United States of California
January 7, 2010
California is starting to come together as one, and it's a beautiful thing. Southern California, North Coast, Central Valley, High Desert, Bay Area, Gold Coast, Wine Country, Inland Empire, Silicon Valley, the cities, the suburbs and the boonies are merging into a much stronger society.
Every part of this massive Land of Gold brings its own experiences, failures, successes, innovative ideas and hard-earned wisdom to a new California conversation. We have been through some heavy changes recently, and we have learned many lessons which we are sharing with each other.
Sir Winston Churchill, who would've made a fantastic Californian, wrote:
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts."
Continue we shall, and as a United California. Regardless of outside influences and agendas, California will go on. After the maddening smoke of the world's turmoil clears, our land and our people will remain.
Our beautiful hills and valleys, beaches and deserts, forests and farms continue in their God-given majesty. Californians will always adapt to change with focused optimism and a novel approach. We have the courage to continue.
To be a "Californian" is to respond to challenges and adversities with a brave and willing spirit, a revolutionary method, and an optimistic confidence. California life has taught us to expect the unexpected, and to change our world if necessary. In a society of constant changes, we have become professional Changelings.
Some have said that to conquer the Universe, one must first conquer Earth. To conquer Earth, one must first conquer America. To conquer America, one must first conquer California. To conquer California, one must first conquer the Self.
Who claims to have conquered the Self?
California's two coasts still ebb and flow. To the West, the ocean's tide rolls in and out. To the East, the human tide sweeps back and forth across the desert. In between are 40-million unique individuals called Californians.
If California is "a state of mind", then there are 40-million states in California.
Long live the United States of California.
