Secessionists meeting in Tennessee
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - In an unlikely marriage of desire to secede from the United States, two advocacy groups from opposite political traditions ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ New England and the South ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ are sitting down to talk. Tired of foreign wars and what they consider right-wing courts, the Middlebury Institute wants liberal states like Vermont to be able to secede peacefully. That sounds just fine to the League of the South, a conservative group that refuses to give up on Southern independence…. “We believe that an independent South, or Hawaii, Alaska, or Vermont would be better able to serve the interest of everybody, regardless of race or ethnicity,” said Michael Hill of Killen, Ala., president of the League of the South.
Hmm…if memory serves, the last time someone tried to secede from the Union, things didn’t end so well. So, here we are, 142 years after the end of the Civil War, and it would seem that some folks are determined to demonstrate that, not only do they not know their history, they’re perfectly willing to repeat it- presumably until they get it right.
Personally, I sort of like the idea of blue states shedding themselves of red states like Nevada and Utah, both of which are mostly just empty space, brothels, and bigamists anyway. I mean, if Nevada and Utah are so great, how come neither have an NHL team, huh? ‘Splain THAT one….
Throughout our history, this country has often been united only by mutual antipathy. the reality, though, is that the whole really is greater than the sum of the parts. We may be a contentious lot, but at it’s most basic America is a country whose strength lies both in our diversity and our willingness to set aside differences in times of crisis. Sure, we’re one big dysfunctional family, but what do you think would happen if states simply seceded from the Union? How long before Texas invades Louisiana? Or Vermont engages in border skirmishes with New Hampshire? Or North Dakota launches an offensive into South Dakota- only to discover that no one’s home?
The Civil War may have ended 142 years ago, but there are still lessons that can be learned from that experience. First, war doesn’t prove who’s right, only who’s left. Second, we really are better together than we are apart. The strength of this nation lies in it’s diversity and our ability to meld it all together into a whole whose total really is greater than the sum of it’s parts. I’m not certain what any of these folks think will be accomplished through secession- other than the satisfaction of their narrow interests- but I think it could safely be said that we would not be better off after secession than prior to it.
The United States of America may not be a perfect solution, depending on your point of view, but I’m not at all certain that there’s a better option out there. You might thing that you’d be better off without the rest of us, but let’s face facts. If, for example, New England were to succeed, the economic and political impact on the rest of the country would be profound. New England would also lose out as well. Due to it’s climate, it would be reduced to importing most of it’s produce from newly-minted countries to the west. Through in import duties, etc., and suddenly life becomes more complicated and expensive. When you take into account things like refining capacity, you can begin to see that secession is not just a benign phenomenon.
Thankfully, secession is not something ever likely to become a reality…like we don’t have enough problems as it is. Still, as long as these folks are talking and not stockpiling weapons, well, we’re probably OK.
