Following last week’s election, calls for California to secede from the Union have been gaining attention, prompting many to support the movement known as #Calexit.
As a Californian, I was enticed by this idea. When I woke up on Wednesday morning, it felt like the majority of the United States voted to halt progress while California and several other states continued to champion it.
I was disappointed and angered by the election’s results but mostly, I felt that I no longer recognized the country I was living in. I realized America is far more racist and intolerant than I previously thought.
My ignorance is probably due to the fact that I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is a region known for being left-leaning. I grew up in a community where diversity is valued and celebrated. Because there are many Asian Americans in the Bay Area, I didn’t feel like a minority and didn’t experience blatant discrimination.
Attending a school on the East Coast, even in a blue state like Maryland, has opened my eyes to the socioeconomic disparities that exist within our country.
So when I saw Calexit pop up on my social media feed, breaking away from the rest of the country seemed very appealing. It would be wonderful for California to secede and create a progressive nation where we embrace each other’s differences. But in my heart, I knew this cannot and should not happen.
It probably won’t, since it would take two thirds of the country to ratify a secession. But regardless of whether or not secession can happen, I still believe that Calexit is not the right way forward for our already divided nation.
Supporters of Calexit argue that California has the means to sustain itself and does not need the rest of the continental U.S. to thrive. That is true. We have the world’s sixth largest economy, a robust tech sector in the Silicon Valley and a thriving entertainment industry. We also produce a substantial amount of the nation’s agriculture. And while Calexit proponents claim that we can enact change by being a sovereign entity, I think we can do much more by remaining in the U.S.
Instead of retreating from the current situation, we must involve ourselves and use our power and presence to stand up for the ideals we hold dear: equality, inclusion, a healthy planet and innovation.
I also believe that Californians can be advocates within this country for those who live in states with less progressive governments. We must speak up for people of color, women, immigrants, refugees, individuals with disabilities and members of the LGBT+ community.
Remaining a part of the Union will not be an easy feat since California is so culturally and ideologically different from so many other states. But I believe unity is a worthwhile endeavor even though it may be a longer, more painful process. It will take patience and perseverance. We must not waver in our resolve to build the country we desire to live in.
So to my fellow Californians, please don’t move to Canada or support Calexit. We are part of the United States of America and have an obligation to participate in this country’s democracy. We need to galvanize our efforts, rally together and use our power to invoke the changes that we’ve implemented in our own state.
We can volunteer for progressive campaigns and causes in other states. We can donate our time and money to organizations like Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and the Trevor Project. We can assure our friends in other states, whether they are red or blue, that we will stand by their side and be their allies and advocates.
When 2018 comes, let’s focus our efforts on taking back Congress and pushing hard for a progressive agenda. America is counting on us.
Morgan Ome is a sophomore Writing Seminars and Italian double major from Hillsborough, Calif.
