Secessionist Spirit Sweeps the Nation....Or, Maybe Not So Much

A few days ago, I caught a glimpse of a story that just seemed so strange to me. I dismissed it as a fluke, at least at first, because frankly, the story just seemed so absurd. But since then, it just seems to have taken a life of it's own. 

The story that I am referring to originated in Texas (why am I not surprised?). Apparently, there are some people who took being on the losing side of last week's election truly to heart, and they decided to do something about it. A petition circulated around, needing 25,000 signatures to receive notice from President Obama and, increasingly, the entire nation. 

What did this petition request? Well, here it is, at least in part. The following sentence in quotes, although  not the entire petition, should give you a good indication about what it was about. In essence, this is what they want to do:

"Peacefully grant the state of Texas to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government."

Yup. Texas, for the second time in it's history, is considering seceding from the Union. At least, quite a few Texans are thinking about it. 

Only now, it has spread. Seceding ain't just for Texans anymore, you know? The idea has spread to other states and, perhaps rather predictably, enough folks feel that it is a good idea, that these petitions are now circulating in numerous other states. Quite a few other states have begun to circulate similar secessionist petitions, and although they are kind of all over the place in terms of the map, there is one trend that did not fail to capture my notice. 

All of the southern states were among the very first to have such petitions. After all, is it really all that surprising that Texas would be where the idea of such a petition originated from? Is it really all that surprising that it is in the South, which has a history where it seceded from the Union before, where secessionist spirit is strongest? 

Here's the thing, though. This is 2012, not 1861. Obama is President, not Lincoln. A disappointing election result for red states is not slavery. There comes a point when we need to move on from the past. It would be nice if those Southerners, once and for all, got over themselves and their sufficiently self-promoting version of their past, and rejoined the nation more fully. That perhaps is especially applicable towards those Texans fostering their fiery independent spirit. Get over yourselves! 

One small does of reality for Texas: there is a petition out now by one Caleb M., who is petitioning to have Austin secede from Texas and remain part of the Union, if secession does actually become a reality. It is heartening to know that there are also Texans who have a bit of commonsense perspective, and not lost in trying to relive old battles, and to get some measure of revenge over some perceived and vague wrongs committed.

Maybe if we work hard enough, we can get all 50 states to secede from the Union. Then, we can form a new Union! We would have to hold elections, of course. And I'm willing to bet that it would be Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, once again. Dare to dream!

I have mentioned it before, and will mention it now once again: I am not a fan of President Obama.

But that said, much of the criticism of him just goes too far, and seems, frankly, misplaced. There is virtually nothing that this man has done that was worse than his predecessor. Yet, many of the critics of Obama today were rather silent during the days of George W. Bush. Until those critics acknowledge this simple reality, they forfeit their credibility, in my view.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/texas-petition-secede-reaches-threshold-obama-comment/story?id=17701519#.UKIdD-QfyuI

http://news.yahoo.com/states-most-signatures-secede-took-millions-federal-money-232349893--abc-news-politics.html