The United States and the growing divide

[Spongebob]

I've been saying for a several years now that the US is creeping toward a massive shift, and Trump gave it a big shove. I don't believe there will be another war, but I do believe that political and other values will become so massively diverse that states will peel off, one or two at a time and the decision will be that it's just too painful to keep trying to hold it together. The result will be a patchwork of as many as 10 new nations and there's absolutely no question that the power and influence the US once held will be gone forever.

If you think it can't happen, just consider Great Britain leaving the EU. Yes, I understand there's significant differences there, but Brexit was still considered a massive shift in European politics. GB gave up a lot of things just to control its own boarders. Scotland is again raising the question of exiting the UK (Scotlexiting?). The old empire is shrinking before our very eyes. Look closely, because that's the future of the US, except it will be far, far messier and will likely result in massive shifts in population. I don't expect to see the end result but I do expect to see the beginning.

Of course I'm not certain of any of this. It's possible that some existential crisis will appear and unite us all again. Not holding my breath, though.