One Christmas when I was about the age of my daughter, my parents got me one of the greatest presents I have ever received.  It was one of those portable entertainment centers with a radio, dual cassette player, and it even had a 5 inch diagonal black and white TV.  I would fall asleep at night watching the great Larry Bird knock down 3’s, my face inches from the screen, as the ball was about the size of an ant’s head.  I became a lifelong Celtics fan.

Growing up in Worcester, I enjoyed snowball fights, sledding, and that first bike ride after the snow melted.  There were countless Freedom Trail, Science Center, and Boston Aquarium field trips. Autumn was always my favorite time of year, and my first paid day’s work was raking leaves.  Then came the Brady era and the shared rugged, northern pride of watching the Patriots blow out a southern team like Miami by 30 points amidst sub zero wind chills. 

I had always thought my kids would have a similar upbringing, but unfortunately times have changed. Massachusetts is not what it used to be.  In fact, it has become a far less desirable state to raise a family.  It is unaffordable, less safe, and its cultural ideology has grown toxic, especially for children.

Politically, Massachusetts has been blue my entire life. For decades, in retrospect, that didn’t mean much. Liberals and conservatives had similar enough goals for society, as well as love for their country, but that all changed about ten years ago.  Now, patriotic, Christian, and freedom-loving Americans have never had less in common with the Democrat party.

After Trump’s first election, radical leftists, or self- described Democratic Socialists,  began taking over the party. Blue states like California, New York, and Massachusetts vied for the title of most progressive state.  High taxes were raised higher.  Racial discrimination was allowed.  Businesses faced strangling regulation.  Immigration laws were ignored. Boys were allowed to play in girls’ sports and use their bathrooms.  Gender confused children were placated, sterilized, and mutilated.  Police were vilified. Violent criminals were set free by activist judges. Citizens and non-citizens alike were being hooked on government assistance at record levels.  Then Covid came, and my home state became completely unrecognizable.

The political divide grew dystopian.  Overnight I was surrounded by terrified academics and state-indoctrinated woke scolds, demanding toddlers wear masks, and adults get an experimental vaccine in order to keep their jobs.  Disagreement with “experts” was not tolerated, even as their claims and edicts were proven nonsensical.  Non-compliance was equated with immorality.  There was no debate of facts, just authority arguments from people who outsourced their critical thinking to government lackeys.
Over time, the Covid hysteria faded away (though I still see masks every day), but the political zealotry remained.  Recent primary elections have ushered in more DSA candidates, and the Democrat party has turned unabashedly communist with a darkening shade of jihad.

As a conservative in Massachusetts, I am constantly surrounded by people who think vastly different from me. I can handle that, but the problem is that they can’t. The modern leftist has been conditioned to identify with their politics. It’s not what they believe, it’s who they are. There is no putting political differences aside, they see disagreement as a personal attack. I see them as misguided. They see me as a person unworthy of friendship.

In addition to the political intolerance, there is the undeniable misery that accompanies Marxism.  Leftists rarely smile.  They’re in a near constant state of grievance, anger, and obsession with existential threats, most of them imagined, such as climate change or systemic racism.  Their discontent is compounded by a pronounced lack of gratitude. They are not thankful to be Americans.  They view the US as oppressive and patriotism as a naive and offensive character flaw.  Perhaps worst of all, there are those around me whose beliefs are similar, but most of them rarely show it for fear of negative consequences.  They are intimidated into silence by the intolerant democrats surrounding them.  Of the 55 houses on our street, ours is the only one with an American flag.  That has bothered me for years.

Beyond ideology, the costs and taxes are outrageous.  MA ranks near the bottom in the country for letting residents keep their hard earned money.  Taxachusetts has earned its reputation with 8 taxes: income, capital gains, sales, property, excise, energy, millionaire’s, and death.  This means less money I get to share with my family and leave to my children one day, all because certain politicians believe my family’s money should belong to them.

MA also ranks very low in transparency as state officials in the legislature, judiciary, and Governor’s office all enjoy unique exemptions to public records laws, especially when it comes to financial disclosures.  In 2024, MA citizens voted overwhelmingly by referendum for a audit.  The Governor and her corrupt cronies blocked it, not wanting taxpayers to see how much money goes to fraud, NGOs, and illegal immigrants.  Massachusetts taxes its most productive citizens blind, then demands they pay more, all with zero accountability. 

In New England, Republicans make up almost 40% of the population, yet Democrats own the House seats 21-0, including 9 for MA.  The state that launched the Revolution now celebrates taxation without representation.

There was once a pride and kinship I felt being a New Englander, but it’s gone now.  I exist in a gerrymandered state that gives me no representation, just tells me to shut up and pay my taxes.  The shameless corruption and narcissism of the politicians, their coercive policies, and the prioritization of non-citizens over taxpayers has become unbearable. Speak out against any of it and you’re called racist or worse.  Millions of Massachusetts residents are quite familiar with this sentiment, but life doesn’t have to be this way.

For more than a decade I have spent a lot of time in Florida, glimpsing its lifestyle, and even buying a condo there.  Originally, it was a winter retreat, a place for my family to feel the sunshine on our faces and escape the frigid air.  But after not too long, I noticed something.  The people there were nicer and happier.  They knew how to enjoy life.  They spent time outside year-round.  They smiled.  And there were American flags everywhere.  Going there began to feel like returning home.

Some might say MA is not that bad, that it’s no worse than the political divide at any other time.  Can’t you just live your life and ignore the politics?  So here is a list of actions taken by MA Dems just this year to prove their anti America, anti family bona fides: 

Governor executive order and state legislation preventing cooperation with federal authorities attempting to remove dangerous criminal illegal immigrants from our streets.

Public school policies that allow teachers and admins to secretly encourage a child’s gender dysphoria behind parents’ backs.

Passed legislation preventing the independent audit for financial accountability in government that voters demanded by referendum two years ago.

A $63B budget, putting MA in the top ten of per capita spending.

My own town of Holden has faced penalties from Beacon Hill for not approving plans for state mandated low income housing.  Democrats won’t even let us run our own residential zoning.

$1M in taxpayer money went towards LGBTQ events such as a recent seminar in Boston on transgender menstrual equity.

Woke judge Janet Sanders allowed violent criminal Tyler Brown to get out of prison after shooting at police and he proceeded to open fire at random cars in Cambridge.

A State Trooper was just killed after an unqualified illegal immigrant Haitian was given a CDL license in MA and caused an accident with a tractor trailer.

There are more examples, but suffice it to say that it is becoming increasingly clear that being a responsible parent means keeping your kids the hell away from leftist policy.  From their self-loathing climate change religion, to their divisive obsession with skin color; from their entitlement mindset to their gender confusion; from their Project 1619 history to their body positivity; from their cashless bail to their embrace of criminal illegal immigrants; from their abusive taxation to their self-serving corruption; from their rainbow flags to their drag queen story hours, I no longer want my family to be around it. 

I wish for my children to swim in the Atlantic Ocean, not in toxic ideology.

So we’re finally saying no.  No to the taxation without representation.  No to the corruption and lack of accountability.  No to insecure elections and our votes not counting.  No to the blue haired, septum-pierced activists who despise patriotism.  No to sanctuary status and harmful DEI.  No to the condescension and coercion from tyrannical bureaucrats who have been wrong about everything from pandemics to economics.

Instead, we’re saying yes.  Yes to living where we vacation.  Yes to freedom, secure elections, meritocracy, law and order, and accountable government.  Yes to low taxes, safe streets, and being around people who love America. Yes to seeing more smiles, sunshine, and American flags.

Whether it is leaving an ungrateful employer, a bad relationship, or a tyrannical state government, there is something quintessentially American about voting with your feet.  As our nation turns 250, Independence Day hits harder this year.  If there is an independence that you seek, see to it, for life is short.  This country gives its citizens incredible freedom compared to other areas of the world.  With gratitude, my family has chosen to embrace that freedom and the opportunity for a better life.  Or, as Jefferson would put it, our own little pursuit of happiness. 

Happy 4th of July everyone.  See you in Florida.