2004-11-05
SECESSIONISTS
The North Shall Rise Again! |
The United States is no stranger to Secessionist movements | Indeed, the very birth of the nation was, essentially, an act of seceding from the 18th Century British Empire | The Great Civil War of 1860-1865 was fought over a range of issues, the practice of slavery being the one remembered the best, but also over economic and cultural divides |
Throughout the nation's history, there have been other movements of secession, some not about withdrawing from the nation, but in establishing a different state [e.g. Michigan's Northern Peninsula]
So it ought come as no surprise that, in this more frenzied time, the call to secede is heard once more | It is heard most clearly in Vermont and, building upon that, Idaho | I expect we shall hear more of the idea in the coming months |
But it is the Vermont situation that unfolds even as this is written | This weekend, at the Middlebury Inn, Middlebury, Vermont, a "radical consultation" will be held to discuss "The Options Open to Us Now in Planning For Life After the Collapse of Empire" | Facilitated by Professor Thomas Naylor and noted author Kirkpatirck Sale, the "
The North Shall Rise Again! |
The United States is no stranger to Secessionist movements | Indeed, the very birth of the nation was, essentially, an act of seceding from the 18th Century British Empire | The Great Civil War of 1860-1865 was fought over a range of issues, the practice of slavery being the one remembered the best, but also over economic and cultural divides |
Throughout the nation's history, there have been other movements of secession, some not about withdrawing from the nation, but in establishing a different state [e.g. Michigan's Northern Peninsula]
So it ought come as no surprise that, in this more frenzied time, the call to secede is heard once more | It is heard most clearly in Vermont and, building upon that, Idaho | I expect we shall hear more of the idea in the coming months |
But it is the Vermont situation that unfolds even as this is written | This weekend, at the Middlebury Inn, Middlebury, Vermont, a "radical consultation" will be held to discuss "The Options Open to Us Now in Planning For Life After the Collapse of Empire" | Facilitated by Professor Thomas Naylor and noted author Kirkpatirck Sale, the "
...underlying premise of RADCON II is that the United States has become ungovernable and unsustainable. If that is indeed the case, then do we go down with the Titanic or seek other alternatives? Among the options to be discussed... are denial, compliance, and political reform, proven to be deadends; revolution, rebellion, and implosion, equally problematic; and decentralization, devolution, and peaceful dissolution..The outcome this event's deliberations shall warrant review |
The Second Vermont Republic is a peaceful, democratic, grassroots, solidarity movement committed to the return of Vermont to its rightful status as an independent republic. The Fourth World, which publishes The Fourth World Review, a periodical inspired by Leopold Kohr and Fritz Schumacher, is committed to small nations, small communities, small farms, small shops, the human scale, and the inalienable sovereignty of the human spirit. "
THANKS TO: Jason King for bringing this to my attention | FOR MORE ON SECESSIONIST MOVEMENTS check my weblinks page for the letter S | ABOUT THE PICTURE Entitled: "Governed by Consent". this is the top half of an illustrated essay I wrote in 1990 | You can click on the image for a full text version of this essay |
¶ 15:45
