"In the near future, 19 U.S. states declared their secession from the Union, Texas and California formed a Western power, and the war was directed at the capital Washington, D.C., and the worst civil war in U.S. history broke out."
Although it sounds "burning", this is not reality, but the story told at the beginning of the American film "The Civil War".
Art comes from life, and Texas in the movie "took the lead" and raised the banner against the federal government; In reality, the "red-necked state" is not far behind, and the governor often takes the lead in fighting against the federal government, and implements the simple folk customs to the end.
The Republican-controlled "red states" have also come out to support it.
For a time, the momentum was huge and tense.
I have to say that this Texas red neck is really tough, but it makes Biden angry.
So, will the anti-backbone Texas accelerate the collapse of the already "bulk" United States?
The "Lone Star" state
Since joining the U.S. federal government, there have been many voices within Texas calling for independence.
In fact, Texans have independent genes on their "ancestors".
Texas was originally part of the Spanish colonies until 1821, when Mexico achieved independence through an 11-year anti-colonial war, and many Spanish colonies, including Texas, became Mexican territory.
During this period, Texas was a bit of an exaggeration to say that "a hundred wastes are waiting to be rebuilt", and it was completely barren land where no one lived.
In order to open up this wasteland, Mexico relaxed its immigration policies, and large numbers of American immigrants initially poured into Texas to settle for their homes. As soon as there were too many Americans, the Mexican government was unhappy again, worried that Texas would eventually be included in the territory of the United States.
To avoid a nightmare, Mexico banned Americans from moving to Texas in 1830 and declared the abolition of slavery.
This has made many American slave owners in Texas break their defenses, and you didn't say that in Mexico when you came, why did you cross the river and tear down the bridge? Deeply disgruntled American immigrants raised the banner of opposition, and a militia uprising broke out.
Eventually, Texas defeated the Mexican army and declared independence in 1836, establishing the Republic of Texas.
The United States recognized the Republic of Texas for the first time and threw an olive branch to it, announcing its willingness to accept Texas into the United States.
Mexico was shocked when it learned of this, and hurriedly announced that it was going to reannex Texas to its territory.
However, after several negotiations between the two parties, Texas officially joined the United States in 1845, becoming the 28th state of the United States.
A frustrated Mexico immediately declared war on the United States, and then, unsurprisingly, returned home.
Texas joined the United States as an independent republic.
It is precisely by virtue of this special status that Texas has obtained higher bargaining chips in the hands of the US government.
It not only retains its own national (state) flag, but also has a white five-pointed star printed on the flag representing freedom and independence, which is also the origin of the "lone star" of Texas, and it is also specifically written in the terms of entry into the United States: "We can leave (the United States) at any time."
While the authenticity of the clause remains debated to this day, many Texas governors have repeated it at a time when they need to put pressure on the federal government. There is no doubt that this "unique" legend has become a major legal basis for Texas' quest for independence.
How can Texas have the confidence to be independent
If you just have independent ideas and no independent strength, then you can only be a pipe dream after all.
Fortunately and unfortunately, the last thing Texas lacks is the strength of independence.
Although Texas does not sit on the "top spot" among the states in the United States, it is also undoubtedly the "second oldest of the millennium": the second largest land area in the United States, the second largest population in the United States, and the second second largest regional product in the United States.
Just saying this may not be intuitive, but we look at it all over the world.
The land area of Texas is equivalent to the area of Japan and Germany combined, and the total GDP in 2023 can reach the eighth place in the world.
Texas is also very rich in oil resources.
If Texas were to be considered an independent entity, it would be the world's sixth-largest oil producer, and it would be absolutely "rich and flowing".
In terms of business, as of 2022, 53 Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters located in Texas, ranking No. 1 in the United States.
Even in the financial industry, which is the "dominant" territory of New York, Texas, which sits on the "Wall Street of the South", is ready to take its place.
In 2023, Texas will surpass New York for the first time in terms of employment in the financial sector, and banks in the United States are scrambling to set up new campuses in Texas.
Having said all this, let's not forget that Texas also has the largest number of farms and the largest planting area in the United States, which is the envy of others.
Therefore, instead of worrying about whether Texas has the strength as an independent country, it is better to worry about whether the US federal government has the ability to "control" Texas and not make a fuss about independence.
Border migrants detonate contradictions
With heart, courage and strength, the powder keg of Texas independence can be said to explode at the slightest spark.
And the issue of border migration can definitely be regarded as the most fierce fire.
The problem of illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border has been a long-standing problem, and after Biden took office, in order to fulfill his campaign promises and win votes, he announced the cancellation of Trump's order to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall and greatly ease immigration restrictions.
As a result, the problem of illegal immigration tends to spiral out of control, and Texas, which is on the front lines, suffers greatly. According to statistics, within three years of Biden's administration, there have been nearly 4 million deportations and arrests of illegal immigrants in the Texas border area, accounting for two-thirds of the total in the United States.
On the one hand, Biden's Democratic administration opened its mouth and signed in Washington, and a large number of votes were collected; On the one hand, the Republican government in Texas is wiping its ass at the border, and no one can swallow this bad breath.
Texas Governor Abbott said that since you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust, and you can also taste the suffering of illegal immigrants.
As a result, tens of thousands of illegal immigrants were "dropped" to New York, Washington, Philadelphia and other places under the jurisdiction of the Democrats, and some were even placed directly at the doorsteps of former President Obama and Vice President Harris.
Although this trick can stink the Democrats, it will not solve the crisis in Texas in the end.
Therefore, at the same time as the "bus immigration" plan, Abbott also started the "Lone Star Project", just looking at this name, people can't help but reverie, quite a sense of belief that "it is incumbent on my generation to recast the glory of the Lone Star Republic".
Of course, the plan itself is not to make a fuss as it was back then, but to install a fence at the border and send the Texas National Guard to patrol to stop illegal immigrants from entering.
As the situation worsened, at the end of last year, Abbott launched an upgraded version of the "Lone Star Project", which not only made illegal border crossings a state-level crime, allowed law enforcement to arrest immigrants and deport them to Mexico, but also upgraded the materials of the quarantine net:
From wire to blades.
Before the illegal immigrants protested, Biden couldn't sit still: Okay, you Abbott, you will change the table with the leader picking up the dishes, right?
Biden then asked the Supreme Court to dismantle the fence built by Texas.
I thought that the conservative-majority Supreme Court would ignore this request, but I didn't expect these thick-eyed conservative justices to approve the Biden administration's demolition proposal.
The Supreme Court has spoken, and this matter has to be put on the shoulders of ordinary states, and 10,000 reluctances have endured.
But clearly, Texas is not in the "average state" category.
Governor Abbott not only did not stop deporting illegal immigrants, but instead threw a "statement" on Twitter.
In the statement, Abbott characterized the influx of illegal immigrants as an "invasion" and accused the Supreme Court's ruling of violating the "right to self-defense" granted to states by the Constitution, and declared a state of emergency for Texas to defend itself, thereby activating the self-defense clause to defend Texas.
In a word, you US Supreme Court took the lead in "unconstitutional", I Abbott in the border "defense invasion", do not cue.
With the banner of "self-defense", Abbott was even more free, and he not only ordered to speed up the construction of the "blade net" on the border,
It also plans to establish a base dedicated to the construction of the fence and the operation of the border military force, and has mobilized all state law enforcement forces, including the National Guard and the police, to confront the patrols sent by the federal government to dismantle the separation measures.
The "righteous and angry" Republican red states, as soon as they saw that the states were at the forefront of the resistance to Biden's federal government, could not bear the loneliness and joined the solidarity team, including the governors of 26 states issued a joint statement, saying that "we stand with Texas and Abbott".
There are not only those who move, but also those who are ready to do it. Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia and many other states are planning to send their national guards to Texas, and the momentum is so great that it seems that the "second season of the Civil War" is about to start.
On such a lively occasion, of course, it is indispensable to understand the fate of the king, and Trump personally came out to support Texas, saying: "If I were president, I would use all resources and forces to send reinforcements to Texas, not a restriction order." ”
You must know that in the protests in Texas, Trump's image will always appear on T-shirts and banners, representing the "nostalgia" of the red neck for him.
The red neck of Texas that gave Biden a headache
The reason why Texas can be tough with the Biden federal government is not only the firmness of Governor Abbott, but also the support of the Texas masses - thousands of red necks. Speaking of red necks, I believe everyone's first reaction is that Trump is a fanatical MAGA fan.
In fact, the term is also considered "quite related" in the United States.
Red necks were originally a colloquial term for white Southern farmers whose necks were sunburned or even red due to long hours of farm work, and was a dismissive term for Southerners who had relied on plantation economies by Americans in the North.
Today, the red neck has become synonymous with conservative, superstitious, and poorly educated people in the eyes of the American elite.
And in Texas, which has the largest number of farms and the largest planting area in the United States, there are especially many such "countrymen", who live in trailer houses, like to drive big pickup trucks, "big cowboy boots, small fur hats, three small barbecues a day" is a true portrayal of Texas red neck.
Because of all kinds of "vulgarity", they are very unpopular with the northerners of the United States.
And what makes the Biden Democratic administration unbearable the most is that the red neck is working against itself everywhere in domestic affairs.
In order to stop the infiltration of sexual minority culture, Texas has also listed LGBT-related books as "banned books" and strictly censored whether schools have books on the banned book list, with a "everything that the Biden Democratic administration promotes, we are against".
"Bulk" America
The recent Texas crisis was a "nuclear explosion" triggered by the collision of multiple issues such as bipartisan competition in the United States, contradictions between federal and local powers, and the continuous deterioration of the border situation.
Under the shock, the division of American society has intensified, and some congressmen have even called for a "national divorce", dividing the United States into Republican-controlled red states and Democratic-controlled blue states, divide and rule.
Although the intensity of this conflict seems to be very high, this "marriage" is still not very possible for a while.
First of all, it is not once or twice that Texas is making trouble with independence.
Not to mention, Texas came to such an experience during the Obama administration, when Texas Governor Perry led the public to protest against Obama's tax policy, and said: "Texas is tired of the federal government and is considering withdrawing from the federal government and declaring independence."
Of course, if it had been independent and successful at that time, there would not be such a wonderful drama today. Therefore, Texas independence is more of a bargaining chip to the federal government from Texas officials, after all, no one will come up and beat the "king bomb" out unless it is absolutely necessary.
And judging from Abbott's move of citing the constitution to pull the banner of "self-defense", he is only anti-Biden, not anti-American, and his national identity is not radical enough to "withdraw from the group".
The second is that Biden is clearly not determined to fight Texas to the end.
Under pressure from all sides, Biden chose to "slap himself in the face" to de-escalate the situation, acknowledging that the current immigration policy is problematic and saying that if the number of illegal immigrants reaches 5,000 a day, the closure of the southern border, including Texas, will be announced.
After all, Biden accepts illegal immigrants just for votes, and the chaotic situation has made Biden's approval rating continue to fall.
Although the probability of the United States falling apart in the short term is very low, the problem of illegal immigration has still not been solved, and the struggle between the two parties is a "terminal disease" in American society.
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, the conflict between the two parties will only intensify, and the red-necked MAGA faction led by Trump is the most unstable factor. Perhaps it won't be long before the United States faces the test of the next "Texas crisis."