Jumping From the Sinking Ship of Empire: Vermonters Move to Secede From US

[IndianaGreen]

Saturday, October 22, 2005
Jumping From the Sinking Ship of Empire: Vermonters Move to Secede From USA

James Howard Kunstler, author of the book about Peak Oil The Long Emergency, will be the keynote speaker at The Vermont Convention on Independence to be held in the House Chamber of the State House in Montpelier, VT on Friday, October 28th, 2005. Sponsored by the Second Vermont Republic, the convention, which will begin at 9 am and conclude at 5 pm, is open to the public and free of charge. This historic event will be the first statewide convention on secession in the United States since North Carolina voted to secede from the Union on May 20, 1861.


Organizers of the convention say it has two objectives: First, to raise the level of awareness of Vermonters of the feasibility of independence as a viable alternative to a nation which has lost its moral authority and is unsustainable. And second, to provide an example and a process for other states and nations which may be seriously considering separatism, secession, independence, and similar devolutionary strategies. The Second Vermont Republic describes itself as "a peaceful, democratic, grassroots, libertarian populist movement committed to the return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic as it once was between 1777 and 1791."

Earlier this year, Vermont secession activists published their opening salvo, the Middlebury Institute Letter. It declared: "We believe that, of the options open to those who would dissent from the actions and institutions of a government grown too big and unwieldy and its handmaiden corporate sponsors grown too powerful and corrupt, the only comprehensive and practical one is some form of separatism. Exploring this option is not a step to be taken lightly, because there are established forces that will hamper and resist, and yet it is a legal and viable enterprise, squarely in the American tradition...

http://peakoilanarchy.blogspot.com/

[texpatriot2004]

1. A previous thread on this topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5146638

[texpatriot2004]

2. And another thread on the topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5146638#5146674

[TrogL]

3. Have they considered applying to be a Canadian Province?

[Peace Patriot]

4. It's about time somebody said it! What are our tax dollars going to...

...to Washington DC FOR?! Who are these criminals and clowns representing? Why maintain a union for the purpose of killing tens of thousands of innocent others, larding the fat on military contractors, and providing welfare to off-shore corporations that utilize slave labor, rob everybody blind, and spit on democracy?

What is the point? Why support this any longer? Mother Nature seems to be giving us her opening shots at ejecting us from the planet. If we don't create a better way to live, it's all over. And nothing can be done while this bloated, corrupt, stinking swarm of parasites feeds off us in Washington DC.

Go, Vermont! Show us the way! A refreshing idea! WE DON'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS!

[MadHound]

5. Sorry, but this is a stupid move

First off, how will we figure out how much of Vermont is owned by the federal government, and how much does Vermont owe the federal government.

Secondly, and most importantly, such seccession moves on the part of the various states could lead to the Balkanization of the US, and interstate warfare, as Kansas decides that Missouri isn't Christian enough, or Idaho decides that it hates California's policies concerning racial equity, or when Arkansas decides it wants Oklahoma's oil. This process will continue on and on, engulfing this continent in the flames of a not so civil war. The Civil War of the nineteenth century was composed, to a large extent, of set piece battles, Gettysburg, Fredricksburb, Cold Harbor. But out in the boonies, Missouri specifically, it took the form of internacine guerilla warfare pitting neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother, with the land burnt over repeatedly as first one side and then another claims control. It was brutal and bloody, and exactly what we would be facing if this inane, insane idea takes hold.

Sorry, but this country either sinks or swims together. Proposing anything else at this point is just going to hasten the downfall of all of us.

[Name removed]

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