It may be time to discard the whole notion of an “indivisible nation” and create a new Conservative States of America.
It’s been growing for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic may be the final straw. I’m speaking, of course, of the political divide in the country that threatens its very existence.
For years now, we’ve been hearing of the “red state” – “blue state” split that pits largely conservative Republican states against liberal Democratic ones. What was once merely a political talking point has more recently become a description of a potential disunion.
Instead of simply talking about a philosophical divide, more and more people are considering an actual geographical split. When 90% or more of Republicans support the current President and fewer than 15% of Democrats do, it has become apparent that the United States of America may no longer be so united.
One only has to look at a map of which states took the pandemic seriously versus those which didn’t to see the political dividing line. As of a week ago, the demarcation line separated the South and the Midwest from much of the rest of the country.
That line can also be seen with respect to the results of the 2016 presidential election. Hillary Clinton’s support was primarily in the urban East and West and Donald Trump won in the rural South and Midwest.
Years ago, the gap between Republican and Democratic support was not that wide. Even when a state went Republican, it typically wasn’t by much more than 50% and likewise for majority Democratic states.
But now the gap in support is wide and growing wider every year. In fact, it’s now at the point that the two political stripes are becoming more like two political solitudes.
We may be at the stage where the political and philosophical differences are so deep that they cannot be reconciled within one so-called indivisible nation. In other words, it may be time to discard the Pledge of Allegiance and sever the country in two.
One hundred and sixty years ago, it wasn’t difficult to carve up the nation. The issue of slavery was an easy gauge for demarcation which eventually led to the formation of the Confederacy.
Today things are not as crystal clear but the situation is not markedly different from the one in 1861. I propose that the new Conservative States of America include those from the former Confederacy with the addition of a few more bordering red states like West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Of course, this split is not perfect but it is pretty close. Some might argue that such Midwestern states as Nebraska and the Dakotas should also throw in their lot with the C.S.A.
Time will likely tell since any of those states could always hold a referendum to see if their citizens wanted to secede. On the other hand, they may well find that their new status as the geographical bridge between the Eastern U.S. and the Western U.S. brings them unexpected economic and political benefits.
The first priority would be to ensure that a harmonious trade agreement be worked out between the U.S.A. and the C.S.A. Hopefully, sane heads would prevail and war could be avoided.
Next up would be a massive relocation effort to allow out-of-country conservatives and rednecks to move from the U.S. to the C.S. and remaining southern liberals to relocate in the North or West. With any luck, this process will go more smoothly than the Indian subcontinent partition and subsequent migrations of 1947.
If all goes well, everyone will get what they want. Who knows? We may end up with a liberal northern nation with Medicare for all, free college education and a strong social safety net and a southern Christian theocracy with no minimum wage, extreme gun rights and no abortion.
Finally, many folks will be greatly relieved to discover that Donald Trump has left Washington for Richmond, Virginia and has now become the President of the Conservative States of America.
- The Proud Boys’ Letter to President Trump - January 8, 2021
- Betting on Trump - January 6, 2021
- Melania Trump’s Christmas Letter - December 23, 2020
