02-17-2024, 01:30 PM
The topic of secession is much more robust than the media treatment it is publicly given. In fact, it is also more complicated than the political treatment it is publicly given.
I have several perspectives regarding this topic; not the least of which is the entire "polling" of popular "opinion" and how reporting of results is both interpreted and 'used.'
- Polling, who does it, and why
A word about "YouGov" the "source" of the poll...
"YouGov is an international online research data and analytics technology group.
...
Our innovative solutions help the world’s most recognised [sic] brands, media owners and agencies to plan, activate and track their marketing activities better..."
My confidence in this source is medium to low. One, because they are a marketing-focused for-profit enterprise, and two, because they are a foreign marketing resource activity that has no vested roots, or stake, in the people of the U.S. save their existence as data points relating to marketing.
Frankly this poll seems particularly relevant to those who 'decide' how to generate 'click-bait' and other attention-getting market opportunities. Also, the posturing of this publication as some sort of 'bellwether' of "American sentiment" is disingenuous, considering the manner of its dissemination.
- The question asked - and of whom
"Would you support your state seceding from the U.S.?"
Simple, straight forward, and devoid of complicating detail, no? Since reason and detail matters not, only sentiment informs the answer, so any response to this question become questionable. How many children answered? How many disaffected paid activist irritants? How many hopelessly undereducated or ignorant reactionaries, how many political theater-entrenched surface thinkers?
We have no clear indication of the validity of the data except that it was ostensibly asked of "Americans" in regard to their "state." Which seems especially relevant when you consider that many people might not really understand the nature of secession, outside of the mentality of a child "running away from home" because their favorite toy got taken away, or they are simply mad at mommy or daddy.
Now I must add that I do not wish to malign or discount the practice of polling, or the pollsters, but I am not so kind to those who presume to interpret the data for us... and tell us with 'certainty' what the results mean and how confident we should be about their assertions. Their assertions might suffice for marketing (which has an aim of exploitation) but not for the resolution of societal or political ills.
+++++++++
I think more significantly, the entire notion of "secession" is simultaneously misunderstood and shamefully misrepresented - leading to most discussions about this topic being woefully incomplete and fragmented or disjointed.
Since the information age engendered a 'new' culture of information consumption, it has failed to provide the benefits it could have, we now see many Wiki/YouTube-educated media consumers convinced that they "get it" and they "know" all about topics like secession. They probably don't.
- What is secession?
Secession is the 'declaring of independence' from your fundamental source of authority. Most people would never consider what has to happen once you declare 'independence.' They are only convinced that their favorite political personalities to hate, or their most irritating social reality, is no longer within the grasp of control of someone they themselves don't control. They discount the giant tidal wave of unintended consequences which will fall upon them like a giant tower of Jenga blocks.
In essence, secession is akin to a suicide threat. Both tragic, engendering sympathy; and violently offensive to those who genuinely want to resolve the friction.
+++++++++
The U.S. seceded from Britain - in part because authority and sovereignty would not be shared (or even recognized.) That movement took hold because it was commonly experienced that there were neither resolutions nor redress.
Most of the angry people who feel that they should 'walk away' from the US may simply not realize that it would, in fact, "solve" nothing.
Any question of secession must be evaluated based on changes in sovereignty. In that light the question becomes real, and the potential solutions are illuminated more clearly. So yeah... every political party that loses representative majority will engender the 'secession' discussion... every sadly afflicted person who equates "politics" with "politicians" will rebel against their 'cult' villain and cry out "Secession!" Every power-hungry entrepreneur will mobilize their resources to make the 'sound of fury' when their political investment sours. And again, and again... "secession" will be the simplistic rallying cry.
The political thespian machinery will exploit that... using polls just like this to create the impression that "we all think" a certain way on the topic du jour ... and YouGov (and others) will be there (for a fee) to give them exactly the right tools to do so. This is where political contributions go to die.
I have several perspectives regarding this topic; not the least of which is the entire "polling" of popular "opinion" and how reporting of results is both interpreted and 'used.'
- Polling, who does it, and why
A word about "YouGov" the "source" of the poll...
"YouGov is an international online research data and analytics technology group.
...
Our innovative solutions help the world’s most recognised [sic] brands, media owners and agencies to plan, activate and track their marketing activities better..."
My confidence in this source is medium to low. One, because they are a marketing-focused for-profit enterprise, and two, because they are a foreign marketing resource activity that has no vested roots, or stake, in the people of the U.S. save their existence as data points relating to marketing.
Frankly this poll seems particularly relevant to those who 'decide' how to generate 'click-bait' and other attention-getting market opportunities. Also, the posturing of this publication as some sort of 'bellwether' of "American sentiment" is disingenuous, considering the manner of its dissemination.
- The question asked - and of whom
"Would you support your state seceding from the U.S.?"
Simple, straight forward, and devoid of complicating detail, no? Since reason and detail matters not, only sentiment informs the answer, so any response to this question become questionable. How many children answered? How many disaffected paid activist irritants? How many hopelessly undereducated or ignorant reactionaries, how many political theater-entrenched surface thinkers?
We have no clear indication of the validity of the data except that it was ostensibly asked of "Americans" in regard to their "state." Which seems especially relevant when you consider that many people might not really understand the nature of secession, outside of the mentality of a child "running away from home" because their favorite toy got taken away, or they are simply mad at mommy or daddy.
Now I must add that I do not wish to malign or discount the practice of polling, or the pollsters, but I am not so kind to those who presume to interpret the data for us... and tell us with 'certainty' what the results mean and how confident we should be about their assertions. Their assertions might suffice for marketing (which has an aim of exploitation) but not for the resolution of societal or political ills.
+++++++++
I think more significantly, the entire notion of "secession" is simultaneously misunderstood and shamefully misrepresented - leading to most discussions about this topic being woefully incomplete and fragmented or disjointed.
Since the information age engendered a 'new' culture of information consumption, it has failed to provide the benefits it could have, we now see many Wiki/YouTube-educated media consumers convinced that they "get it" and they "know" all about topics like secession. They probably don't.
- What is secession?
Secession is the 'declaring of independence' from your fundamental source of authority. Most people would never consider what has to happen once you declare 'independence.' They are only convinced that their favorite political personalities to hate, or their most irritating social reality, is no longer within the grasp of control of someone they themselves don't control. They discount the giant tidal wave of unintended consequences which will fall upon them like a giant tower of Jenga blocks.
In essence, secession is akin to a suicide threat. Both tragic, engendering sympathy; and violently offensive to those who genuinely want to resolve the friction.
+++++++++
The U.S. seceded from Britain - in part because authority and sovereignty would not be shared (or even recognized.) That movement took hold because it was commonly experienced that there were neither resolutions nor redress.
Most of the angry people who feel that they should 'walk away' from the US may simply not realize that it would, in fact, "solve" nothing.
Any question of secession must be evaluated based on changes in sovereignty. In that light the question becomes real, and the potential solutions are illuminated more clearly. So yeah... every political party that loses representative majority will engender the 'secession' discussion... every sadly afflicted person who equates "politics" with "politicians" will rebel against their 'cult' villain and cry out "Secession!" Every power-hungry entrepreneur will mobilize their resources to make the 'sound of fury' when their political investment sours. And again, and again... "secession" will be the simplistic rallying cry.
The political thespian machinery will exploit that... using polls just like this to create the impression that "we all think" a certain way on the topic du jour ... and YouGov (and others) will be there (for a fee) to give them exactly the right tools to do so. This is where political contributions go to die.
