Although we have the European community the wish of the people seems to be towards having smaller countries or communities rather than big nations which I think is interesting as you'd imagine the bigger your nation the more protected you'd feel. Europe and Britain is evolving into many small states allied together rather than big countries.
BTW Scotland and Wales have their own governments/assemblies now, Northern Ireland may follow.
Would Americans prefer their State to be a country and separate from the other states perhaps though in something like the European community or do they really want to stay as one big country? I'm just curious no political or other motive behind my question!
That's actually a large part of this "Great Experiment" of democracy as we've designed it. That was a huge part of the debates between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists when the Constitution was being written, and ultimately accepted.
Many from the South (read: Dixieland) say that the Civil war was fought over that question, not slavery. In fact, many of today's biggest emotionally-charged political debates come down to whether certain issues should be decided on a federal level, or a state level. (Roe V. Wade being one of them).
Are the states allowed to govern themselves, with a minimum of involvement from other states, or a federal set of laws, or is this supposed to be "one big country"?) Are governors supposed to be like "mini-presidents" or do we just have one?
In the name "The United States of America" is the focus on the "United" or the "States"? Under the Articles of Confederation (our first Constitution) each state was almost a small country unto itself. The problem, like you pointed out, was that it left little sense of security. A bigger country is safer. The problem with one big country is that only a few powerful people really have any say. This is counter to the experiment of self-rule, so the Bill of rights was introduced as a way to protect the little guy. (Grudgingly, BTW, from the framers of the Constitution.)
One Federal Government has one Federal army, but Individual States have a better chance to govern the people involved. This question (IMHO) is actually a root of many of the political arguments you've seen, and (metaphorically) seem to have scratched your head over. Does the Federal Government have the right to ban certain weapons, or does each individual state? Which presidential candidate will give power to the States, and which will give power to the Federal System? Are the police bound by a Federal Standard, or do they work within the culture of each community? Should you expect the same thing from a New York Cop and an Oregon one? If you break each governing rule down into small areas, what will keep them accountable?
Yep, these are all the questions of the Great Experiment. Sorry I don't have a simple answer for ya.
