The Divided States of America

The name, “The United States of America” has become a misnomer. Today America is as much united as she is divided.

This is nothing new. The Civil War showed how deeply America was divided. Today the logic of civil war has come back. We do not see eye to eye on many important things and we are becoming increasingly intolerant of those who disagree with us. We worship different gods, and our gods call for an American form of Jihad.

Our states are at war. Some are at war with the federal government; others are at war with other states. Our two parties are becoming increasingly radicalized. Compromise is no longer the name of the political game. They are forgetting that politics is the art of compromise as well as the art of the possible.

What we need is a form of civilized divorce among red and blue states. They can coexist in the mutual respect of their differences and in greater autonomy from the federal government.

The Constitution as it was invented in the beginning has become obsolete. We need a new Constitution. But we cannot agree on this need and even if we did, we cannot agree on how to re-write the Constitution. So we are stuck in our mess. The only solution is to allow the states to take what they must take without having to justify their action for those who disagree. The states must claim back their sovereignty one by one. And the federal government must be reduced, on the domestic side, to being the guardian of democracy and freedom among the states. The most important point is this, the federal government must guarantee the free movement of goods and people among the states.

This formula will allow America to be one country with many systems. Let’s be realistic. This formula takes into account the way we are today. The time has come to let the American dream become just a dream.