Here’s a story that should surprise no one paying attention: rural counties in California and Illinois are pushing to secede from their states. Yes, you read that right. After years of being ignored, taxed, and regulated to death by urban elites, these rural communities are finally saying, “Enough is enough.” And who can blame them? They’re tired of being ruled by politicians in big cities who don’t understand their way of life and don’t care to.
In California, counties like Lassen and Modoc are leading the charge, fed up with Sacramento’s obsession with woke policies and climate regulations that seem designed to punish anyone who works for a living. Meanwhile, in Illinois, rural areas are tired of Chicago calling the shots for the entire state. These are places where people still believe in hard work, faith, and family—values that seem increasingly out of step with the progressive fantasies being pushed by their state capitals.
This isn’t just about politics; it’s about survival. Take California, for example. Imagine being a farmer in the Central Valley, struggling to keep your crops alive while Sacramento diverts water to protect a tiny fish. Or being a rancher who’s constantly told you’re destroying the planet, even though you’ve been working the land sustainably for generations. Now imagine watching your tax dollars go to fund programs in San Francisco, where open drug use and homelessness are rampant. Wouldn’t you want out too?
And it’s not much different in Illinois. Rural counties there are tired of being treated like ATMs for Chicago’s endless spending. They see their tax dollars disappearing into a black hole of corruption and mismanagement while their own roads crumble and schools struggle. These folks aren’t asking for much—just the right to govern themselves and protect their way of life. But apparently, that’s too much for the powers that be.
Of course, the urban elites are already mocking these efforts. They say it’s a pipe dream, that these rural areas would never survive without the big cities propping them up. But let’s be real: who’s propping up whom? Rural America provides the food, energy, and raw materials that keep this country running. Without them, those big cities wouldn’t last a week. And yet, the people who produce these essentials are constantly demonized as backward or uneducated. It’s no wonder they’re ready to walk away.
What’s really striking about this movement is the enthusiasm behind it. One Illinois resident summed it up perfectly: “So flipping excited.” These aren’t people who are half-hearted about their desire for change. They’re passionate, they’re motivated, and they’re not going to back down. They’re tired of being second-class citizens in their own states, and they’re ready to do something about it.
But let’s not pretend this is just about California and Illinois. This is part of a larger trend happening across the country. Rural Americans are fed up with being ignored by politicians who only care about the votes in big cities. They’re tired of being lectured to by people who wouldn’t last a day on a farm or in a factory. And they’re ready to take matters into their own hands.
Is secession the answer? Who knows? It’s a long shot, to be sure, but it’s a symptom of something much bigger. It’s a sign that rural America is waking up, standing up, and saying, “We’re not going to take this anymore.” And whether or not these counties succeed in breaking away, their message is loud and clear: the divide between rural and urban America isn’t just political—it’s cultural, and it’s only getting wider.
So here’s to the folks in rural California and Illinois who are daring to dream big. They might not win this fight, but they’re proving a point. They’re showing the rest of the country that there’s still a place for self-reliance, independence, and good old-fashioned common sense. And if that makes the elites in Sacramento and Chicago uncomfortable, well, maybe it’s time they got a taste of their own medicine.
