The Disunited States of America

by Peter Saint-Andre

2009-08-12

In my copious spare time (not!) I've been paying attention of late to some prognostications about the near future. It surprises me that even geopolitically sophisticated thinkers like George Friedman of STRATFOR (author of The Next 100 Years) never question the continued geographical cohesion of the United States of America. As I've argued before, the inexorable centralization of American political life in the District of Columbia means that the normal safety valves of true federalism are increasingly unavailable. And that, to my mind, will lead eventually to a desire on the part of some regions or states to go their own way -- whether it be Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, Vermont (I recently saw a bumper sticker saying "Vermont: Most Likely to Secede"), or the states I call Wymontaho. Sure, such separations would be messy (even messier in states such as Washington and Oregon, which are politically schizophrenic -- and don't even get me started on California!). But hey, history is messy -- and nothing says that the USA is immune from history...


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