Residents of rural areas feel shut out of their states’ politics, so why not create their own?

Seth Dixon‘s insight:

One county commission discribed these political movements thus: “It’s grounded in the legitimate feeling that if you’re marginalized by geography, it’s easy to feel neglected by the central government.”  The political division between urban and rural citizens can lead to pockets of the population feeling as though the state government ignores your and the surrounding communities.  It took the Civil War to separate West Virginia from Virginia, and while many may want to be in a different state, it’s not happening simply because there is grassroots support for greater local autonomy.  Hypothetically, let’s say that many new states are generated; what consequences might come of this?  Would it leading to further gerrymandering?      

Tags: political, conflict, devolution, autonomy, borders, gerrymandering.

See on www.npr.org