You right-wing nutjobs really do live in a delusional world. Do we need to trot out the balance-of-payments stats to show how the red states as a group feed on the federal trough that is funded by blue states? Hmm, I guess we do. Read it and weep.
Well, I would imagine that the red states could raise the price of food and water to compensate themselves nicely. Don't need subsidies for that crap when you can charge market rates to your friendly neighbors.
The fact of the matter is that the red states need the blue states and vice versa. California alone has the 5th largest economy in the world. The red states would not survive.
If real life losers like Glitter Bomb don't like it in the US they can go to Russia, China, or N Korea where I'm sure that they would find a lot of like-minded comrades.
Yes Russia, China, N Korea is the utopia the red cultists are all hoping for. That's the end goal of the Trump party for America. Though conservatives are so brainwashed that even after their nation would turn into that sort of freedom-less hell hole they might still be worshipping their political leaders just as there are plenty of people in those countries as brainwashed as republicans that they thank their corrupt totalitarian leaders for subjugating them.
One this is for sure, "red state" nation would quickly devolve into a third world country. Think about some middle east countries - repressive and oppressive religious authoritative regimes that suppress people's rights especially if you're a woman or of the wrong religion and keep the rich super wealthy while the people suffer - that's basically an exact definition of american conservatives and their values and desires. Red State would be a third world country within just a few years and any self respecting woman would or non-white or non-christian would flee to Blue State very quickly if they have the means to move. Red State would therefore probably focus a lot of money on building border walls to keep people IN, specifically women, so they wouldn't all flee. There would be plenty of trade between Blue State and Red State, expect as the red state economy and culture and society and rights goes into free fall within the first few years, it'd get increasingly hard for them to buy imports from Blue State as their economic means for imports would be trash, while Blue State could easily afford to buy food from Red State and agricultural exports to Blue State would become perhaps the major industry keeping Red State alive.
Both of these new nations would have to adjust a lot, but Blue State would likely stay basically America though without the giant global military influence (and so without all that military spending) and with a lot more rights for the people, although sure higher taxes. The two main parties in Blue State would likely be moderates and leftists, with moderates dominating and keeping most of the dumber leftist ideas at bay. While Red State would be a third world nightmare, a human rights disaster, and would likely cause a lot of problems for Blue State simply by being such a corrupt and troubled and poor country right next to Blue State. Rest State would end up being a single party totalitarian religious regime where women have no rights and free speech is lauded in political speeches but completely abandoned in reality. You'd have a govt that every year tries to be more extreme than it was the previous year (as we already have in the republican party) and it's "justice" system would be driven mostly by political retribution against non-loyalists, whereas laws basically wouldn't apply to elite loyalists (which is what the republicans party has been implementing in America the past decade).
For the sake of all Americans, this would be a nightmare. While Blue State would very likely become a better place to live than USA (though by no means perfect), Red State would be a catastrophic nightmare and so splitting up would be a terrible idea.
In my Utopia, there is no Government. Your Utopia would look much like the show, Queer Eye, where there would five gay overlords ruling and judging over the masses, assuring strict compliance to the all mighty LGBTQ holy doctrine.
I think that we are not all so different as the media would portray us. I get along with my neighbors just fine and my friends just fine. I dont have a clue what their politics are. I have grown more conservative as i have gotten older and had kids, but i can still respect the people that live around me and have different views than me. Where I am, most want the same things: good schools for their kids, safety in the community, and economic prosperity. Those are pretty universal beliefs.
I think one of the biggest issues we face is the advent of social media and online bubbles that act as echo chambers. No way would half of the horrible things I read online be said between people face to face.
Ask yourselves - did the dialogue in this thread prove to be grown up or childish?
I gave you an upvote because you were correct, but the OP's question is one that ultimately leads to the realization that we need each other and are stronger as a union. Although it seems like a troll, this is a common exercise in civics classes (and I guess law classes, as others on here have stated). If you dig in to how people play a part in the larger symphony - which isn't going to happen on LRC - you see that we all play an important part; we all rely on the other side. It is good to realize that more often.
Like the guy above, I also consider myself to be a more conservative person, but I vote for the rights of my more progressive countrymen. I am not a leftist, or even a progressive, but I support others' rights to be that way as long as it doesn't hurt others. I think some people are misguided, but so am I on many things.
As Vonnegut wrote so eloquently, "Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you’ve got a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies- God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.”
You may be able to carve out some very rural states like ND, SD, WY, MT and UT and create a weird amalgam of Bundy-ites, tech billionaires and Mormons. Otherwise, the problem is that within every solidly red state are cities that are very solidly blue. In Texas, the 21st congressional district, which is Chip Roy's district and one of the reddest in the county, runs from the burbs in San Antonio to the southern burbs of Austin out to the west into the Hill Country, which is full of retirees and rural Texans. Right next to that district is the 35th congressional district which takes a big chunk of metro San Antonio and then runs along I-35 to take a big chunk of the east side of Austin. It is Greg Casar's district and is one of the most liberal districts in the US. So, logistically, it is impossible to separate out the red parts of the US as they are inextricably intertwined with very blue metropolitan areas.
Also, the only real division in the US is over whether people worship at the alter of Trump or not. Politically, Trump has taken positions that all but eviscerate Ronald Reagan's version of the Republican party and sound more like a bizarro world version of Democrat policies (trade protectionism, isolationism, etc.). And both parties are basically on the same page as far as serving the interests of big business and keeping defense spending at record levels. The big "divisions" are nothing more than outrages of the week peddled by social media.
These past few posts have been very thoughtful and all, but would not the ultimate solution be to just eliminate government all together? Nobody would have to move, and everyone could live their life freely the way he/she chooses. Nobody could force you to live a certain way, or to subsidize social programs that you deemed immoral. Bickering between the left/right would be completely unnecessary and pointless, because none would have any power or control over the other. Be gay, be straight, go to church, be an atheist, be and do anything you wanted except for initiating force against another, which in essence in what government does. Now if we could only figure out the roads........
The “Red” state would quickly engage in mass book bannings and speech suppression all the while begging for handouts to restore the quality of life the evil liberals once provided for them with economic growth.
Nobody is going to be banning books in my side. Don't fret Harambe, you will still be able to read the Twilight series as many times as you want.
How to kill a mockingbird? The communist manifesto you mentioned earlier. All these books that have been banned in right wing states.
Nobody is going to be banning books in my side. Don't fret Harambe, you will still be able to read the Twilight series as many times as you want.
How to kill a mockingbird? The communist manifesto you mentioned earlier. All these books that have been banned in right wing states.
Dude I don't advocate for anything like that. Both the right and left use the power of government to violate the rights of individuals, the left is just better at it and does way more often. Get rid of government, get rid of public schools, so you and your children can read whatever you want.
How to kill a mockingbird? The communist manifesto you mentioned earlier. All these books that have been banned in right wing states.
Dude I don't advocate for anything like that. Both the right and left use the power of government to violate the rights of individuals, the left is just better at it and does way more often. Get rid of government, get rid of public schools, so you and your children can read whatever you want.
Getting rid of public schools is not a way that "children can read what (you) want." It is usually the private, actually "Christian," schools that usually dictate what the students attending those schools read ( a good deal of private schools that are secular are actually liberal and not conservative).
Dude I don't advocate for anything like that. Both the right and left use the power of government to violate the rights of individuals, the left is just better at it and does way more often. Get rid of government, get rid of public schools, so you and your children can read whatever you want.
Getting rid of public schools is not a way that "children can read what (you) want." It is usually the private, actually "Christian," schools that usually dictate what the students attending those schools read ( a good deal of private schools that are secular are actually liberal and not conservative).
You wouldn't have to send your kids to a "Christian" school. You could shop around for a private school that fitted your needs, and if none could be found, then home school your children.
1. Strip the federal government down to four departments: State, Defense, Treasury, Commerce. Diplomacy, national defense, monetary policy, and regulation of interstate/international commerce are the only national functions. Federal courts uphold national constitutional rights and arbitrate disputes between states.
2. Outside of the federal functions above, there is no redistribution of federal money. Federal taxes are greatly reduced and individual states must know shoulder the burden of financing their own operations and wishes.
3. States can now exercise more independence which will lead to more competition. Realistically, no major employers will locate in a state with bad schools, horrible roads, discriminatory policies, or crumbling infrastructure. Local politicians will now be forced to make tough decisions on taxation lest jobs and population flee to more desirable states. For many states, reality will set in once subsidy dollars disappear. In my opinion, things would even out as conservative states have to accept higher state and local taxes to create livability while progressive states will be faced with greater accountability when it comes to spending. No state would thrive under 40-50% personal and corporate tax rates nor could one survive as a poorly funded economic and cultural backwater.
4. This plan is balanced because it offers freedom, self-determination, more local control, plus guarantees basic rights and a collective national identity.
Sitting down to pee makes you faster. If you wake up in the middle of the night, you can leave all the lights off, basically keep your eyes closed, without making a mess. You then have a better chance of falling back asleep quickly, getting more sleep, recovering better for your next workout, etc etc. If you're standing up to pee at night, you're either leaving time on the table or piss on the floor.
1. Strip the federal government down to four departments: State, Defense, Treasury, Commerce. Diplomacy, national defense, monetary policy, and regulation of interstate/international commerce are the only national functions. Federal courts uphold national constitutional rights and arbitrate disputes between states.
2. Outside of the federal functions above, there is no redistribution of federal money. Federal taxes are greatly reduced and individual states must know shoulder the burden of financing their own operations and wishes.
3. States can now exercise more independence which will lead to more competition. Realistically, no major employers will locate in a state with bad schools, horrible roads, discriminatory policies, or crumbling infrastructure. Local politicians will now be forced to make tough decisions on taxation lest jobs and population flee to more desirable states. For many states, reality will set in once subsidy dollars disappear. In my opinion, things would even out as conservative states have to accept higher state and local taxes to create livability while progressive states will be faced with greater accountability when it comes to spending. No state would thrive under 40-50% personal and corporate tax rates nor could one survive as a poorly funded economic and cultural backwater.
4. This plan is balanced because it offers freedom, self-determination, more local control, plus guarantees basic rights and a collective national identity.
The “Red” state would quickly engage in mass book bannings and speech suppression all the while begging for handouts to restore the quality of life the evil liberals once provided for them with economic growth.
My side would be much like a red neck mud fest, with manly men driving their big trucks and side by sides through the mud, shooting guns in the air, with hot chicks everywhere in American Flag bikinis. The next morning, we get up and go to work at our real jobs. Your side would be a perpetual local production of the Broadway show Hairspray at the downtown theater, with everyone dressed in their 3/4 length chinos, salmon colored polos, and shoulder bags. The next morning, after waking up at 10:00 and going to hot yoga class with the boyfriend, you blog about your feelings.
Talk to all those Red state librarians and schools, then.
My side would be much like a red neck mud fest, with manly men driving their big trucks and side by sides through the mud, shooting guns in the air, with hot chicks everywhere in American Flag bikinis. The next morning, we get up and go to work at our real jobs. Your side would be a perpetual local production of the Broadway show Hairspray at the downtown theater, with everyone dressed in their 3/4 length chinos, salmon colored polos, and shoulder bags. The next morning, after waking up at 10:00 and going to hot yoga class with the boyfriend, you blog about your feelings.
Talk to all those Red state librarians and schools, then.
Harambe, do you live in Ohio? I do, and as you know, Ohio is a red state. By a lot. I unfortunately have to go into the library down the road from me, and there are pride flags hanging everywhere, there are tampons in the mens restroom, there are Juneteenth flags, there are homeless people sleeping on the couches, there are programs helping the local illegal community. Plenty of leftist political books are displayed adjacent to the front door. It's a bastion of liberal ideology, so at least in my area your sentiment that libraries are under the oppressive thumb of right wing legislative policy is completely false. Maybe you have some evidence otherwise.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
You right-wing nutjobs really do live in a delusional world. Do we need to trot out the balance-of-payments stats to show how the red states as a group feed on the federal trough that is funded by blue states? Hmm, I guess we do. Read it and weep.
Well, I would imagine that the red states could raise the price of food and water to compensate themselves nicely. Don't need subsidies for that crap when you can charge market rates to your friendly neighbors.
Where do you suppose all those cold weather red states get all of their fresh produce in the winter? Oh wait, it comes from Blue California - the state which also has the largest production of milk and dairy products.
Look at what happened and how far everyone got every time a group from a US state has talked about seceding or splitting up their state in the last few decades.
If those were non-starters, so is this US decoupling idea.
Talk to all those Red state librarians and schools, then.
Harambe, do you live in Ohio? I do, and as you know, Ohio is a red state. By a lot. I unfortunately have to go into the library down the road from me, and there are pride flags hanging everywhere, there are tampons in the mens restroom, there are Juneteenth flags, there are homeless people sleeping on the couches, there are programs helping the local illegal community. Plenty of leftist political books are displayed adjacent to the front door. It's a bastion of liberal ideology, so at least in my area your sentiment that libraries are under the oppressive thumb of right wing legislative policy is completely false. Maybe you have some evidence otherwise.
Lol you guys are so impotent. In a Red state an you can't even solve your own problems. Giving you guys a whole country would be hilarious.
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