Earl Griffin
There is a lot of talk about secession these days.
How did it come to this? How is it that so many Americans are this unhappy?
The White House is being inundated with secession petitions for more than 20 states!
Are these United States heading, once again for civil war?
I do not relish the idea of another war between the states. I hope my children never have to live through such times. That being said, half the nation is very unhappy about the direction the country has taken; a direction set with much determination after the election.
There are those who believe that in order to preserve traditional values a new government must be carved out in a new republic or else the values that they hold may well perish.
Still others believe that is counter productive and that it is from within the existing system that people must work to bring about change.
Our country is divided. It appears that we are heading ever more to the left. Those on the right have begun to fear that they have no voice and that they are being disenfranchised.
Where will this lead us as a nation? As a people? Can it be truly said that we are a people? We are not united by race, language, religion, or any other thing besides citizenship in the United States of America. Is that enough to preserve the Union?
Being from Texas, naturally that is the State that comes quickly to mind when I think of the real possibility of secession. The White House petition for peaceful secession by the State of Texas is by far this most successful. It occurs to me that as there are so many resources, and money in that great state the Federal government would be more than normally loath to let it go. Many of the nation’s refineries are there. Of course some of you will point out that those are private refineries and do not belong to “The Nation.” Thank you for that – still the point remains. “Those refineries are an important strategic resource,” (Adams) – one that will not be causally relinquished.
I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about how to prepare for hard times. Whether the difficulties ahead be posed by storms, war, strikes, riots, famine, disease, or civil war due to secession is of little real importance – the fact is people everywhere need to have a little something set aside for a rainy day.
Honestly right now I think that talk of secession is, for the most part, people on the losing side of the election blowing off steam. But what if that is a misjudgement? Suppose we continue to see support build until the drums of civil war begin beating in earnest?
I believe that peaceful but persistent resistance to tyranny is best. I believe that we can work within the system to bring about meaningful change. I know many of you agree. I know too that many of you disagree. I’ve spoken to well meaning, sincere friends of late who once believed that but no longer do. The re-election of President Obama was a real shock to so many. People are struggling to understand how this could have happened when they were certain his vulnerability would almost certainly result in his defeat. Some believe it must be election fraud. Others believe that it is the result of the apathy of the millions who did not vote.
The people of the United States are deeply divided. The prosperity we’ve known since the end of the second World War appears to be slipping away – perhaps forever. Are we a nation in temporary or permanent decline?
Will net receivers of benefits from government continue to dominate in the political process? If so will net contributors continue looking for a way out? Will secession begin to look more appealing to those who now scoff at the idea of a physical division of the country?
Is this talk of secession something that will pass on without any real action or are these times we live in more perilous than we know?
I worry for my children. Will they grow up in peaceful times or will the riots of Europe be exported to the US? Will the threat of drought, famine, disease, war, and even civil war mark their generation in a way we have not seen in a very long time?
May I invite you to prepare for the harder times to come? Set aside food, clean water, tools, and resources that will help you and your family to weather the storms ahead. Remember to prepare your body as well. We cannot know exactly what the future will bring but we can look around us and realize that things are not as they should be. People are angry, jobless, homeless, and suffering – that is a mixture that almost always leads to chaos.
Are you prepared for the chaos to come?
Works Cited:
Adams, Mike. “Why Texas would flourish as an independent Republic based on liberty, not debt.” Natural News. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.naturalnews.com/037963_Texas_secede_independence.html#ixzz2CIsueFyd>.
Some Rights Reserved. Feel free to re-post this article on the internet with full credit to the author and a link back to the original post. If you wish to publish this article in print please contact the author.