Criticism
Critics cite American nationalism, Canadian nationalism, and the opinion that Cascadia is a pipe dream, and is unlikely to happen because of the supposed stability of the United States and Canada.
Critics who cite the stability of the United States in particular as making Cascadia unlikely as a reality note that the Civil War showed that states had no right and/or power to leave the Union and thus all present states will always be part of the US. Because of this, proponents of Cascadian Independence focus on building regional identity and awareness, highlighting distinct social, economic, environmental and cultural features that make Cascadia unique. Because of the historical context of secession within the United States, as well as a general anti-militaristic sentiment embodied within the movement, organizers envision a peaceful democratic process towards independence through the use of popular vote or a referendum by the people.
Another point of contention within the Cascadia movement is the perceived ideological difference between the western portion, often viewed as progressive liberal, and east of the Cascades and Coast Mountains, which tends to hold viewpoints more in line with libertarian conservatism. As Cascadia incorporates many green principles, it could be difficult to obtain local consent for inclusion of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and the BC Interior, and inclusion against the popular will would compromise social values emphasized by supporters of the movement, unless the politics in those regions shifted. Other Cascadian ideas such as a decentralized government, increased transparency, and local representation may find more support, and polling data suggests there are distinct cultural values within the Pacific Northwest commonly found on both sides of the Cascade mountains.
Read more about this topic: Cascadia (independence Movement)
Famous quotes containing the word criticism:
“People try so hard to believe in leaders now, pitifully hard. But we no sooner get a popular reformer or politician or soldier or writer or philosopher—a Roosevelt, a Tolstoy, a Wood, a Shaw, a Nietzsche, than the cross-currents of criticism wash him away. My Lord, no man can stand prominence these days. It’s the surest path to obscurity. People get sick of hearing the same name over and over.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“The critic lives at second hand. He writes about. The poem, the novel, or the play must be given to him; criticism exists by the grace of other men’s genius. By virtue of style, criticism can itself become literature. But usually this occurs only when the writer is acting as critic of his own work or as outrider to his own poetics, when the criticism of Coleridge is work in progress or that of T.S. Eliot propaganda.”
—George Steiner (b. 1929)
“Parents sometimes feel that if they don’t criticize their child, their child will never learn. Criticism doesn’t make people want to change; it makes them defensive.”
—Laurence Steinberg (20th century)