The Republic of Arseholia
A "gendanken experiment" that, I hope, results in some discomfort for the thinkers. Please consider, as you read through this:
- at what point do you start to get uncomfortable?
- at what point is any of what I describe not “legal”? How and why?
- at what point is any of what I describe not “right”? How and why?
[I am purposely separating the concepts of "legal" and "right" (the latter implying morality) as "legal" really just means some other limited number of people wrote some words on a piece of paper and expect them to apply to You!]
[Additionally, I fully expect (hope?) that this will have the interesting effect of annoying large and varying collections of people. However, please read through all of this before responding. Also, be aware that, most likely, I am not describing this in the context you might be inferring.]
With that said … let’s suppose that I am a member of a certain community. We, collectively, feel that we are uncomfortable trying to “fit in” pretty much anywhere we go. So, we come up with a plan. The plan is as follows:
A) We will – collectively – move to … I don’t know … North Dakota. [Apologies to anyone in North Dakota. Truly, I selected this randomly by trying to think of a State that is (relatively) sparsely populated with few people. It was a tie between ND and Montana. Go fig…]
B) As we move there, we will be buying property, settling our families, and also inviting our friends to join us. They, too, move to this area.
C) Very soon, we have become a majority of the population – first on a local level and then, increasingly, state-wide. With this happening, many of us are also running for (and winning) political races. All of the local, county, and even state legislatures are now majority held by us. Similarly, the executive offices are also held.
D) Finally, as part of our big “win”, one of us is elected governor. We, of course, also hold both US Senate seats as well as all of the US Congressional Representative seats.
E) The state legislature proposes (with strong support in both the State Assembly and State Senate houses) a bill with the following provisions:
E.1) To rename the State of North Dakota to the State of Arseholia.
E.2) For the State of Aresholia to formally secede from the United States of America, and, in doing so, form the Republic of Arseholia – a separate and sovereign nation.
E.3) Once the Republic of Arseholia comes into existence, the governor’s title will be changed to President. All other governmental offices will be reviewed and possibly modified following implementation.
F) The governor, a proud Arsehole, comes out publicly in support of this bill and says that as soon as it crosses his desk, it’s getting signed and put into effect.
G) Needless to say, those North Dakotans who are not “us” start to protest, being quite angry about how we have taken over. The local papers (which, of course, are now owned and operated by us) print multiple OpEds about how we’ve finally found our true home and if anyone doesn’t like it, they’re more than welcome to leave. Hell – we’re well-funded, so we’ll be even be happy to offer fair market value for their houses and properties.
[Note – I am specifically not addressing the potential issues with how the other 49 States and the Federal government would react. Additionally, I fundamentally disagree with the supposed inability of any of the States to secede from the Union. Please feel free to not point out where in the Constitution you think this ability is limited. This is intended to be PURELY within the context of the (newly) free Republic of Arseholia.]
H) As expected, the bill passes and is signed into effect, creating the Republic of Arseholia. The other nations in the world, of course, react in varying ways. Many, including Russia and China, welcome Arseholia into existence and also pledge their support – agreeing to both financial and military support.
As I said above – this is a gendanken experiment. It is intended to stimulate thought. Realistically, the above scenario can be applied to many existing situations in the world. I will not provide context aside from what I’ve described above.
So … where did you start to get uncomfortable? Where was it illegal? Where was it not Right?