Susan Train was the bureau chief in Paris for American Vogue from 1949 until last year. She is a revolutionary dame and a longtime Democrat.

There’s a strange feeling in America that expatriates living and/or working outside the boundaries of the US of A are somehow to be viewed with suspicion and even considered unpatriotic if not actually treasonable. As a longtime expatriate (and yes, I am "still" an American), I freely admit that my point of view on American policies is conditioned by the fact that I live abroad, and can see and judge for myself how those policies are affecting others. If I judge these policies severely it is precisely because I am an American, I care deeply about the future of our country and I want to be proud of America and her actions.

We expatriates are uncounted (estimated  at 4.3 to 7.2 million), we are taxpayers both at home and in our countries of residence, we are  ineligible for Medicare — although we have paid into the system. We have to deal with ridiculously uncoordinated rulings in states across the country in order to vote at all, never mind feeling confident that our votes will be counted. We are each of us an unofficial ambassador to our country of residence, in some small way showing our colors and bringing our American values to the lives we lead abroad, while learning to accept "differences" and respecting another culture in all its complexities. 

We all want to be proud of our country and defend its actions, but the past seven years have made it very, very difficult to do so. I will of course vote for whichever candidate wins the Democratic nomination but my personal preference is for Barack Obama because I think he has more understanding of the world outside the USA and more empathy with differences. He seems to THINK and reflect  before acting, rather than automatically reacting to a situation, which bodes well for dealing with the excruciatingly difficult decisions ahead. I feel sure he will surround himself with the many excellent Democratic political leaders (Biden, Richardson, Dodd leap to mind), and draw on their experience to counteract the inexperience with which he is taxed, so I am not worried.  His judgment so far has proved better than many more experienced heads.

The America of my dreams will once again stand for liberty (a society open to the world) and justice (restore habeus corpus) for all. It will not cower behind walls both mental and physical but will truly be the land of the free and the home of the brave. It will apply its moralizing to itself rather than to others and instead of talking religion it will live it. Talk about daring to dream!