I've been following the talk of Secession and Civil War for the past several days now, and would like to share some thoughts. If you have not yet heard, 625k+ petitioners from all over the entire 50 states have signed petitions on the White House's "We The People" petition site asking to be allowed to peacefully secede from the United States.
There has been all sorts of speculation regarding the possible cause of enough anger to create this outpouring of sentiment. Personally, I don't support sucession. Do I disagree with a large number of my countrymen at this particular point in time? YES. Can I understand where the petitioners are coming from and want to see sweeping changes? YES. That said, however, I think it's imprudent to be virtually run out of my own country by corrupt corporatized government who has been able to "bait and switch" their way into loyalty and a blind eye by way of entitlement hand-outs or fear mongering.
I've heard all sorts of things, but I want to begin by saying that howling racism is absolutely asinine. If that were the case, where were these petitioners 4 years ago when President Obama was elected? I think perhaps the very mention of "Civil War" automatically points to an ugly time of slavery and racism in the minds of many Americans of all races, and perhaps "stirs the pot".
First, the economy is absolutely dismal. There is no denying, not a single person would argue that. Many people have been either unemployed or under-employed for extended periods of time. Some economists argue that the already dismal unemployment figures are not quite accurate, as they don't account for persons who's unemployment benefits have run out, or who've given up job searching. The ridiculous cost of college tuition prevents many from being retrained or sending their child to college. If they can afford tuition, it's still far from a guarantee of a "good job", but certainly guarantees a mountain of student loan debt that cannot be forgiven by bankruptcy in even the most dire financial circumstances.
Then, there is the ever rising cost of food, gas, home heating, water, coupled with stagnant wages. 47% of Americans are currently receiving food assistance, many of whom are working but under-employed. This is completely unsustainable. Just this week, Ohio announced that many people would see their food benefits cut by $50 per month starting in February.
There is also the issue of "ObamaCare", a portion of which is set to begin January 1, which has countless business threatening to either lay-off employees, or cut back already struggling full-time employees to part-time hours to avoid being forced to pay for the mandate. In my case, I already have low cost, good coverage health insurance. ObamaCare will actually cost more out of pocket for less coverage if the providing employer decides to stop providing Blue Cross. Providing healthcare to every single soul in this country is completely unsustainable in this current economic mess, no matter how noble a gesture.
There are so many issues pointing towards a national economic collapse, I can't even discuss them all and not get so far off topic I won't find my way back! (Fiat currency, gold standard, IRS, fair tax, bank bailouts, fiscal cliffs..................)
Besides economic issues, there's been gross encroachment upon personal liberties, including, but not limited to First, Second, Fourth and Tenth Amendment rights. Our founding fathers wrote our Constitution in such a way as to protect us from over zealous or tyrannical government. Unfortunately, interpreting Constitutional Law has become less about morality and integrity and more about selling to the highest bidder.
We've got the TSA, who have no real authoritative powers, basically sexually assaulting travelers, including children and senior citizens, who either refuse to go through the scanners that are shown to contribute to cancer, are supposedly shown to have an anomaly somewhere on their body by the scanner, or who are unable to walk through the scanner/assume the position of their own volition. I am thankful that I do not have to travel by air to visit family or for employment.
Then we've got the Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Acts which allow the government to spy on US Citizens' communications and even arrest and detain us indefinitely without warrant or charge respectively. Today, DHS even announced outright that they planned to monitor Facebook and Twitter for "Bioterror and Pandemic" information. Really? I think we all know better... Lest we forget the increasing amount of traffic cameras and possible spy drone sightings as well?
This week, it was also announced that Dianne Fienstein wishes to re-enact her "assault weapons" ban, and it appears as though President Obama is set to put it into motion. "Assault Weapon" is defined as any shotgun or rifle with a pistol grip, or that has a high capacity clip (a Marine friend tells me that generally means 10 or more round capacity). The guns issue has been going on for years, but the Constitution is very clear on it's stance on firearms. In this day and age, everyone needs the means to defend their family from the degenerates we hear about on the news on a daily basis at the very least! Not to mention those of us who supplement our food budgets or avoid antibiotic and hormone laced meats with hunting.
Last, but certainly not least, US foreign policy has done more damage to our own national security than anything else. USA is not WPD (World Police Department)! Our men and women are dying under false pretenses (WMD's anyone?) in an attempt to squander resources (namely OIL) in a sort of Neo-Crusade against Middle-Easterners. The fact is, these endless wars are unsustainable, the more civilians that are killed, cities that are destroyed, the more potential enemies America creates for itself. How would we ourselves react if foreigners invaded our country and killed our child, sibling or parent?
Regardless of my opinion, the fact is that there is a growing number of Americans who are thoroughly fed up with conditions in this country and are desperate for sweeping reforms, which apparently includes an entire replacement of our government officials and policies. Perhaps I, more than some people are skeptical when it comes to the government. For 12 years of public school, my ancestors were vilified in the history books, be they the Cherokee who fought invaders to keep their homelands and protect their way of life or the Scots who were consistently oppressed by the English and had finally had enough...
I'm expecting the worst here, but hoping for the best...
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