The other issue is the layout of the country politically. I have seen people throw around maps for what the countries that would come out of that look like, and it always comes back to the same problem at least from my view as a historian. That being, Leftyland has NO connected border, no resources, no/little arable land, hell even fresh water would be a problem outside of a handful on the Great Lakes.
Rightyland on the other hand would still have all of the above and even have some major metropolitan areas (Red metros are rarer, but still exist. See: Wichita, Oklahoma City, San Diego, etc)
History shows that Leftyland is doomed from go due to the border-gore alone, which will just raise tensions that much further.
OT: I agree with your overall point. The near future is going to suck, but I feel that all of the people going 100% doom are just scared and buy into the Lefts "End of History" argument, which assumes a totally static world that never changes. Such assumptions have been the ruin of more than can be counted in history, because much like a vacuum, Nature abhors static.
Commieland is literally split not just among north/south but the Midwest is like its own barrier. The Midwest would most likely just be neutral leftyland where they wouldn't want to participate in any of it - that would make it near impossible for the left to do much good.
Where is our military the most strongest? Texas is one but where else is it?
Its a bigger problem then that. When you look at a political map, most states that are "blue" are only so because of a few extremely large urban centers. So if, say, the west coast (CA, WA, OR) decided they wanted to secede, you would see their more rural areas, who have been on the receiving end of urban abuse for decades, pull a West Virginia and secede from them back to the United States. Meaning we are back to no food, no water, no resources, no power, just a mega-city and a handful of friendly territory near it.
Even the Midwest still has its problem areas in the form of Detroit, Milwaukee, and Chicago, so dont count it out. Although it is mostly the Upper Midwest (MI, IL, WI, MN), not the Lower Midwest (KS, NE, MO, IA), with the oddballs being the Dakotas (Upper Midwest, culturally more in line with the Lower Midwest).
As for military, the South in general has an extremely strong military presence, as well as the Lower Midwest (lots of buildup as a reaction to the Great Depression). The military is going to be a wild card though, as most of the high ranking officers are more politically charged and lean left along with a lot of the POGs, but the actual grunts are still largely right leaning and remain so despite the best efforts of the high command to change that.
Also include Nevada. The entire state is red except for Las Vegas. Control the Hoover Dam, and Las Vegas falls within a week. Same goes for LA, control the water supply, and the city will turn into The Purge in no time flat. Water utilities in this country are some of the softest targets. They are virtually undefendable.
Water utilities in this country are some of the softest targets. They are virtually undefendable.
That, and the power grid. Texas is the only state with an independent grid, and it's not like that can't be knocked out either.
If people are deadset, and I mean deadset, on causing as much havoc as possible, the ways to cause the most damage are ironically some of the easiest to strike.
Re: Balkanization:
The other issue is the layout of the country politically. I have seen people throw around maps for what the countries that would come out of that look like, and it always comes back to the same problem at least from my view as a historian. That being, Leftyland has NO connected border, no resources, no/little arable land, hell even fresh water would be a problem outside of a handful on the Great Lakes.
Rightyland on the other hand would still have all of the above and even have some major metropolitan areas (Red metros are rarer, but still exist. See: Wichita, Oklahoma City, San Diego, etc)
History shows that Leftyland is doomed from go due to the border-gore alone, which will just raise tensions that much further.
OT: I agree with your overall point. The near future is going to suck, but I feel that all of the people going 100% doom are just scared and buy into the Lefts "End of History" argument, which assumes a totally static world that never changes. Such assumptions have been the ruin of more than can be counted in history, because much like a vacuum, Nature abhors static.
Commieland is literally split not just among north/south but the Midwest is like its own barrier. The Midwest would most likely just be neutral leftyland where they wouldn't want to participate in any of it - that would make it near impossible for the left to do much good.
Where is our military the most strongest? Texas is one but where else is it?
Its a bigger problem then that. When you look at a political map, most states that are "blue" are only so because of a few extremely large urban centers. So if, say, the west coast (CA, WA, OR) decided they wanted to secede, you would see their more rural areas, who have been on the receiving end of urban abuse for decades, pull a West Virginia and secede from them back to the United States. Meaning we are back to no food, no water, no resources, no power, just a mega-city and a handful of friendly territory near it.
Even the Midwest still has its problem areas in the form of Detroit, Milwaukee, and Chicago, so dont count it out. Although it is mostly the Upper Midwest (MI, IL, WI, MN), not the Lower Midwest (KS, NE, MO, IA), with the oddballs being the Dakotas (Upper Midwest, culturally more in line with the Lower Midwest).
As for military, the South in general has an extremely strong military presence, as well as the Lower Midwest (lots of buildup as a reaction to the Great Depression). The military is going to be a wild card though, as most of the high ranking officers are more politically charged and lean left along with a lot of the POGs, but the actual grunts are still largely right leaning and remain so despite the best efforts of the high command to change that.
Also include Nevada. The entire state is red except for Las Vegas. Control the Hoover Dam, and Las Vegas falls within a week. Same goes for LA, control the water supply, and the city will turn into The Purge in no time flat. Water utilities in this country are some of the softest targets. They are virtually undefendable.
That, and the power grid. Texas is the only state with an independent grid, and it's not like that can't be knocked out either.
If people are deadset, and I mean deadset, on causing as much havoc as possible, the ways to cause the most damage are ironically some of the easiest to strike.