[dragonwriter]

> There was a sense of moral duty on the part of many in the U.S. to literally fight to make sure that injustice wasn't perpetuated. There's no analog in a California secession.

While it may not have been, independent of the slavery issue, at the time of the Civil War (though even that is debatable), the indivisibility of the Union is now a moral issue with a substantial segment of the population.

And, in fact, many of the things that would be defining issues for a California/US split under the current regime are moral issues that their supporters (on both sides, and in opposing ways) see as direct analogs to slavery. (Abortion rights on one side vs. rights of the unborn on the other being a prime example.)

> especially if trade and travel were relatively open between the countries

Why on Earth would you expect that either the current protectionist, closed-borders Washington regime or any hypothetical separatist Sacramento regime seeking to free California from it would support "relatively open" trade and travel?

[echaozh]

> Why on Earth would you expect that either the current protectionist, closed-borders Washington regime or any hypothetical separatist Sacramento regime seeking to free California from it would support "relatively open" trade and travel?

Exactly, people are taking CalExit too lightly. Man, it's basically treason and people talk about it like growing up and moving out of home.

[humanrebar]

Was it treason when Canada left the British Empire?