I know where Modesto is.
I was in the central valley.
I think it’s called normalcy bias, you get used to the changes incrementally, saying each change ‘isn’t so bad’. The cumulative effect never gets noticed.
When we moved, that’s when I really noticed all the people speaking English, signs in English, white teenagers able to get jobs, American flags all over, people asking me straight out - what party did I vote for and which church did I go to. Apparently I answered correctly each time because I got hugs and welcomes.
It’s a breath of fresh air to be in the US!
Fascinating to ‘hear’ the numbness, the ‘frog-in-the-boiling-pot’ sensation that occurs during balkanization. I bet it was similar for Jews during the time of Hitler.