It’s time to get real, America

By Kathleen Goddeyne - 

The United States of America is known for being the land of the free and the home of the brave. People from all over the world save money, fill out endless paperwork, and study for a citizenship test to uproot their lives just to live here. We live in the land of opportunity. The land where if you believe in yourself and work hard enough, you can become anything you want.

The 2012 Presidential Election, may it rest in peace, was one of the most controversial elections I’ve ever witnessed. Whether it can be accredited to the candidates, an evenly split nation, or the fast paced social media content, many citizens from all political parties lost their head in momentary political outrage.

Although calling your friend a moron for not pledging to vote for the political candidate you believe in is quite unbecoming, I think that what is happening now is even more offensive.

According to www.petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions, all 50 states have a petition to secede from the Union. In order for White House Officials to review the petitions, 25,000 signatures must be gathered within 30 days of the petition’s start date.
As of Nov. 14, seven states have succeeded in collecting the minimum requirement of signatures. North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana obtained enough signatures for a review.

Even with the 25,000 signatures, it is unlikely that any of these states will actually secede. Without state politicians’ support of the secession, it is nearly impossible.

My problem with the entire situation is that members of our nation are being sore losers. I feel like we must be the current international joke. We have an overabundance of everything we could possibly need. Even our homeless are fed hot meals. Starving children and families in countries less fortunate than ours would gladly come to America.

But not us Americans, because we are selfish. If things don’t go exactly the way we had planned, we threaten to secede? Since when has that been a truly viable option?

Let’s take a look at all of the problems that will arise if a state were actually successful in seceding.

First of all, there is the problem with the military. Military services are organized and run by the federal government. Good luck protecting yourselves with no army. I’m assuming that since everyone is hiding behind their computer screens to be a part of this petition that no one will be brave enough to step up and protect their new “country.”

Every business would have to learn about foreign policy when it comes to importing and exporting goods because I’ll bet that there isn’t a state in the nation that could sustain itself on only its homegrown products. This would pertain to all products including many food items. I would also assume that it isn’t cheap to have everything imported from another country.

As a recent college graduate, I know how much federal aid helps to attain a degree. If I hadn’t been able to take out loans from the federal government, I wouldn’t have been able to pay for my schooling, which has allowed me to better others and myself. Good luck pulling in any out of state (or would it be out of country?) students when school is truly unaffordable. This will affect jobs and of course the tourism economy, provided by visiting friends and family, that so many college towns benefit from.

Things like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, anything that is funded by our federal government will cease to exist for states that succeed in seceding.

While our federal government may not be perfect, name me a government that is. When you have to make decisions for more than 300 million people, things can get a little hairy.

My advice is whether you voted for Obama or Romney, you better buck up because either way, we have four more years ahead of us. Let’s make the most of them and continue to be the nation that I’ve always been proud to call home.