article: What is Brexit? What happens if the UK votes to leave? And, uh, what do the letters EU stand for again? So here are some basics. The EU is the European Union. The people of the United Kingdom may - or may not- want to leave. Like the US, the EU has a flag. They both have their own currencies. They control their external borders and their citizens have an unlimited right of movement within their internal borders. They regulate immigration. And, perhaps, the forces that have led the UK to consider withdrawing from the EU could also be at play in the US. No, seriously. Here are handful of ways the EU and the US are similar enough to merit such consideration, and a few reasons why they aren't. A disliked bureaucratic elite? One is a distant, meddlesome, too-powerful government on the banks of the Potomac River. The other is a distant, meddlesome, too-powerful government on the banks of the Zenne (that's a river in Belgium). While Washington and Brussels may not have much in common geographically or culturally, they are united in the derision often directed their way. The governments in Washington and Brussels have sweeping powers to issue regulations on things like the environment, immigration, trade and commerce - which has led to resentment and distrust from those who view their power as illegitimate or overreaching. US conservatives regularly campaign against Washington bureaucrats and big-government politicians who impose their legislative priorities on the states. While he was running for president last year, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker called the capital city area "68 square miles surrounded by reality". Meanwhile Brussels is a "job-destroying machine" full of arrogant elites, according to pro-Brexit MP Michael Gove. It's not easy being a political punching bag, but it's the burden both cities have to bear. Separatist attitude. Both the US and the EU have their share of peoples with distinct regional identities that make playing nice with a strong central government a bit of a stretch. Everyone by now is familiar with Brexit. But what about Texit? Residents of the US state of Texas have always had a bit of attitude and an independent streak - it probably comes from flying their own flag for nine years after winning independence from Mexico. Although they gladly joined the US back in 1845 in exchange for relief from war debt, there are some in the Lone Star State who, like the pro-Brexit crowd, think it's time to go it alone once again. The Guardian recently spoke with some Texans who think a UK withdrawal from the EU would serve as a shining example for their state and could lead to greater interest in a Texas secession referendum. "At a cultural and spiritual level there are a lot of similarities," Daniel Miller of the Texas independence movement told the Guardian. "A fiercely independent spirit. Keep calm and carry on. The stoicism. There's a sense that when you're pushed, you don't just crumple like yesterday's newspaper, you stand up for what you believe in. We are easygoing, we
summary: As the Brexit referendum debate approaches its day of judgement, many Americans have been left with a number of questions.