Opinion: Dissent important and should be respected

Most people move because of a job. But nowadays, some are moving because of the politics.

That’s according to a recent Associated Press report that highlights people who are packing up and moving to other states because they don’t feel they can express themselves freely where they currently reside. AP reporter Nicholas Riccardi gives examples of individuals and couples who have left their “blue” state for a “red” state, and visa versa. The list includes conservative Californians who moved to Idaho, and liberal Texans moving to Colorado, in an effort to surround themselves with other like-minded people.

Such behavior is unfortunate, but I understand the sentiment. I grew up in the Southern state of Arkansas, where I mostly felt like a political pariah, and ended up moving to Las Vegas, N.M., where I found my liberal viewpoints to be in the majority. It was a refreshing change. (Years later, I would move for a time to Roswell, where it felt I’d moved back down South!)

But it was a job that brought me out to New Mexico, not politics. Nowadays, more and more people are able to choose their residency regardless of where they work — thanks to the internet and other technologies.

Of course, most people aren’t choosing to relocate based solely upon politics. There are family reasons, lifestyle choices and practical considerations influencing our migrations from one place to another.

But in a nation that’s as culturally and politically divided as we are these days, there are some who feel they aren’t accepted where they live, so they look elsewhere.

It used to be that employment was the reason why people moved from the country into the city, but now lifestyle acceptance is a factor in individual and family decisions about where to settle down.

We should be used to the move toward urbanization by now, since people have been moving from countryside to cityside since the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s. Plus, we’ve been moving from state to state (or state to territory) since the dawning of our national identity.

But I’d venture to say that moving to another state just so you can better express your political ideologies is a relatively new phenomenon.

A resurgence of states’ rights is fueling this issue, especially following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which placed the abortion issue squarely in states’ hands. Now you’ve got Texas passing some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the land, right up against New Mexico, where abortion is altogether legal. Especially for women, this issue alone makes living in New Mexico feel very different than living in Texas, despite numerous other similarities with our neighbor to the east.

For years now, I’ve been saying our political divisions aren’t so much “red state vs. blue state” as much as they are “red rural vs. blue city.” Maybe I should rethink that.

Either way it’s unfortunate, because it’s making us more divided. Retreating to our own respective “tribes” isn’t good for the nation — or ourselves.

Even when we don’t agree, we should at least be able to consider others’ point to view. That’s how we learn to get along. That’s how we grow as a people.

So, if you’re a conservative New Mexican, please don’t move to Texas. We need you here. And if you’re a liberal in Texas, they need you there.

The “loyal opposition” to any majority is what keeps the majority in check. Whether it’s here or in the Lone Star State, dissent is important, and should always be respected.

Last I heard, that’s what the United States is all about.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

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