I’m Tired of Living in a Country Defined by Texas’ Standards of Right and Wrong

It’s time for New York to secede from the United States

by kenneth l. warner

I like living in New York State. Even despite the fact that a Democratic governor, senate and assembly can’t seem to pass universal health care, or child-care or paid family leave, and to expand appropriate worker protections.

Still, I like living in a state that is socially as far away from Texas as it is geographically. And, frankly, I want to keep it that way.

These days, living in America makes Miss Liberty a little green around the gills. Photo by Tania Fernandez on Unsplash

That state, along with several others, dominates the daily news with their latest assault on women, minorities, voting rights and basic freedoms. And along with that, I’m definitely not happy about a lopsided, reactionary United States Supreme Court that is hell-bent on supporting this Texas insanity and is turning back the clock a hundred or so years to a time when woman were chattel and Jim Crow laws ruled the land.

Unfortunately, we have a system of government where New York State has approximately 20 million residents and its two US Senators representing them, while 8 states: Wyoming, Alaska, the Dakotas, Delaware, Rhode Island, Montana and Vermont have half our population and 16 Senators. That means that these places can combine with Texas, West Virginia, and a few other nut-case states to block our opportunity for moving into the 21st century and living in a civilized world.

And, lest I forget this part of reality of living in the United States: there’s Wisconsin. Between a jury of 12 peers who find Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty, and whack jobsrunning down Christmas revelersI frankly don’t want to be in the same club as these people anymore.

Finally, I don’t want to be a part of country that’s supposed to be the shining star of democracy in the world and where the popular vote picks one candidate as president but because of an antiquated system called the “electoral college” anoints another.It’s not Donald Trump who is bad, it’s the system. Even if he doesn’t succeed in an autocratic takeover of the country, he has laid out a roadmap for another would-be dictator to overthrow the government.

Whatever happened to one person one vote?

Time to get outa’ town from a system gone beyond bad into rotten.

So, my thought is that since New York State if compared with nations, is the 10th largest economy in the world, we probably can stand on our own against most everyone else. We can secede peacefully, declare victory and supplement our economy with massive aid from the U.S. who, after all, always gives economic development money to countries we lose to.

Think Peter Sellers in the movie The Mouse That Roared.

I’m not alone, by the way. California, with the 5th largest economy in the world, has a secessionist movement as well. In 2015, some Californians created the California National Party whose goal is the secession of California from the United States by legal and peaceful means.

They too want to get away from the insanity.

From a historical perspective, secession is not a new phenomenon. Vermont actually successfully seceded from New York in 1777. And in the bizarre world of New York State politics, several Upstate and Western New York elected officials (all sworn to uphold the Constitution, by the way) have been proposing various forms of seceding from New York State, cutting it off from New York City. An interesting concept until you realize that economically, we would go from the 10th largest economy to one of the poorest nations in the world.

If you recall, my other suggestion was that we give Texas back to Mexico, only to find that they don’t want it either. But, I still believe we should pursue it. And, while we’re at it, why not give Louisiana back the French, Alaska back to the Russians, and Florida back to the Spanish.

Let them figure out how to deal with these whackos.