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~ Thoughts on Red States and "Deplorables."

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Tag Archives: California

What Follows the American Empire?

16 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by Jim Langcuster in Imperial Decline, U.S. Politics

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

American Empire, California, Jim Langcuster, secession, Texas

It is intriguing and, quite frankly,  heartening, that observers on both ends of the political spectrum perceive that the American Empire is in headlong decline and that something new invariably must  follow, whether this occurs years or a few decades from now.

For me, this decline became increasingly evident more than a decade ago when California governors, beginning with moderate Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, began characterizing the Golden state as a nation within a nation, possessing all the accoutrements of nationhood, including one of the world’s ten largest economies.

Now such affirmations almost seem routine. Legislators in the nation’s second largest state, Texas, are even considering putting a secession initiative on the state ballot – an effort that has earned the endorsement of the Lone Star State’s prominent GOP leaders and that even has piqued the interest of GOP leaders in other states.

Granted, formal secession from the American Empire is decried by elites, particularly when these calls eminate from red states. But the rhetorical cat is out of the bag. Growing numbers of pundits on both ends of the political spectrum no longer are overlooking the obvious: the American Empire is in terminal decline, much like its erstwhile Soviet nemesis some three decades ago.

As this article in The Nation attests, the telltale signs of decline and collapse are readily perceptible. Yes, there’s the inevitable leftist pablum through which the reader must wade to encounter some truly interesting nuggets, notably mention of the challenges of constructing a new civilization from the imperial rubble.

As many of us on the right and even a few on left see it, there is only one basis on which this civilizational reconstruction can occur: It must begin with smaller political entities rather than the oversized, lumbering, bureaucrarized white elephant we’re contending with now.

A Dystopian Bellwether

31 Monday Aug 2020

Posted by Jim Langcuster in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

California, dystopia, leftism, yellow dog Democrats

California, which possesses the fifth-largest economy in the world and has assumed many attributes of a nation-state, is widely viewed as the nation’s principal bellwether state.

To return to an earlier theme: I still marvel at some the folks back home in my native Northwest Alabama – diehard Southern Baptists and other conservative Christians – who still affirm their “yellee-dawg” Democratic loyalties. One of them quickly comes to mind: a high school teacher who dressed me up and down for summoning the temerity to wear a “Gerald Ford for President” button to her class room way back in the fall of 1976. (Yes, I’m notorious for holding grudges, even across decades.)

And this brings me to another one of my perennial themes, the troubled, if not imperilled, state of the Golden State – California.

In the view of many, this bellwether state is assuming contours that strike many of us as disturbingly portentous – possible signs of dystopian future perhaps not too far removed from a few of the iconic science fiction movies such as “Mad Max” and “Escape from New York” that left such searing impressions on those of us who reached maturity the 70’s and 80’s.

California has for at least the past half century been regarded as this nation’s social, cultural and political bellwether. And within the last 20 years, this increasingly midnight-blue state has been regarded as the Democratic Party’s crown electoral jewel as well as its policymaking bellwether. Moreover, to an increasing degree, Democratic policymakers establish policy benchmarks for other blue states, if not the rest of the nation as a whole.

And this brings me back to the folks back home who still doggedly cling to the political identity to which they still apparently regard as tribal. What are they thinking? How do they manage to rationalize the dysfunction of California? Why do they assume that this pathology somewhow will remain contained – that it will not be carried East, ultimately into the ruby-red states of Arkansas, Alabama and West Virginia? 

What assures them that the rest of the country will somehow remain cordoned off from the megastate to which our cultural and political elites have looked for inspiration for much of the past century?

Why do they still assume that life will go on as it always has?

For many of us who were raised around this doggedly tribal cultural identity, even marveling at it on occasion, these remain million-dollar questions.

Calhoun’s Spirit Alive and Well in California

05 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by Jim Langcuster in American Federalism, American History, Brexit, Devolution, Federalism, U.S. Politics, Uncategorized

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California, Catalonia, Decentrism, European Union, James Madison, Jim Langcuster, John C. Calhoun, Nullification, Sanctuary State, Spain, States Rights, Thomas Jefferson

Elites are apparently having a hard time coping with the phenomenon of “identity awakening.”

In a recent column, Ramón Luis Valcárcel, vice-president of the European Parliament, follows a predictable path: Catalonian nationalists are “undemocratic” – they even evince authoritarian traits – and threaten the peace of Europe (even though they aspire to be a part of the European Union). Indeed, he goes so far to contend that secession doesn’t even constitute a legitimate undertaking in a state that meets all of the hallmarks of a democratic one (Spain, in this case). And, of course, add to that the suspicion of Russian collusion – the secessionists are “aided by pro-Russian bots of the stature of Julian Assange.”

I was also a bit taken aback by the use of “deplorable” early in the text.

Finally, the writer conveniently forgets that the vaunted Spanish experience, while purportedly democratic now, carries the painful memories of Francoism, during which Spanish national identity was rammed down Catalan throats.

Yet, I suppose we can derive some solace from what has just transpired in blue-state California, where Gov. Jerry Brown just signed a bill into law establishing California as a sanctuary state.

It appears that decentralist tailwinds are sweeping all over the world.

The greatest of all national centralizers,  Old Abe Lincoln,  must be rolling in his grave. With the signing of this bill, America seems to have come full circle to the spirit of Jefferson, Madison, and yes, perish the thought, John C. Calhoun, the ultimate red-state deplorable and the philosopher of nullification doctrine.

But that’s okay.  Old habits die hard, and despite all the best efforts and fervent wishing of the European and American ruling classes, the basic human passion for local affinity and identity invariably trumps – no pun intended –  centralism.

As a close friend of mine brilliantly observed, sooner or later everyone eventually embraces his or her inner Calhoun.

 

 

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