There is a very interesting piece over at the Weekend Edition of the Wall Street Journal this morning titled "Divided We Stand." The author, Paul Starobin, sketches out a possible future for the United States as a loosely knit group of republics with even some geographic boundaries obliterated. For example, "Cascadia," would be a new regional republic carved out of the Pacific Northwest cities of Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, Canada (wait till after the Winter Olympics!). "Calibaja" would turn San Diego into the capital of Northwest Mexico, Baja and a large chunck of Southern California.What is interesting about this is the frighteningly real possibility that this could happen. We have an imperial government in Washington D.C. now that in just six months has:
1. Violated all precepts of contractual law invalidating hundreds of years of case law.
2. Unconstitutionally seized control of a large piece of the manufacturing sector.
3. Unconstitutionally seized a large part of the capital market structure.
4. Ignored qualifying norms (like paying taxes) for high level officials.
5. Delved into private property, entrepreneurial capitalism and all aspects of commerce without right.
6. Mortgaged the futures of our children and their children.
7. Is attempting to seize control of our healthcare system.
8. Ignored the counsel of military leaders on what measures (like missile defense) are necessary to keep us safe.
The list goes on and on...we are drowning in debt we cannot pay and this is just the beginning! I know a lot of my friends are reading "Atlas Shrugged," and begining to feel like Galt. I'm increasingly feeling like a colonist in the 1770's - no taxation without representation! Washington has truly become Leviathan and we all (both political stripes) feel powerless. I love my country and desperately want her to succeed and stay together, but increasingly, I feel we have a tyrannical government and that the only way we will bring those idiots on the Potomac to heel is to consider secession and separation into distinct regions.
In the near term, this could bring some peace to the social wars too. If you want to live in a land where gay marriage, infanticide, socialized medicine and euthanasia rock your boat - move to Novacadia or Calivada. If you want religion to be allowed in the public square, low taxation and personal freedom, Texas, Kentennalageorge or Virgicarol will welcome you. Then, in these smaller, more efficient republics we will see which system really does work better for the long haul. We would have to work out some commercial rules for travel and trade between the republics and we would have to have some form of military sharing for mutual defense, but those are details that could be worked out.
My guess is, the period of republican devolution would last about 50 years. It will take two generations of pure socialism and liberal social anarchy in Novacadia and Calivada for them to come to grips with the fact that it doesn't work. Then maybe we could all get along again. Maybe.
If this sounds like fantasy, perhaps it is. But this time, one year ago, if you had told me that a U.S. hating, mixed-race racist with a resume thinner than a communion wafer would be sitting in the Oval Office I would have told you "no way." I think the election of 2010 will be a real windvane for the direction this country wants to go. If we have reached the point where those who pay the taxes are in the minority to those who receive the benefits therefrom, secession could become quite popular.
Rumble on!
Cross posted at The Rumbler Report .