Story idea: A Balkanized United States

[LongTomH]

There's an interesting thread in GD, inspired by the Scottish independence vote: If the US had a vote to split into Red America and Blue America, how would you vote? There have been science fiction and alternate history stories set in a Balkanized America.

It's an improbable scenario, of course; but, it can make for interesting story possibilities. One possibility for such stories would be the issue of the cities which are islands of 'blue' in the middle of red states. EX: Austin, TX and Lawrence, KS.

You might develop the story with the idea that these cities would become, effectively, independent city-states. Such a concept in a modern world is, of course, unworkable; but, you might develop a scenario where it could work.

Maybe a world where these blue city-states use local, green energy and have their own manufacturing, possibly based on 3D-printing or nanotechnology. Travel through red areas would probably be by air or along specified corridors.

If you use the idea, you've got to split the royalties with me for giving you the idea.

[CJCRANE]

1. You could write about a West Berlin type of city...

A liberal enclave in a sea of red.

[TeamPooka]

2. CBS had a pilot in development a few years ago about a modern US Civil war

It was a great pilot.
Can't recall the writers but I remember thinking after I read it, "They can never put this on the air"
It was great, Story and writing but it was too real and showed exactly how our country could fall apart.
Scary as shit.
It did not make the fall schedule.

[Agnosticsherbet]

3. Rather than an enclave of blue, I thnk such cities would suffer "Ideological cleansing."

or relegated to an Apartheid state where those of the wrong ideological persuasion would be imprisoned to maintain a pure ideology.

[SheilaT]

4. There' a lot of science fiction out there

that deals with variations on this idea.

[CrispyQ]

5. Go for it, dude!

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[Baobab]

6. Isn't that basically the plot of "A Handmaid's Tale" and "The Hunger Games"

Both dystopian novels set in a toxic post civil war America.