To paraphrase some folks who were much smarter than myself -treadlightly wrote:I'm afraid the only secession we could ever see is a hearts and minds secession like TAM mentioned, and at that only by a discreet, timid minority. An informal, unannounced secession remaining outwardly obedient to a suzerain Federal government, if I'm using the term correctly. Hopefully in such circumstances hollow allegiance to the Federal government would be balanced by unshakable true faith and defense, by the people at large, of what the federal government betrayed.
But, unfortunately, secession is unthinkable.
America's present utter unwillingness to consider secession in a pleasant light lets the Feds know they can do anything, absolutely anything, and only a minority would refuse to cooperate. In terrible extreme some sick few would always support tyranny and most of those opposed would say secession is axiomatically unthinkable.
To me that raises a red flag. This country was created with the violent overthrow of Britain's self-perceieved lawful government. Should our federal government be more at liberty to abuse authority than King George?
If talk of secession is crazy, if secession can only be avoided by taboo, then the country is lost and secession is the remaining salvation.
Say that secession is unthinkable, guarantee its inevitability.
In the present context the government could start gunning down citizens at the old North Bridge at high noon and calm, reasoned intellectual reaction on conservative talk radio would be secession is unthinkable. In fact, I believe there was much of that kind of talk in 1776. Fortunately, it didn't prevail.
Let Obama and whoever follows him scramble to end this silly talk of the necessity to dissolve political bands. Let Washington work to prove it is worthy to caretake freedom. If that could come to pass, wouldn't that be a good thing? Isn't it possible that the putative insanity of secession might be the only possible damper on federal excess?
i don't want secession, but I think I might like a government mindful not to test the prospect.
The challenge is to find Jeffersons and Washingtons to champion the cause, and to keep the tin foil hats out.
Texas secede? I'm all for it, particularly if we could also secede from Austin. Better than that, I would prefer for talk of secession to be made moot by a healed and repaired federal government, bound by the chains of the Constitution.
But it's just dreams. Secession is unthinkable.
The U.S. government was formed by the people to secure the inalienable rights of those people. The government only exists, and those in power only have their jobs, at the pleasure of the people. If the people decide that the government has become destructive of the rights that it was meant to preserve, then the people have the right to overthrow and replace it with another form of government.
Radical ideas indeed.