> Maine, Alaska, Hawaii... what's the point of being a far-off-forgotten small population state to a superpower if the other neighboring nation is offering bett

> Maine, Alaska, Hawaii... what's the point of being a far-off-forgotten small population state to a superpower if the other neighboring nation is offering better protection of my interests? That's like asking, what's the point of Truckee being a far-off-forgotten small population city of California if the neighboring state of Nevada is offering better protection of their interests? Well, for starters, Truckee leaving CA and joining NV would require an awful amount of paperwork (and good luck convincing even half of the population that it's worth the hassle), and what would NV offer that CA doesn't? Instead of being a forgotten small population city of California, now it gets to be a forgotten small population city of Nevada.