If we don’t like Westminster, are we going to like an English parliament better? — Mary Beard

Those we spoke to seemed to have answered as they did as a form of protest that was neither red nor blue but a polychromatic riot — against a recovery that has yet to produce jobs, against jobs that don’t pay, against mistreatment of veterans, against war, against deficits, against hyper-partisanship, against political corruption, against illegal immigration, against the assault on marriage, against the assault on same-sex marriage, against government in the bedroom, against government in general — the president, Congress, the courts and both political parties.–Jim Gaines in the article cited.

Twenty-five percent of Americans, really? That’s astonishing.

• Men more than women (that figures)
• Lower income more than higher
• Southwest more than Northeast

Frustration with Congress, the courts, the President, and political parties may make us yearn for change, but there is little reason to see hope in Balkanization. Partition of NYS into two parts might set off a migration as with the partition of India, but is unlikely to leave either half better off. An independent Western NY would likely be a third world country.

As frustrated as we are with our government, there seems to be little hope of reform. Even when there is consensus for changes to the Constitution, as there is with the movement for campaign finance reform, Constitutional barriers to revision stand in the way. Our system of checks and balances discourages progress–divided government often results in deadlock.

Jim Gaines concludes:

The United States hardly seems to be on the verge of fracture, and the small secession movements in a handful of American states today represent a tiny percentage of those polled by Reuters. But any country where 60 million people declare themselves to be sincerely aggrieved — especially one that is fractious by nature — is a country inviting either the sophistry of a demagogue or a serious movement for reform.

© William Hungerford – September 2014

http://blogs.reuters.com/jamesrgaines/2014/09/19/one-in-four-americans-want-their-state-to-secede-from-the-u-s-but-why/

https://newny23rd.com/2014/03/24/upstatedownstate/