unappealing enough to stem the tide. There is something that still attracts people to the west, despite these breakdowns. Maybe for the Chinese, they can speak their heart out without being censured. Maybe for other Asians, they can live the life they always wanted, and marry whomever they wish and pursue their dreams, without being cowed down by family pressures to marry someone from their own community and tow the line. Yes, maybe its the systems they're escaping from, those arcane systems that the west shook off a long time ago. Perhaps its the ethics itself that have choked them and they now wish to break free. The grass is always greener on the other side.
