The best thing to come out of the craziness in the past two days is the Left’s apparent warming to the idea of self-determination—or secession.
For better or for worse, the so-called progressive liberals are the ones who move the Overton Window in the US. The Overton Window is simply the range of ideas that the public will accept. As such, the realm of conventional politics and political discourse takes place almost wholly within that window.
Since probably FDR, with the exception of maybe Reagan, only the Left has been able to move the Window. The nature of conservatism is just that—to conserve. They attempt to conserve what traditions and freedoms are important to them and still around, and serve to try to simply hold the window where it is. As the progressives inch it further and further left, the conservatives try to hold it in place—wherever that place may be.
The result is political discourse and policy which move increasingly further left and away from freedom, justice, and liberty.
The exception of course being when liberals get a taste for freedom and ethical behavior. This is when libertarian and liberal goals coincide. We’ve seen this in the antiwar movement and we see it now in the movement to legalize marijuana.
This is what I am hoping occurs with secession.
Though I’m sure that most of these petitions and Facebook posts are little more than signaling to prove to those around you how anti-Trump you really are, liberals even bringing it up is a step forward. Though most probably have no intention of follow-through, a few might be serious. And what starts out as half-joking has the potential to become reality in time.
See Brexit or Trump’s election.
The more it’s talked about the more people may come to see that it is not a dirty word.
Even if multiple States, regions, or individuals seceded from the United States, America would still exist. A country is not built upon a political order. Similar to the concept of nation, countries are not defined by rulers and hard political borders.
They happen organically.
A country or nation can be whatever a group of people define it to be, but it need not have a common, over-arching state. It can be built around a common language, common values, geographical proximity, customs, traditions, etc.
Having smaller political units wouldn’t destroy America, they would just allow Americans to better serve their own individual ends.
Smaller states are more efficient, cost-effective, and more in line with their smaller populations’ wishes.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.