Maryland has a political climate in which our Elected Betters simply tell us what we want and that is that. The stranglehold that one party has on every election is practically unbreakable so, in effect, my vote, and yours, doesn’t matter. When a “mistake” was made a few years back and a Republican was elected Governor, our Elected Betters announced that they were going to bury every Republican so that they never see the light of day again, and they have been true to their word. In Washington, a similar attitude exists. Fortunately, our Elected Betters are experiencing a revolt of sorts in which “throw the bastards out” seems to be the rallying cry. While this is refreshing, will it be enough?
I have been pondering the possibility that the United States of America is ungovernable. We are a group of over 300 million persons with a diminishing national character. (In comparison, Canada is a nation of 34 million; I believe only China and India have larger populations than The United States, do you know many people trying to immigrate to them?) For the past twenty-five years it seems that we apologize for our existence to the rest of the world. Some of us don’t feel that we should; and some of us feel that we should be even more apologetic of any success which we have experienced. Some of us want open borders and a complete disregard of our immigration laws, while some of us want our laws enforced and illegals sent back home, not provided with all of the benefits and none of the responsibilities of being an American citizen. If “Our Elected Betters” are in office then we want to bury the other side. If “Their Elected Betters” are in office then how can we sabotage them? This is not a healthy approach to governance.
I think we need to examine the possibility that we are no longer “Americans” but many americans. In so doing maybe we need to align ourselves in smaller, more manageable groups. California will soon be bankrupt, should South Dakota have to bear the burden of bailing them out without ever receiving the benefit of living way beyond their means? I think that when we began highlighting all of our differences with hyphens to describe us, we began the deterioration of what was an American culture. Without a common culture (the “melting pot” effect) we have less and less in common and, hence, less and less interest in those other groups. “We want” and “We need” are the buzz words that our Elected Betters respond to today and with a little horse-trading to buy the necessary votes they can ensure their re-election in perpetuity.
Don’t misunderstand me, Democrats and Republicans are very much the same in this; they are just two different faces of the same coin. And that “coin” that both parties spend so freely is to be repaid by our descendants. What a deal! Vote for me and you can have it all (but your grandchildren might not). Three hundred million people are too many to be governed effectively and I think it may be time for a new American Evolution.
Today the United States is composed of states, commonwealths (Virginia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania), and even former independent countries (the Republic of California, the Republic of Texas, Hawaii). Maybe we need to allow the disintegration of the United States into smaller, more governable entities in order to save ourselves.
While it is not for me to dictate how the divisions would be made, perhaps it might work like this….
Many states (Maryland, New York, Illinois, Ohio, etc.) might choose to remain in the federal system of what was once The United States of America. Other states, now “nations”, might opt to be independent or affiliate themselves into a new country, such as Utah-Nevada-Arizona-Colorado-Wyoming. A grouping such as this would have much more in common with each other than with the entire population of the former United States. In the early years these newly-minted nations might act much as the current European Union does with many common things such as currency and perhaps national defense. As time passes, the evolution of these new nations perhaps will move towards the British Empire model of today, a loose-knit affiliation of independent entities. “Countries” that favor open borders could welcome all of the immigrants the world sends without impacting the well-being of other new nations that want to have tighter controls on who enters their sovereign territory. Even national defense might evolve so that, perhaps, Idaho-Minnesota-Wisconsin might find that they have more in common with Canada than the “Commonwealth of States;” the point being that these smaller population groups can have more control on their lives and how they choose to live them.
We only go ‘round once let’s make it count. Down-sizing is not necessarily a bad thing. We had to do it with our companies in order to survive and without a massive change in structure, our Elected Betters will not downsize their own little fiefdoms. It’s worth considering, if only because Makai and I are stuck indoors this time of year.
