As a child of a “broken home” back when it was much less common, in the late 1960s, I was routinely asked by my new friends about my parents. When I mentioned that they were divorced, my new friends would say “sorry”. I would say “don’t be sorry, it is actually better this way”. You see, for over five years before the separation (divorce was final after X months of separation in those days I guess) I lived in a very NON peaceful environment. While the arguing did not always happen in front of me, it did happen at night when they thought I was sleeping. I am sure others had it much worse as the frustration led to physical abuse of the kids in the home, but after years of hearing crying, shouting, the whole range of emotion, I felt very much at peace in the separation year and beyond. These two people in my life, that gave me life, when together could not find a peaceful path forward.
Now think about what is called the “united” States of America (USA). Can anyone find peace today as politics, narratives, intrusive government (and government linked) spying on every aspect of our lives flourish? Those that pull the levers love to pit us against each other and emphasize our differences and cause us to focus on each other instead of the root of the issue that has cause discord, violence and lack of trust 360 degrees.
In an article by the Abbeville Institute, a very astute writer renders a fairly short piece that should give everyone pause in what is going on. Maybe there is a path forward that includes a lot more peace than we experience today. However, this will take some critical thinking and a bit of pushing aside old narratives that we have always believed to be true. This thought consideration involves the S-word, you know, the one that most believe is the dagger to the heart of this republic as we have been taught in both public and many non-public schools. That word is secession.
Lately, this word has gotten more air time from the same people that months ago (when Obama was President) would scoff at such an idea, but with Trump in office, they all now are thinking about this . Even California has had interest in this road forward.
Below I will quote some prime examples of GOOD secession that has brought decades of peace as well as some wisdom from those who helped design our republic:
in 1991, 15 states peacefully seceded from the Soviet Union and the world applauded
How was this divorce not good? You tell me. The collectivism of the old Soviet Union had ruined families, finances, the environment and involved so many levels of corruption that the whole things was going bankrupt. (Sound familiar?)
Says Thomas Jefferson to Dr. Joseph Priestley in January of 1804, “Whether we remain in one confederacy, or form into Atlantic and Mississippi confederacies, I believe not very important to the happiness of either part. Those of the Western confederacy will be as much our children and descendents as those of the Eastern, and I feel myself as much identified with that country, in future time, as with this: and did I now foresee a separation at some future day, yet I should feel the duty and the desire to promote the Western interests as zealously as the Eastern, doing all the good for both portions of our future family which should fall within my power.”
Was Jefferson wrong? Actually, there were many in the North about this time were also considering secession, especially around the War of 1812. Research the Hartford Convention held in Hartford, CT from 1814-1815.
In Canada, Quebec nearly seceded in 1995, Scottish secession was narrowly defeated in 2014, Catalonian secession was voted on in 2017 and Brexit (the secession of England from the European Union) continues to be an important topic of discussion.
I do believe that people are figuring out that bigger is not necessarily better. The USA, being trillions in debt having spent almost $6T on the war on terror alone since 2001 (not including money not accounted for by the Pentagon or the CIA’s black budget). The path forward, together, arguing about finances is never good for a family!
“For over 2000 years, most governmental bodies were not much larger than the Athens city state. But since the French Revolution, governments have adopted attitudes of ‘monster states’.” The thought was that in America, new states or even city states – like Cantons in Switzerland – would be carved out of secession from older states.
While this is not an exact recipe for peace, and can merely reset the clock that ticks toward another world war, it is something that “could” bless this land. As this author stated earlier in this article:
Driving the 10+ hour trip to Dallas on Friday, opting to traverse the backroads through small towns, passing through the already somewhat seceded communities of native Americans in Oklahoma, and witnessing the flavor of life scattered throughout the hills and plains of the Midwest, I couldn’t help but be thoughtfully impressed by the diversity of people that I encountered. Men, women, old, young. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Native American. Many areas could readily be seen as being predominantly Christian, with signs proclaiming the sanctity of life, or where one’s eternal destination might lay. But on the flip side in other more “progressive” urban areas, I could also see the glaring evidence of an unfortunate and obvious animosity between those who clearly don’t share the same views as their more conservative neighbors.
Amen. In the last few weeks, I too had the privileged of driving some distances through urban, suburban and rural areas and found the diversity of economics and core principles extremely significant. Also, over the past decade plus I have commuted regularly in an area of the Midwest to see two to three sides of most states. Whether it is Chicago or southern IL, Detroit and the UP of MI, or even Atlanta and rural GA, there remains a significant difference of vision, mission and values that seem to be increasingly incompatible in almost every region of the USA.
Key to going down this path I believe is to learn from history, foreign as well as domestic. Those in power today will not relinquish that power quickly or easily and revolution has rarely produced a freer people as a result.
We know what happens when seven states exit LEGALLY. Do you think the same (or worse) collective government would allow any place inside the US borders to leave, peacefully?
At the end of the day, one has to hope for a better future for our kids and grand-kids while at the same time to be grounded in the reality that without some divine intervention, this whole thing could end real bad, especially if those who are desperate enough opt for the nuclear option.
Conclusions? Yeah, no. If you have faith, pray, dialog. If you don’t have faith, try it and see if in the quite you can hear Hope in the middle of this storm. Beyond this, prepare as your gut guides you, for you, your family and for your community. Be vigilant, do your research and always question the narrative that is being forced on us all. Maybe, just maybe, a peaceful secession can be had. History tells us that we will always have wars and rumors of wars, but we can read about times of peace that flood in for a season and blesses a people can happen as well. Pray.
-SF1