State of confusion
Here’s a scary thought: I can recall when there were 48 states in the United States of America. I was in junior high school when Alaska and Hawaii expanded the number to fifty. I can recall when local television newscasters sounded like their viewers…not like some homogenized “one voice fits all” accent-free, monotonic, robotic teleprompter reader. Just one generation ago each national region and each state boasted a unique identity and cultural factors that delineated from the others in the union. On another front we find many local governments charging toward expansion and regionalization. Cities incorporate townships, counties and cities merge for purposes of “efficiency,” and regional coalitions for managing parks, economic development and transportation hubs are formed.
Our national population of roughly 312 million people is becoming increasingly difficult to govern. True, there are other, larger countries, but their governments are more despotic and controlling than is ours…for the moment. Given the turmoil that we are currently experiencing and the real political and economic divisions that we have in the nation, I jumped outside the box to seek an amicable solution for our problems. Although I am a secessionist (believing that Ohio would be better off without the federal monster), there may be a reasonable solution that would not involve fifty independent nations sharing a continent. It seems to me that we are having difficulty maintaining our freedom and constraining the massive federal government because of four primary reasons: size, diversity, avarice and career politicians.
The sheer size of our nation and its economy inhibit the ability of our republic to function as designed. Each region has its own preferences and strengths, and some level of resentment is generated when the federal government attempts to set priorities. As a result, trade-offs and pork barreling become standard methods for doing business in order to secure enough votes for legislation. There are ports on four coasts, multiple navigable rivers, rich soils and minerals. The ethnic and racial divisions are varied and sometimes divisive. Within the Latino community, for example, one finds Puerto Ricans, legal and illegal Mexicans, legal and illegal Central and South Americans, and a sizable Cuban ex-patriot community. When the republic was founded there were thirteen original states who had enormous differences but shared a common purpose for liberty.
Fifty states from Maryland to Hawaii and Florida to Alaska are a jumble of diverse interests, populations and economic foundations. If all people of the nation shared common values, goals and principles, the diversity could provide an enriching element to the body as a whole. Diversity can also lead to disruption and division. The differences among the regions and the various states have existed since the founding, and in fact, led to a brutal War Between the States some seventy plus years after the new nation’s inauguration. It has been nearly 150 years since that bloody conflict…some of the differences have disappeared and others still exist. No one can honestly suggest that a native of Boston has much in common with someone reared in the bayous of Louisiana. Our differences lead our national leaders to ignore the pleas of southwestern border states regarding the national border in order to appease those interests in other regions who desire to appear more “humane.” Farmers in a rich California valley are losing their enterprises because environmentalists are protecting some minor critters. Outside regions and their political activists are invading other regions and utilizing the national political platform to usurp their property rights.
Human nature leads most people to descend to the level of beasts if unchecked by faith, law or public disapproval. The Founders expressed the idea that our republic could survive only if the citizens were virtuous, honorable and faithful to a Higher Power. Spirituality and faith, virtue and honor are rapidly diminishing as characteristics of our citizens. Today we have tension and squabbling as various groups and interests attempt to corner the national agenda or raid the federal treasury. Union, even the so-called “public service” ones, demand concessions and pay or benefit increases even when the paying entity is facing financial destruction. Corporations become so large and indifferent that their employees are treated callously. Some people continuously attempt to “game” the system in order to gain advantage over others. Self-governance on a large scale is extremely difficult when few citizens respect the government or the law.
Political leaders who spend their entire lives actively running for and serving in office are a blot on a large republic like ours. We have, in essence, an elite oligarchy that prefers to rule rather than govern. Their motivations are generally limited to the next election cycle with little concern about the long-term future of the nation. They lack virtue and honor, and their lust for political office and power is bald-faced avarice.
Tomorrow I’ll give my prescription for this mess we’re in.
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