It ' s seriously paralyzing . I live in SoCal and there is a huge surge in talk of secession and for once , it sounds like the only realistic option for the success of the people in my community . I can ' t explain the mourning we have all sunk into . It ' s hard to have light hearted conversations now or make plans for the future as every day we are bombarded by another horrifying revelation of what ' s to come . Education is soon going to be ruled by the evangelicals , progress in medicine and science will continue to be hamstrung . Wages and pensions and benefits will be driven down , the quality of life for most Americans will suffer . Not to mention the societal ills of racism , xenophobia , antisemitism that are skyrocketing . America the Beautiful is no more . There is a tinge of ugliness about everything here now . It may come down to many of us leaving the US in search of a better life , which will lead to a brain drain that further propels the US farther back in time .