By: Shawn Alli
Posted: April 18, 2017 (on http://www.shawnalli.com/)
*Note: This is an ideological article attempting to sell Calexit to the people of California.
Calexit is the brain child of various government exits. From Greece's potential exit from the European Union (Grexit), to Britain's ongoing exit from the EU (Brexit), and to France's potential exit from the EU (Frexit). Calexit represents the state of California becoming a separate country from the US. While there's much work to be done, it all begins with collecting enough signatures to put an independence measure on the 2018 ballot. This vote will enable the repeal of the claim:
California is an inseparable part of the United States of America, and the United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
Oddly enough, a day before publishing this article, the ballot measure is withdrawn from the current Calexit campaign. [1] But hopefully a new one will take it's place in the future.
And after the potential ballot measure, the rest will be an ever changing difficult process. You'll make some mistakes along the way, but no one says that carving out your own destiny is an easy process. And Californians don't quit on people just because of the rise of Trump. No, they dig their heels in for a trench war defense with sanctuary state status, while calling for an offensive Calexit referendum.
The strongest reason for separating is ideological. Your liberal ideologies are quite distinct from others attempting to implement such ideologies in non-Californian states or countries.
Your ideology of welcoming immigrant visible minorities and visible minorities in general is unparalleled. There is no greater state or country (aside from Canada) that champions the rights of immigrant visible minorities.
You don't want to be part of Trump's ideology of breaking up families via deportation. But that's what you're doing if you vote no on the potential ballot measure. While sanctuary status is good, it's a band-aid solution that won't stop the bleeding.
Your support for the LGBT community is unrivaled. Your novel LGBT travel ban against anti-LGBT states is quite impressive [2]. You don't need to be weighed down by all the conservative values across the US who are blocking progress on LGBT and immigration issues.
Your precautionary principle ideologies set precedent for others states and countries. Californians are some of the first to ban toxic poisons and defend natural environments from Big Agriculture.
Your organic food ideologies are the foundation of the global organic movement. Almost everyone in the world gets their organic food from you.
Your support for women's reproductive choices is second to none. Other states and governments base their reproductive programs on those of California. As a country, all Californian women will be able to have abortions without stigma or fear of repercussions.
Your climate change policies are the foundation for the rest of the world. You don't need the Trump administration undoing these policies with the new EPA chief calling for an exit from the Paris Agreement. [3]
As a country, you'll be able to use marijuana for medical or recreational use without stigma or fear of repercussion.
And what are the negative arguments against Calexit?
California would have to deal with US foreign policy.
You needn't worry about such things my Californian friends. Your character will enable you to overcome any obstacle. You have the power of Hollywood and Silicon Valley at your disposal. And to top it off, you have Elon Musk. His brainchild of successful reusable rockets is incredible. [4] [5] His idea for a Hyperloop is beginning to take shape. [6] His electric cars will reduce pollution and the risk of climate change for Californians. [7] [8] In fact, Musk may even serve as your first president.
Generally speaking, the US government as a whole is weighing you down. You give more to the federal government than you get back. [9] You don't need that unnecessary baggage. You need to cast off that dead weight and carve out your own destiny with your strong liberal ideologies.
The judicial system will have to be redrawn.
Great. You're very much aware that the current judicial system is broken. You know that sexual assault victims aren't getting real justice. With your reforms, you'll be able to create an ethical justice system where marginalized people won't be intimidated or cynical in their quest for real justice.
The US military won't protect California.
Don't worry. Your advanced knowledge from Silicon Valley will lead to the birth of the robotic revolution as a strong defense. You won't attack other countries but won't allow other countries to attack you.
California would face the same bureaucracy that the US government faces.
Nonsense. Your liberal ideologies will enable a majority government in a standard WE political framework. But if you really want to be trailblazers and set precedent, you can introduce a skoparxist government where 80% of the citizens (the majority will) create policies instead of government officials. Government officials like the Representative of California (ROC) and council will only have the power to implement policies that the majority will decides on. And with Silicon Valley at your disposal, you'll be able to create a convenient and encrypted voting system in residential houses in no time (see Philosophy Reborn Part I: Purpose).
You'll probably have to give up some land in the north for the rest of the US to have access to the Pacific Ocean. You can give up the northern piece that's predominately conservative (the area above Sacramento). It's a small cost for political, economic, and cultural freedom.
California just needs a few tweaks instead of independence.
Nonsense. Separating California into various states doesn't solve the real problem, the Trump administration and the bureaucracy of the US government in general. Splitting up the state is small time thinking. That's not carving out your own destiny. That's settling for less. Californians don't settle for garbage jobs. You don't settle for garbage relationships or marriages. So why should you settle for less in terms of governance? You deserve political, economic, and cultural independence.
California needs the US government's money.
The over $300 billion that the US government gives you annually is generally for health. With your combination of natural health (marijuana and organic food) and cutting edge science (gene editing and synthetic biology), you'll be able to negate that cost. Silicon Valley investors and private equity firms have deep pockets in order to fund that cutting edge science. It won't be easy in the beginning but the payoffs will be worth it in the end.
California will be ransacked by crime.
With strong support for visible minorities, immigrants, and new gun policies, liberal ideologies will filter through the population and take hold of them. And your police departments in the new country will reflect those ideologies as well. Anyone who isn't onboard will lose their jobs. California as a country will never tolerate religious discrimination, racism, or sexism in their police, military, and intelligence agencies.
Some corporations will leave California.
Let them. Aside from creating a competitive corporate tax rate similar to Trump's expected tax reform rates, you can't put profit ahead of liberal values and people. It's not an easy decision but you have to take the higher moral ground. Remember, other states and countries look to you as holding a high ethical and safety standard.
There's no good reason why you should vote no on separating from the US in the potential 2018 ballot measure. So get out there and carve out your own destiny.
References:
[1] Leader of 'Cal-Exit' Drops Bid for California to Secede, Instead Moves to Russia. Associated Press. April 18, 2017.
[2] Watanabe, Teresa and Xia, Rosanna. California's travel ban against anti-LGBT states is keeping athletes from games and students from conferences. Los Angeles Times. February 21, 2017.
[3] Mooney, Chris and Dennis, Brady. Scott Pruitt calls for an 'exit' from the Paris accord, sharpening the Trump administration climate rift. Washington Post. April 14, 2017.
[4] Yuhas, Alan. SpaceX rocket successfully lands on ocean drone platform for first time. Guardian. April 8, 2016.
[5] Wattles, Jackie. SpaceX makes history: It launched a used rocket and then landed it in the ocean. CNN. March 31, 2017.
[6] Morris, David Z. Hyperloop One Completes Test Track, Exploring U.S. Routes. Fortune. April 9, 2017.
[7] Tonachel, Luke. Study: Electric Vehicles Can Dramatically Reduce Carbon Pollution from Transportation, and Improve Air Quality. Natural Resources Defense Council. September 17, 2015.
[8] Reducing Pollution with Electric Vehicles. US Department of Energy.
[9] Bump, Philip. California and President Trump are going to war with each other. Washington Post. February 6, 2017.