Well, it looks like this secession business isn't going away any time soon. When last I checked my Facebook wall, over 600,000 signatures had been accumulated in all fifty states on petitions asking each state to peacefully secede from the United States. It's not just a few states, either. All fifty states have at least started petitions asking for this to happen, and a few, most notably the Lone Star State of Texas, have garnered the necessary signatures to prompt White House review. Will Obama allow such a thing to happen if Texas or any other state decided to go it alone in the next few years? Those of you who know him will agree with me that no, he will not allow the Union to be fractured as James Buchannan did before Lincoln took office and oversaw the Civil War.
I'm not one of the signers of these petitions, but I can definitely see that, though I may be in the minority, there are benefits to striking out on one's own. Take the obvious example of the former Republic of Texas. If in fact they were to secede and either form a new Confederacy with some of the other southern states, or simply become a republic again, they would likely be in a very good position to hold their own against whatever backlash may result. They have oil reserves, wide open land for settlement and (for lack of a better term) colonization. They have a ready made citizen army in the form of their gun-toting population thanks to their open carry laws, not to mention they've got the Texas rangers and, depending on how the National Guard feels about secession, could conscript a ready fighting force with which to defend their northern and southern borders. This is of course entirely speculative, but still some interesting food for thought in my own humble opinion.
In the event of secession, however, Texas may not have to go it alone, though they very likely could, for the reasons stated above. According to that article linked above, six other states have reached the requisite number of signatures needed to prompt review by the White House. The states in question are: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Does anyone else notice a similar theme regarding these states? Those of you who know your history will notice that every single one of these states in question was part of the old Confederacy of Civil War fame. Should it come to light that all seven of these states are no longer part of the Union, their best chance of survival would be to form a union of their own akin to that Confederacy, if only to consolidate their resources. Here's why that has a good chance of working:
1. Slavery is no longer the issue.
The Old South had a monkey on their back that galvanized the North against them in the form of slavery. The modern South has no such albatross. This time the secession from the Union really is about the rights of the States to decide their own fate, and such can't be marred by the specter of keeping one's fellow humans in bondage. Some will probably try to tie it to illegal immigration, but even that can't really take traction since secession will allow the Texans to do themselves what the federal government refuses to do and secure the border.
2. The states who secede wish to do so peacefully.
I realize that the South of old wanted to do so peacefully as well, but this time I think the national consensus is more in line with that. I'm fully aware that I could be wrong on this, as I'm sure many were wrong about a peaceful secession back in 1861. I don't claim to be clairvoyant, either. But back then we didn't have a fifty state consensus as we do now. It is entirely likely that, should all fifty states secede (a process I realize is the most unlikely scenario of them all) then they will most likely band together in like minded factions, i.e. The Republic of Texas could encompass several of the states, New England would likely stick together and form their own alliance, and California and several western and northwestern states would likely form a commonwealth of their own. I highly doubt that this scenario will come to pass, but it is worth entertaining, if not for the "what if" value.
3. It is extremely unlikely at this time that Washington will listen to anything other than drastic action.
We've tried peaceful protest. It didn't get anyone important in Washington to listen, except for a very few select Republicans who act as the voice of the fledgling TEA Party. Readers will recall this post where I, after watching the FOX news coverage of the 9/12 march on D.C., put forth an extensive optimistic outlook on the future of our country because of the outpouring of support for fiscal solvency and the push-back that Obamacare was considering. It filled me with hope and I thought at the time that the 2010 and 2012 elections would be the turning point back to limited government principals that this country so desperately needed in order to return to the prosperous Shining City on a Hill that Ronald Reagan believed we should be. Four years later I was proven wrong and wrote this post, which is obviously a complete 180 from the tone that the 9/12 post was. Now is the time for a drastic maneuver. One that will get the attention of the administration in no uncertain terms. The petitions now being circulated have done that, I believe, given that a counter petition has been submitted that asks for Obama to strip people of their citizenship rights if they sign a secession petition.
There are many other reasons I could go into as to why secession might be possible, but I can see that this post is getting rather long in the tooth, and I'd rather not make it any longer. Perhaps I'll add a second post in the future. Until next time, fellow Patriots, Fight the Good Fight.
I'm not one of the signers of these petitions, but I can definitely see that, though I may be in the minority, there are benefits to striking out on one's own. Take the obvious example of the former Republic of Texas. If in fact they were to secede and either form a new Confederacy with some of the other southern states, or simply become a republic again, they would likely be in a very good position to hold their own against whatever backlash may result. They have oil reserves, wide open land for settlement and (for lack of a better term) colonization. They have a ready made citizen army in the form of their gun-toting population thanks to their open carry laws, not to mention they've got the Texas rangers and, depending on how the National Guard feels about secession, could conscript a ready fighting force with which to defend their northern and southern borders. This is of course entirely speculative, but still some interesting food for thought in my own humble opinion.
In the event of secession, however, Texas may not have to go it alone, though they very likely could, for the reasons stated above. According to that article linked above, six other states have reached the requisite number of signatures needed to prompt review by the White House. The states in question are: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Does anyone else notice a similar theme regarding these states? Those of you who know your history will notice that every single one of these states in question was part of the old Confederacy of Civil War fame. Should it come to light that all seven of these states are no longer part of the Union, their best chance of survival would be to form a union of their own akin to that Confederacy, if only to consolidate their resources. Here's why that has a good chance of working:
1. Slavery is no longer the issue.
The Old South had a monkey on their back that galvanized the North against them in the form of slavery. The modern South has no such albatross. This time the secession from the Union really is about the rights of the States to decide their own fate, and such can't be marred by the specter of keeping one's fellow humans in bondage. Some will probably try to tie it to illegal immigration, but even that can't really take traction since secession will allow the Texans to do themselves what the federal government refuses to do and secure the border.
2. The states who secede wish to do so peacefully.
I realize that the South of old wanted to do so peacefully as well, but this time I think the national consensus is more in line with that. I'm fully aware that I could be wrong on this, as I'm sure many were wrong about a peaceful secession back in 1861. I don't claim to be clairvoyant, either. But back then we didn't have a fifty state consensus as we do now. It is entirely likely that, should all fifty states secede (a process I realize is the most unlikely scenario of them all) then they will most likely band together in like minded factions, i.e. The Republic of Texas could encompass several of the states, New England would likely stick together and form their own alliance, and California and several western and northwestern states would likely form a commonwealth of their own. I highly doubt that this scenario will come to pass, but it is worth entertaining, if not for the "what if" value.
3. It is extremely unlikely at this time that Washington will listen to anything other than drastic action.
We've tried peaceful protest. It didn't get anyone important in Washington to listen, except for a very few select Republicans who act as the voice of the fledgling TEA Party. Readers will recall this post where I, after watching the FOX news coverage of the 9/12 march on D.C., put forth an extensive optimistic outlook on the future of our country because of the outpouring of support for fiscal solvency and the push-back that Obamacare was considering. It filled me with hope and I thought at the time that the 2010 and 2012 elections would be the turning point back to limited government principals that this country so desperately needed in order to return to the prosperous Shining City on a Hill that Ronald Reagan believed we should be. Four years later I was proven wrong and wrote this post, which is obviously a complete 180 from the tone that the 9/12 post was. Now is the time for a drastic maneuver. One that will get the attention of the administration in no uncertain terms. The petitions now being circulated have done that, I believe, given that a counter petition has been submitted that asks for Obama to strip people of their citizenship rights if they sign a secession petition.
There are many other reasons I could go into as to why secession might be possible, but I can see that this post is getting rather long in the tooth, and I'd rather not make it any longer. Perhaps I'll add a second post in the future. Until next time, fellow Patriots, Fight the Good Fight.
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