I don't think you want to break up the USA because you're Scottish, I think you want to always insert separatism into politics, no matter how irrationally, because you've become enamored with it in your personal life. You yourself have stated before you think Balkanizing large nations is a good thing.
I still do because it leads to greater integration within multinational unions, it's still not what I was getting at here though. I also won't reject your psychoanalysis, though it is a bit unexpected - I admit that an interest in separatism ("enamoured" is a bit of a loaded word that makes me sound like a wacko when my views on nationalism and separatism are no stranger than your liberalism) has played a big part in attracting me to certain issues in geopolitics and politics on national levels. It doesn't mean, however, that I was trying to shoehorn separatism into this debate, rather that I thought there are some elements of it that could be applied here that might actually be helpful. In retrospect, they don't seem to have been very helpful. That doesn't mean though that if I was trying to sell the idea of Socialism to black americans in a slum in Detroit I still wouldn't maybe have some flashy wall murals of Black Panther Party members in red berets holding hands with Cuban soldiers and white American miners. Or... I'd at least try it. See how it would be received. Still, I have to warn you that if we start psychoanalysing one another that's a surefire way to start an argument rather than a debate, seeing as things would get personal. That's why I try to avoid doing it.
Us "radicals" have it hard around here
I don't really see the problem with self governance. Honestly, barring the installation of a fascist dictatorship, I don't think one could make the Detroit government any worse. Self sustaining socialist communes in Detroit are fine by me.
It's alright, there wouldn't be any debate if we didn't have radicalism. If we're radicals of any ideology we're going to have it hard anywhere. To be honest I'd actually like to see a real die-hard, tea party republican in this thread so we could have some interesting discussion. Provided we wouldn't flame one another of course.
That was one way I thought Socialism could be introduced to the USA. One idea that I am actually "enamoured" with is the idea of Socialist communes and collective farms. Not necessarily the enforced collectivisation of agriculture (that just leads to stuff like the worst famines of the 20th century), but voluntary collectives.