Aloha and welcome to the The United Kingdom, AKA, the 51st State.
Pounds sterling?
Pop those away, we only accept dollars here!
The Queen?
Who dis?
Everyone knows we have a pres…not that he has been here in a while, but then, it is
quite a long flight.
Weird…right?
Yes.
But what if this insane alternate universe was….
You know, our universe?
What if the British Isles and the United States were merged.
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions…I am your host Rebecca Felgate
and today I am asking – What if the UK Joined the USA?
As you watch this video I want you guys to tell me what you think to the UK joining America
as a 51st State…I imagine the comments section will be potent!
Large parts of The United States of America used to be English Territories.
Officially known as British America and the British West Indies, the land was ruled from
1607 – 1783 by the British Monarchy.
To simplify what happen next, we of course know that the United States declared independence,
and eventually the British Empire receded the land.
Further simplification again, but as we know, the British Empire began losing her colonies
one by one in a kind of poetic reverse colonist adventure, leaving her as simply a collection
of tiny Islands in the middle of the ocean; England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland,
banded together amid the sea.
It seems the glory years of British power were over.
Some 230 years later, Britain ostracised herself from the European Union, arguably further
diminishing her status as a global power.
Left alone in the ocean, with uncertain allies, could Britain feasibly join the states?
Britain has always retained a quote un quote special relationship with the States.
Indeed, the breakup wasn’t on the worst terms.
Over the course of the next few hundred years, both the US and the UK have generally backed
each other in matters of politics and war.
Beyond that; people in the UK care a lot about American Politics.
Even I, a Brit, have had my fair share of ignorant “if it isn’t your country, why
do you care” comments…but what some United States citizens don’t realize is that American
Politics also affects the rest of the world, especially those closely associated with the
states, like the UK.
US law, while not always directly comparable in the UK, sets a precedent for behaviour
throughout the rest of the world.
With so many people in the UK feeling a close connection with the States, and with our shared
common ancestry, would it be such a crazy idea?
If the UK did join the USA, there would be some pretty backwards progression irony that
I am sure would be much discussed both sides of the Atlantic.
But, snickering aside, how exactly would the UK even be run?
Would this mean an end to the British Monarchy?
Surely it must, as the idea of a non-elected King or Queen is pretty at odds with the Declaration
of Independence.
That being said, the Queen doesn’t really have an active roll in UK politics as it is,
and many Americans find her kind of fascinating.
Each state has its own identity, so perhaps the state of Britain will just have a few
quirks of its own.
If Britain was to become a state, I say Britain, as it can’t very well be called the United
Kingdom anymore, it would be the most densely populated state in America.
In fact, if the British Isles were annexed, they would contain 16% of the new American
Population – so more than the entire population of the Mid West.
This would mean that Britain would have a Congressional Delegation of 2 senators and
75 representatives…consensus is that the British are more democratically minded, so
no doubt the Republicans would be pretty cut up abut it.
Perhaps this means the next President would be a democrat.
Speaking of Presidents, if the UK was to become the 51st State, would this mean UK Citizens
would now be eligible to run?
Interesting.
Politically, things would be very complicated to say the least.
In terms of world politics, the two countries being allies actually gives them more power.
In the UN, both the UK and the USA have a seat, so if they were to merge, there would
be a loss of influence.
Culturally, each state in the United States has its own identity, but is British identity
too far removed from the American ethos?
For example, after the two world wars, Nationalism makes us a bit uneasy, we don’t like ad
breaks in our sports…and what on earth are we going to decide is football actually….and
that is not to mention the language barrier.
Americans are speaking English, but they have adapted it for their own use into American
English.
I think brits would struggle with pants, jello and eleveators.
Also…diapers?!
Christ it is a different world.
Would we just have English American English?
This is nonsense.
Did someone say Christ?
This is where things would get exceptionally murky.
The UK is a Christian country with a prominent Church of England, but religion is very very
far removed from politics.
The United States is supposed to be a country of religious freedom, but regularly introduces
religion into politics and law making.
I can’t see the two meshing well.
Economically, how would this work?
The UK are pretty proud of their pound, but they would have to relinquish it if fused
with the states.
Dollars it is.
The dollar, of course, would rise in value as it absorbs the Economy of the UK, one of
the most profitable in the world.
Further questions would be what would happen to the UKs National health service?
Would the UK have to revert back to the imperial system and would we have to drive on the right
side of the road?
To be honest, that I would actually be down for.
Do I even want to mention the G word?
Sigh…you know what…I really don’t.
Suffice to say, we have our differences and I think we each like it that way.
The UK is 4 thousand 242 miles away from the centre of the States, which really isn’t
too much further than the 3 thousand 758 miles distance between the centre and Hawaii and
the 3,619 miles of Alaska.
However, if the UK did become a state, its geographical location would raise a number
of political eyebrows…or worse.
You see, if the USA owned UK Soil, it would have land in Europe.
A whole new continent.
A continent with its own power struggles.
What the EU would make of the move would be interesting…but what Russia would think
could be devastating.
Russian and Chinese powers would likely NOT support the increase in American size in terms
of land, population and power.
There could be tense times ahead.
Ultimately, it seems very unlikely that the UK and the USA would merge.
While we share some similarities, culturally and ethically, I think we are a little too
far removed from one another.
Best we just stay mates that live in our own homes, but visit from time to time and support
each other when things get rough.
What do you guys think, though?
What do you think would happen if the USA and the UK Merged?
Let me know in the comments section down below.
Don’t forget to leave a thumbs up on this video and stay subscribed for more big answers.
I am your host Rebecca Felgate, I’ll catch you in the next video, but for now… stay
curious, stay alert and never ever stop questioning.