Is secession our only hope?

Is secession our only hope?

There exist in today’s America a rising number of groups advocating secession from the U.S. in several states. In decades past, such movements would have likely been immediately relegated to the dustbin of absurdity; however, advocates for the cause currently include mainstream patriots upset with the metastasizing tyranny they see originating in Washington, D.C.
Of all the states seeking independence, the effort in my home state of Texas is clearly most prominent. Gaining attention through petitions that circulated after Barack Obama’s re-election, the Texas Nationalist Movement was active long before 2012.
Curious about the actual feasibility of such an ambitious proposal, I recently had the opportunity to meet with organizers in my county.
Roger Jordan and Gerald Neece serve as the Parker County TNM coordinator and deputy coordinator, respectively, and took time to break down the specifics of the movement and their reasons for becoming involved.
The uproar among leftists over Chick-fil-A’s support of traditional marriage was a tipping point for Jordan, he said, prompting him to realize something unrecognizable had replaced the nation he knew and loved.
“After that, I started looking at independence movements,” he said, though some he researched initially were “too militant for me.”
TNM, on the other hand, “works with the legislation,” he said. “It’s a peaceful movement.”
He initially became involved by contacting local representatives and traveling to Austin with his wife to learn more from state leaders.
“One of the biggest things we come across is people saying, ‘You can’t do that,'” Jordan explained, adding Texas is in a uniquely advantageous position to attain independence.
A country is defined by its political, economic, and cultural characteristics, he said, noting the Lone Star State possesses its own identity in each category.
Depending on criteria used, Texas has between the 10th and 14th largest economy in the world, he said, adding it is diversified among a plethora of industries and the state has a positive trade balance with other states.
Furthermore, he said the state has an independent power grid and nearly all major pipelines either originate or run through Texas.
Another misconception Jordan addressed is the perceived lack of patriotism associated with secessionist movement.
“What’s the higher patriotism?” he asked, explaining the TNM embraces founding principles instead of the bloated federal government currently stifling American freedom.
Though both Jordan and Neece expressed support for the work of the Tea Party, they feel the time for reform has passed.
“The idea they’re going to make a dent is $16 trillion in debt is ridiculous,” Jordan said. As federal power increases, the rights of states and individuals necessarily diminishes, he noted.
“We don’t repeal laws,” he said. “It took 13 years to repeal abolition as unpopular as that was.”
Many people forget, Neece interjected, that states created the federal government – not the other way around.
“Why do we even have states at this point?” he asked, decrying the “iron-handed despotism” feared by anti-Federalists during the nation’s founding. “It’s just prophetic.”
The federal government has passed an average of 300 laws each year since 1970 and currently spends $700,000 each second. Such rampant growth is unsustainable and TNM members want to get out while they still can.
“We organize volunteers to act,” Neece said, explaining nominal membership dues support grassroots efforts, not funding lobbyists. The group will also be supporting candidates through a political action committee, he said, and advertisements will soon carry the message across television and radio airwaves.
Jordan noted 14 new countries have formed within the past two decades and there are currently 72 “widely recognized independence movement” throughout the world. “This is a revolution and it’s too big to stop.”
While public schools teach “a good citizen is somebody loyal to the government, not the Constitution,” he noted “our Constitution describes 50 sovereign republics.”
The Texas Nationalist Movement began in 1995, Neece said, quashing misconceptions the group is merely against Obama’s policies.
“We’re not just anti-Democrat,” he said, adding the organization has members in each state and across the world. Neece also responded to another common inference.
“We are not a militia,” he said, “and notice I didn’t wink when I said that.”
The movement isn’t about rousing rabble, he explained, adding that if “the Texas Nationalist Movement is successful, we disappear.”
Jordan admitted that “Texas independence on its face looks crazy,” but he and many others feel its far crazier to stand idly by as America is destroyed from within.
Though I haven’t officially joined the secessionist cause, I am seriously considering it. Jordan and Neece offered a cognizant, cohesive plan of action and those involved warrant gratitude for championing freedom and liberty despite unfavorable odds.
The movement highlights the same moral character embodied by our founders nearly 250 years ago and certainly deserves to be taken seriously.
For more information about the TNM or to become a member, visit texnat.org.
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