“If McCain gets in, it’s going to be very, very dangerous,” said Susan Sarandon to the London Telegraph in late May. “It’s a critical time, but I have faith in the American people. If they prove me wrong, I’ll be checking out a move to Italy. Maybe Canada, I don’t know. We’re at an abyss.”

Well, she’s right about looking into the abyss. But we are already standing at a precipice, and we’ll still be there whoever wins in November. So if Sarandon is worried about the dangers she personally faces, I suggest she go to the Arctic Circle. As much as she may like Barack Obama–and I’m not saying she shouldn’t support him–he is not able to wave away the threats we face at this moment. In fact, he could conceivably make them worse. After all, history has shown that the best way to get into a war is to be unwilling to fight one.

But that’s beside the point. There’s something deeply troubling about Sarandon’s comment about leaving. If she thinks so little of her country that she is contemplating abandoning it, then she should depart now. My wife overcame innumerable bureaucratic obstacles over more than a decade to become an American citizen, and I think we can make room for more people who really want to be a part of this country.

So Susan, it’s time to sell your home, pack your bags, and say goodbye to the rest of us. And the same goes for your long-time partner, Tim Robbins, who threatened to leave if George W. Bush won the 2000 election. And while you’re at it, please ask Barbara Streisand, Martin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin–all of whom made the same threat eight years ago–to see if they want to go as well. I know many people who yearn for the opportunity to pledge allegiance to the only country that can save you, me, and the rest of the world from the abyss.

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