Thinking the (previously) unthinkable

I rejoice in the power of (some) corporations.

I vigorously support the doctrine of states’ rights.

I believe the South was right: If your values and beliefs, if your everyday and embedded culture, if your very way of life is at odds with the country to which you have previously pledged your allegiance, secede.

My younger self—and by “younger” I mean pre-2016—never could have imagined my 2022 self writing these words. Thinking these thoughts. Embracing these ideas.

Yet it is corporations–and not our elected officials, not our public servants–that are leading the resistance against the assault of women’s reproductive freedom. In this land where I used to despair that “money talks,” I salute and celebrate (and will do my business with) the big corporations that have publicly announced their opposition to the overturn of Roe by putting their money where their big corporate mouths are.

These companies are funding abortions and associated travel for their employees: Starbucks, Tesla, Yelp, Airbnb, Microsoft, Netflix, Patagonia, DoorDash, JPMorgan Chase, Levi Strauss, PayPal, Amazon, Reddit, Walt Disney Company, Meta, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Condé Nast, Johnson & Johnson, Warner Bros, Bank of America, Intuit, Zillow, Lyft, Uber, Adobe, Vox, H&M, Accenture, Expedia, URBN, Estée Lauder Companies, Chobani, Yahoo, The Body Shop, Discord, Rivian, Bumble, Bloomberg L.P., Ralph Lauren, Sephora, Neiman Marcus Group, Vanguard, Match Group.

And I am now in favor of that line of thinking that the federal government’s power ought to be limited to minting money and waging war (and really, forget the war thing) and all other powers reside with the individual states.

Especially if your state is Oregon. And your state passes legislation enshrining women’s reproductive freedom. And your state enacts an aggressive climate protection program with a plan to cut greenhouse gas emission by 90 percent. And your state creates and funds a plan that provides free (or very low cost) health coverage for tens of thousands of working families, pregnant women and seniors. And you know what: We don’t have to pump our own gas.

And about secession: Yes. I cannot pledge allegiance to this country we have become.

I am a citizen of Cascadia.

I am a citizen of Ecotopia.