January 18, 2021

Before I begin: I am not in favor of violent rebellion against the government of the United States. What I am discussing here is a peaceful solution that I consider to be beneficial for all parties involved, given the state of affairs in the Republic.

The Case for Separation

The United States is supposed to have a Federalist system of government.^[1] At the heart of this system is a division of powers between the Federal government and the States, which is laid out clearly in the Constitution, especially in Article I, Section 8.^[2] This section is referred to as the "enumerated powers", because it is literally an enumeration of the powers the Federal government shall have. The Constitution clarifies that these are the only powers the Federal government has in the Tenth Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."^[3] I encourage you to read the enumerated powers, because it's a remarkably short list.

The beauty of this system cannot be easily overstated. If the United States is truly just that: A union of 50 generally independent States, there is a remarkable potential for diversity in government. The arguments we have now, have had in the past, and will doubtless have in the future can all be solved independently by each of the States. Those who feel that their state is being run poorly have 49 others to choose from, and are likely to find at least a few which are being governed by like-minded individuals. Of course, this is the case today to a certain extent, but not to the extent that the Constitution insists upon. We now have Supreme Court of the United States abusing the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution to redefine legal terms in every state with a single ruling,^[4] usurping the State's right to govern themselves, regardless of whether the ruling was of immediate net benefit or not (I happen to believe that it was in this case, but the SCOTUS simply did not have the authority to make it). Events like this are now relatively common in the judiciary, but The United States Congress has executed similar usurpations for a hundred years or more countless times, as has the Executive. These violations warrant their own article.

This brings us to the crux of my argument, which in an unfortunate way comes full circle. The United States already should be separated according to our Constitution, into each of the States. The case for dividing the country entirely in two recognizes that this Constitutional separation no longer meaningfully exists, and that we would all be better served by having one nation which is primarily governed from the Federal level, and another which is primarily governed from the State level. This solution satisfies those of us who wish to live by the government described in the Constitution, and others who wish to live under a much more centralized government, respectively.

This Benefits Us All

I believe that this solution of dividing the United States in two serves all Americans, because it is an instant solution to our many disagreements. Of course, it comes with an absolute mountain of organizational challenges, since both new nations have to determine how they'll exist separate of one another and one of the two must reincorporate a union. It's reasonable to assume that the States leaving the former union will keep their respective governments intact, so the organization that would need to be done is on the level of the new union's Federal government. If the leaving States are those which intend to live by the ideals of the Constitution, this process will be much easier because, once again, the enumerated powers are short. I don't mean to argue that this division will be easy, but I do mean to clarify that it is not as difficult as many seem to believe it would be (at least on the governmental level).

The division will be much more difficult on an individual level, because there will doubtless be millions who are not in the nation that aligns with their personal philosophy about government. This will of course lead to a mass migration between the two new unions, and consequently a great deal of interpersonal stress. In my assessment this would be the greatest source of stress of any kind, not the issues of establishing a new government or reconceiving a government in the absence of half of its member States. I do not mean to diminish this stress. I do, however, mean to assert that this stress along with all of the administrative issues posed by the division are still lesser in magnitude than the stress that already exists by trying to reconcile our irreconcilable differences as a nation.

There's Another Way Out

It may be obvious, but simply returning to the Federalist system outlined by the Constitution is a perfectly valid solution to our many disagreements as a nation. Allowing New England, the West Coast States, and the other left-wing States to govern themselves and only themselves as they like, while allowing the South, the Midwest, and the other right-wing States to govern themselves as they like is far preferable to the proposal of separation. We don't have to agree with each other on firearm rights, on minimum wage, on tax rates, even on the freedom of speech. The States can simply draft and enforce their own legislation on these and other matters, the Federal government can leave them alone to do so, and everyone can live where they feel the State government best represents them.

The problem with this solution is not in how well it satisfies everyone, or how practically applicable it is. The problem with this solution is that it requires the Federal government to allow the States govern themselves, which in turn would require the American People to stop looking to the Federal government to resolve our disputes. Moreover, we would have to acknowledge that it is not merely preferable but is legally required that the Federal government leave the States alone. Until we can look to our State legislatures, to our Governors, and to our State Supreme Courts to write, enforce, and interpret the law as we believe it should be... we will feel no relief from the pressure we now feel.

The pressure I refer to is the concern the whole of the American People have for what the President does, what the Congress does, what the Supreme Court does, and perhaps most alarmingly what the leviathan of Federal Bureaucracies do. All of this pressure coming from Washington DC is not necessary and not proper, it is much better distributed between the State and the Federal government as the Constitution asserts it shall. The Federal government, for the third time, has such a short list of responsibilities it is legally allowed to execute. It is the Federal government's unlawful seizure of authority from the States and from the People which has allowed them to exert this pressure in the first place.

A Crossroads

I may be shortsighted, perhaps there is a third way out. I can't see it. As far as I can tell, we will either return to the Federalist system our Constitution insists upon, or we will have to divide into two separate countries. I simply do not believe that our Republic can continue to centralize government authority with our nation so fundamentally divided on how it wants to be governed. A centralized government creates imbalance by its very nature, because the structure of a centralized government is top-heavy. This system can still work, but not when the People it intends to govern is destabilized by disagreements about what the government should do.

The New Unions?

I feel that this image is powerful in it's ability to convey what I imagine we're heading towards, if power is not returned to the States: