* * A new Confederacy, anyone?

This article appeared in my column in the News Messenger.

Have you been following the vote in Scotland to leave the United Kingdom? I think this is fascinating that a portion of a nation can simply vote to leave. If the vote would have been successful, Scotland would have been an independent nation, entirely separate from the other three constituent “states” of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland that comprise the United Kingdom. It was voted down in a referendum that featured almost 100% participation. Note: It is unusual in our democracy, for more than 60% of eligible voters to vote on any election. Somehow we seem more inclined to boast about our system than to participate in it.

Scotland’s vote got me thinking about the only separatist movement here, called variously the “Civil War,” the “War Between the States,” and the “War of Northern Aggression,” depending upon where you come from. It was the bloodiest, most traumatic event in our nation’s history.

The Scottish people began a serious separatist movement about two years ago, culminating in the recent vote. The measure failed, meaning that for at least another generation, Scotland will remain part of the U.K. But it sure seems, well, civilized, that such a thing could happen via a mere referendum.

The reason for Scotland’s effort rings eerily familiar. Many Scots felt that the central government, in this case down in London, was indifferent to their concerns. For three decades dating back to the Thatcher administration, the national government had swung too violently conservative for many Scots to take. In particular, the current Prime Minister, Tory David Cameron, is extremely right-wing. Scotland’s own government and most of its citizens are overwhelmingly liberal.

To his credit, although Cameron expressed deep regret in the notion that Scotland might want to split, he was willing to allow it to happen. Abraham Lincoln took a different approach when several southern states formed a confederacy with the intention of splitting. He fought a war to prevent it.

If there was to be another separatist movement here in America these days, it seems likely that it might form around the divide between the red/Republican/conservative camp and the blue/Democratic/liberal camp. Interestingly, the former closely resembles the former Confederacy, along with much of the Intermountain West, while the latter is comprised of the Northeast, the Upper Midwest, and the Pacific Coast states. There certainly seem to be enough people in the former camp who are angry and disillusioned by the current President to want to split.

So I got to thinking: what if the red states decided to leave and re-form the Confederate States of America and President Obama said, “Sure”?

What would this new arrangement look like?

The CSA gets Disney World, NASCAR, gumbo, tobacco, catfish, and Duck Dynasty. The USA keeps Disneyland, lobster, cheese steak sandwiches, Apple, craft beers, Microsoft, and the best coffee.

The CSA gets Myrtle Beach, Miami Beach, and the Gulf Coast. USA gets Malibu, Big Sur, the Jersey Shore, and Arcadia.

The CSA gets the Everglades, Big Bend, the Smokies, Vail, Canyonlands, the Grand Canyon, and Mammoth Cave. The USA keeps Mount Rainier, Yosemite, the Statue of Liberty, and Isle Royale.

The CSA gets Ole Miss, Universities of Texas, Miami, Georgia, and Alabama. The USA keeps Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, and UCLA.

The CSA gets the hurricanes and tornados. The USA keeps the earthquakes and blizzards.

In politics, the CSA gets Ted Cruz, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and special guest Sarah Palin (exiled from Alaska, but yet another red state). The USA keeps Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Elizabeth Warren.

Once freed from the odious burden of compromise, both reconstituted nations would likely waste little time in enacting far-reaching changes. For example, the CSA would ban abortions, unions, gun control, Medicare, Medicaid, environmental regulations, marriage equality, and the Affordable Care Act. It would probably drop Social Security and sell its national parks. The USA would implement universal health care, offer state-supported free contraceptive services and products, implement a $15.00 minimum wage, grant full rights to homosexuals, and impose tight gun controls, and strict environmental and worker protections. I’ll leave it to you to decide which might have a better social and economic future.

 I purposely left out putting our beloved commonwealth of Virginia in either camp, given its recent “purple” status. Take a moment and consider which side you’d be on, and in which country you’d rather live.

If it came up for a vote, would you vote to leave the USA or to remain, or if you would stay home from the polls like 40% of eligible voters typically do?

Jot me a note care of <editor@newsmessenger.com> and let me know, would ya?