Commentary
In recent years, families have fragmented and friendships have been fractured by clashing political ideologies and beliefs. What’s happening on the micro level is happening on the macro level, too: Secessionist sentiments are strengthening as American politics becomes ever-more polarized.
Several counties in eastern Oregon are actively seeking to secede from Oregon and to join the neighboring state of Idaho. Many of the rural denizens of eastern Oregon feel that their conservative values are not only ignored but threatened by the predominant progressivism of the more densely populated western part of the state. With Idaho being noticeably more conservative, eastern Oregonians think that the state government in Boise will be more in sync with their values and more responsive to their concerns….