Would the United States be better off as the Divided States?

Yes

1 of 7

by Bruno Somerset

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Texas Governor Rick Perry caused a national uproar recently by suggesting that if Washington continues to "ignore the will of the people", then secession is a possibility that should be considered. What seems to be lost in the almost universal condemnation of Perry is that secession may not be such a bad idea, and not just for Texas.

Before venturing too far into the idea of secession, one thing should be made clear (since even Gov. Perry seemed to get it wrong): Texas did not enter the United States with the option to secede at a later time. Texas joined with the option of dividing itself into four additional states; this was pushed by Southern Senators prior to the Civil War who wanted to ensure that the balance between free states and slave states was maintained.

This caveat is of no consequence today, and those who think subdividing the state would add eight more Republican Senators don't understand the makeup of Texas; South and Central Texas would likely vote Democrat, so at best the net gain would be four Senators, hardly worth the monumental problems such a split would cause.

As for the issue of secession, while it is not a right (even for Texas), it is a fairly American idea. The state of West Virginia exists today because it seceded from Virginia after Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861. There is an ongoing secessionist movement in, of all places, the state of Vermont. And obviously the original thirteen colonies broke away from England, which while not a secession per se, in essense had the same result.

It is somewhat ironic that a nation that has supported the breakaway of any number of countries over the years (the Baltic States, Bosnia, Kosovo, Ukraine, Taiwan, East Timor, etc.) would be so opposed to the notion here. And for those who would say the countries mentioned above had been held in place by force, tell that to the states of the old Confederacy.

It is more and more apparent that the United States has become a forced marriage, one where neither partner really wants to be with the other, but stays as much out of habit as anything else.

For all the talk of Republicans and Democrats as two monoliths encompassing our political landscape, a Democrat from Texas is more conservative than a Republican from Massachusetts. The virtual stalemate that has existed between the two parties since 2000 is likely to continue idefinitely, in spite of the Obama win last year.

There will be fluctuations where one party seems to take the upper hand, but this never lasts. Well, rather than simply putting up with each other, maybe it's simply time to part as friends. Just ask the Greeks, the Romans, and the Soviets: no empire lasts forever.

Texas would be just fine on her own, as would any number of other states. The thing that makes Texas different isn't that it was an independent nation before joining the Union, but that it has the size and resources to actually function as a sovereign nation today. An even better arrangement would be breaking into separate countries based on region: Pacific, Southwest, Northeast, etc.

We could keep a loose EU-type relationship, and we'd all be a lot happier at election time. And we could still come to each other's aid in times of war or natural disaster without having to tolerate each other in the good times.

In the end, the state with the most legitimate argument for secession is Hawaii. Hawaii became a kingdom in 1810, twenty-six years before Texas became an independent nation, and remained so until the overthrow of the monarchy and annexation by the U.S. in 1898.

Hawaii today has much more in common with the Pacific Rim (particularly Polynesia and Japan) than it will ever have with Kansas and New York, and certainly has the natural resources and tourism to survive on its own. Maybe Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle should be the one calling for secession.

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