Americans aren’t that keen on the nitty gritty of science any more, and it’s not all that well paid. Plus, has it occured to you that there is practically zero attention paid to science on the network channels or in the mass media? It’s far easier to find a religious program than a science one on US television. (To be honest- you still have lots of great scientists, and I love Mythbusters, so it’s not 100% bad, but you should be worried.)

I am worried. I’m dismayed by the lack of educational (including scientific) programming available on TV, and here in California we have pretty good programming, compared to what I’ve heard about many other states.

It does also worry me that people just don’t seem to be interested in science any more. I think part of the problem is that we’ve gotten so used to instant gratification. We demand complete, immediate answers. Science doesn’t always provide those–but wait, religion does! And so, I think that’s had a lot to do with our country’s increasing apathy toward science.

I am worried–not so much for myself as for what kind of country and society my daughter will have to live in.

I have lived here for 24 years: I am a UK citizen, immigrated legally back in ‘82, got my “green card” a few years after. I pay the same taxes everyone else does – the same Fed withholding, FICA, and Medicare, state and local, same 1040 each April. etc. I contribute useful work (I hope) to the economy and my earnings go to all sorts of US companies (well, nowadays that means a good chunk to China, huh?) and I don’t send anything out of the country except Christmas presents to relatives.

Now some posts here suggest I “should” take citizenship. Here are some points about that:

- Although I’m probably here for the duration, sometimes I wonder about retirement to a little cottage in the English – or maybe Welsh – countryside (Gets less affordable each year what with the dollar an’ all, but still). Obviously that is much easier for a UK national. May become a bigger issue if the US slides into a semi-fascist nutty-religious autocracy (though hopefully that will be corrected as the Bush craziness becomes more widely understood).

- The UK passport is actually a European Union passport. So with the US green card and the EU passport, I can live and work, if I need to, in the US, or in any of the countries of the EU with no further ado, no visas, etc. Now, taking US citizenship does not explicitly require you to give up another one – dual, even triple citizenship is becoming much more common – but it works fine the way it is.

- There is one pro and one con to the green card. Pro: you can’t get called for jury duty. For a self-employed hourly-paid person this is significant (and regarding “civic duty”, I am sure there are more than enough US citizens able to fill any slot I might have had). Con: obviously, you can’t vote. I try to make up for that by discussions and writings to promote the good cause (when I can find it).

I just thought of another Pro – the way Iraq is going, I see people my age getting called up and sent there! Wonder if, if I took citizenship, they would track my British Royal Navy service and consider me eligible….no thanks!

Hope this information is helpful. Oh, and on Deutsch – everyone, keep up the pressure! Expose those useless, harmful flacks, because for sure there are plenty more of them!