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Colonization For Thee, But Not For Me?
By Jason Mills

Opponents of the Greater Idaho movement often protest that if grass roots
movements like these are allowed, then people will pass “bad” laws in
places that are permitted to live under their own governments. They argue
that basic human “rights” such as getting abortions, voting without ID,
environmental protection, and guaranteeing the “rights” of transgender
youth without parental oversight will be restricted. Which they would.
These independent governments, we are told, will fail to enforce
progressive regulations and policies. Therefore, they argue these
movements must be stopped at all costs. Without question, opposition to
secession in the name of “bad” policy takes many forms across the
political spectrum in America today.

Colonization For Thee
Yet, since the end of the Second World War, the number of independent
states in the world has nearly tripled through acts of secession. This was
driven largely by the wave of movements that occurred following the
Second World War [1]. Since then, the United States has supported self-determination efforts, and is quick to recognize new countries’ sovereignty
and establish diplomatic relations. The U.S. has frequently supported acts
of secession because, it’s been said, it was morally imperative to respect
the rights of “self-determination” denied to the world’s colonized
territories. This rhetoric is still supported today, at least theoretically. For
example, leftists (and some conservatives) support independence in
Ukraine, unless of course there are people in Ukraine that want to be part
of Russia, then they don’t support that.

Recently, I spoke at length with a Christian pastor from Ethiopia. Sadly, he
explained the challenges he faces in his ministry because of U.S. foreign
aid to his country. In short, he expressed how there are strings attached to
U.S. foreign money. For example, if Ethiopia accept U.S. dollars, then they
also have to teach U.S. policies such as LGBTQ+ education. This pastor
lamented the fact that he is now having to battle over moral and cultural
issues that previously did not exist in his own community.

I saw this same sentiment expressed in a recent X post where pastor Josh
Howerton stated the following: 

“I do not think American Christians realize how perverse our
international influence has become. The pastor of the largest church
in Chile spoke at Lakepointe en Espanol last year. He explained that
despite having a deeply traditional view of gender / family, they had
begun aggressively teaching LGBT ideology in Chilean public
school… to the horror of Chilean parents.
Why? Because Chile feared losing USAID if they didn’t.”

Translation: Colonization (or succession) is perfectly fine as long as it
promotes a leftist agenda. Yet, when it’s suggested in other contexts,
leftists are far less enthusiastic and will strongly condemn the idea.

Not For Me
In the United States, smaller deviations from the progressive consensus
are treated as monumental violations of human rights. Any attempt at
defending local sovereignty would be considered a human rights disaster
and must surely be motivated by nefarious goals—most likely racism and
bigotry. Opponents claim that there is no “need” for local selfdetermination in the United States because all residents of the U.S. are “represented” in Congress. That is, in the case of Oregon, 4.2 million
people are “represented” by 6 people (5 of the 6 are democrats) who sit in
the House of Representatives and make up 2 percent of the voting
population of the House.

These people also tell us—less convincingly every year—that Oregonians
have fundamentally the same values in Portland, Oregon as those living in
Baker City, Oregon (300 miles away). And, for that reason, there is a
“natural bond” among us all. However, if this alleged bond was as strong
or as natural as advocates claim, we wouldn’t find that only 3% of voters
of northwestern Oregon are willing to pay the cost of keeping our counties
in their state and that Eastern Oregonians have overwhelming voted in
favor of joining the state of Idaho.

Colonized by the Majority
The right of a people to determine their own political status and to pursue
their own economic, social, and cultural development without interference
originates in our American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence
states it is the right of the people to alter or abolish a government deemed
to be abusive by the governed. Given the fact that the Declaration of
Independence was a declaration of secession—these strategies rightfully
employed by “the people” included secession and easily covered moving
a state border. Yet, these very principles seem to only be permissible at a
global level.

Yet, if a person, for whatever reason, is forced to be part of a nation-state
or empire in which he does not wish to be a part—even if he can vote in
elections—his situation is not fundamentally different from one who has
been “colonized” via military conquest. Any “people” who find themselves
within an group whose worldview is fundamentally different from that of
the ruling majority will be at an extreme disadvantage. This group will have
been essentially colonized by the majority. It will be assimilated and
subjected to the whims of what is a “culturally foreign” power that just
happens to be located geographically within the same region.

It’s All About Power
The fact of the matter is, leftists love colonization. They support selfdetermination so long as it’s achieved through the political forms that they prefer. Politicians in Oregon regard a change of state lines in Eastern
Oregon as a threat to their power earned by rewarding their favorite
interest groups. But if an opportunity arose where the left could reach its
tentacles in and claim the mantle of power, you can bet they're going to
support it.

Bottom line, their standard is grossly hypocritical. That’s because their
position is not based on principle. It's not based on compassion. It's
based on raw power. And this should make every Eastern Oregonian
(and self-determination advocate) lean into the Greater Idaho
movement all the more!
___________
[1] Alberto Alesina and Enrico Spolaore, “What’s Happening to the Number
and Size of Nations?” E-International Relations, November 9, 2015.