New question.

[conuly]

Is there any way for a state, or group of states, to secede from the union, legally and without creating a war? Because this country is fucking huge, and this means that a huge portion of the population is always going to feel under-represented. Instead of one huge nation, we could have 3-6 smaller ones.

Comments

[deceptica]

I think the problem isn't so much the size of the country, but the fact that there are currently only two parties that are of any importance.

Not always getting your way is part of a democracy, but if there are only two parties which directly oppose each other, losing the election not only means not getting your way, it means getting exactly the opposite of what you want.

I don't see how this issue would be resolved just by reducing the number of people. Unless you're also thinking of organizing a mass move and putting all Democrats into one part of the US, and all Republicans into the other.

[conuly]

That's pretty much exactly what I was thinking. The middle states? They all have the same interests. They can be one nation. Pacific coast? Same interests. That's another nation. Alaska? Gets to be a nation unto itself, same as Hawaii and Texas. Southern states also get to be a nation, leaving the north east as the last nation.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

Pacific coast? Same interests. That's another nation.

Them's fightin' words, my friend.

I? Living in the incredibly-rural wilds of Southwest Washington, lately of the only staunchly-Republican county on the I-5 corridor, having the same interests as the Califormicators? Please.

As I have remarked elsewhere, Seattle is the 600-pound gorilla of the polls in this state. It boots little what I or anyone else living out here in the sticks votes for; the Seattle-Metro area has enough votes to carry the day.

[conuly]

My apologies. So, California and Seattle are one nation, and the rest of that area gets attached to the midwest. Happy?

[marveen.livejournal.com]

Just pointing out the small-scale "tyranny of the majority" that happens every time you get a large population center (with the left-leaning tendencies as baggage).

I mean, it must be purely awful to live in upper New York state--there's a lot of rural up there, but they might as well stay in bed when it comes to statewide voting issues, right?

[conuly]

Eh, who cares about them? *is left-leaning AND from a large population center*

And really, this isn't why it's awful to live upstate. Trust me.

[conuly]

Incidentally, it's upstate New York, not upper New York state.

And it's not really part of New York anyway. Everybody knows that we're the only part that counts, right? :)

[marveen.livejournal.com]

Okay, so tell me why?

It seems to be all of the difference between on the desk and upon the desk, which is to say, not much.

[conuly]

Less syllables!

And that's the phrase, it's what it's called. Not my fault.

[memegarden.livejournal.com]

Western Oregon, western Washington, and northern California have more in common than any of them do with the rest of their states.

[maladaptive.livejournal.com]

Exactly. And anyone who tries to move from the two party system is immediately attacked. I know I was for supporting Badnarik.

Then who was I supposed to support: no one at all, or the candidate of someone else's choice because they told me to?