America is a lock-in

Once your territory agrees to become part of the United States, it hands over its figurative car keys to the host. Then this party becomes a lock-in, a New Year’s Eve party in which everyone must stay over and guests are not allowed to leave early for fear that they might drive drunk. Alright?

People from 50 states have started petitions for secession and I’m guessing they’re unhappy with Obama’s election. There are a number of obvious reasons why wanting your state to become a sovereign nation due to an election result is profoundly stupid. Shall we count the ways?

Say you’re a Republican in California and you’re upset about the Democratic victory and have filed a petition for your state to secede. You really think it’s fair that the millions of people in your state who voted for Obama should bend to your tantrum as your state declares independence from the union? What are Californians who oppose secession supposed to do, roll over because you’re unhappy? This election was close enough that’s it’s not like one state had 99 percent of the voters go for Romney. There are pockets of support for both candidates in every state, making the argument that any of these states should leave the country grossly selfish. Shall we disband as a nation and become 50 separate sovereign territories? Does any thinking person think this is a viable argument?

You can’t seriously support the concept of democracy and simultaneously declare that because your guy lost, your whole state should leave America.

I’m sure this is just crackpots being crackpots and there are bound to be a few of those in a nation with 300 million people. But the idea of secession, even if it’s unconstitutional, just pushes buttons with me. It’s almost heresy. By all means, let’s all form our own countries and fight one another. It worked out so well the first time we tried this in the 1860s, there’s no reason it can’t be a similarly smashing success in 2012.

This seems like drama for the sake of drama and if Romney had won, I’m sure some Obama crackpots would be starting secession petitions. I know that no matter what the outcome of any election, I would never leave this country. I would stay and try to find a workable solution.

And no, I don’t say “go ahead” to all the red states that want to secede. Those are our own people in those states, part of the same America. We need these states and we need their citizens.

If you have a problem with the election or anything else going on in this country, the solution isn’t to storm off in a huff and threaten to take your toys and leave. We would be a better nation if we all worked together to find acceptable solutions to our common problems. America is as great as it is because by and large our people, as diverse as they are, manage to come together most of the time. No president can unite this country. We must do that ourselves.  

The election is over. It ended. It’s done. (And thank Christ Almighty for that.) Let’s quit being drama queens, quit being bitter, quit gloating and actually accomplish something.