Start Taking Secession Seriously
Posted by freedomforall 3 years, 6 months ago to Philosophy
Excerpt:
"The Left's Unionists Want to Run Your Life
A second reason to take secession seriously is the fact that the Left doesn't seem to be learning anything from the rise of separatism. Just as many Americans appear to be embracing a posture in opposition to rule from the center, the Left is doubling down on the idea that more local autonomy is not to be tolerated.
A clear example of this is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act introduced in the US Senate. The legislation, if passed, would give Washington vast new powers in regulating and controlling how states conduct their own elections. Originally, of course, state governments had almost total control over how elections were governed and conducted within each state. This makes sense in a country that began as a collection of sovereign republics. Just as EU member states conduct their elections in a way that's locally controlled, the same was once true for the US. Over time—as in most policy areas—the federal government asserted more control. But with the Voting Rights Advancement Act, local control over elections would be virtually abolished, with most any changes subject to a federal imprimatur.
Naturally, opposition to surrendering state elections to federal control is denounced as motivated by racism and other nefarious goals. And this is reflective of the Left's opposition to secession and decentralization in general. The idea is "we can't let those people run their own affairs, because they're sure to use local prerogatives for evil."
For example, when condemning secession in New York magazine, Democratic strategist Ed Kilgore made it clear he has no intention of letting people do much of anything without federal "oversight." He writes:
So might we drift apart more or less peacefully this time around? Possibly, but count me out when it comes to agreeing to a National Divorce…. [H]ow could I happily accept the accelerated subjugation of women and people of color in a new, adjacent Red America, any more than abolitionists could accept the continuation and expansion of the slavery they hated? Would it really be safe to live near a carbon-mad country in which the denial of climate change was an article of faith? And could I ever trust that a "neighbor" whose leadership and citizens believed their policies reflected the unchanging ancient will of the Almighty would leave our fences intact?
Kilgore can barely contain his contempt. He might as well be saying, "If those red state troglodytes are allowed freedom, they'll surely embrace a racist and misogynistic dystopia that fills the air with poisonous fumes. These are religious zealots, after all!"
Anyone who doesn't want to live out his or her life as subject to the whims of men like Kilgore should take his few moments of candor as an ominous warning. These people will never "happily accept" self-governance outside Washington's purview, because they quite literally equate it with slavery and the hatred of women.
In other words, the more the Left condemns secession in detail—as they must now do because dismissive scoffing no longer works—they only provide additional reasons for why secession is likely the only real solution to the national divide."
"The Left's Unionists Want to Run Your Life
A second reason to take secession seriously is the fact that the Left doesn't seem to be learning anything from the rise of separatism. Just as many Americans appear to be embracing a posture in opposition to rule from the center, the Left is doubling down on the idea that more local autonomy is not to be tolerated.
A clear example of this is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act introduced in the US Senate. The legislation, if passed, would give Washington vast new powers in regulating and controlling how states conduct their own elections. Originally, of course, state governments had almost total control over how elections were governed and conducted within each state. This makes sense in a country that began as a collection of sovereign republics. Just as EU member states conduct their elections in a way that's locally controlled, the same was once true for the US. Over time—as in most policy areas—the federal government asserted more control. But with the Voting Rights Advancement Act, local control over elections would be virtually abolished, with most any changes subject to a federal imprimatur.
Naturally, opposition to surrendering state elections to federal control is denounced as motivated by racism and other nefarious goals. And this is reflective of the Left's opposition to secession and decentralization in general. The idea is "we can't let those people run their own affairs, because they're sure to use local prerogatives for evil."
For example, when condemning secession in New York magazine, Democratic strategist Ed Kilgore made it clear he has no intention of letting people do much of anything without federal "oversight." He writes:
So might we drift apart more or less peacefully this time around? Possibly, but count me out when it comes to agreeing to a National Divorce…. [H]ow could I happily accept the accelerated subjugation of women and people of color in a new, adjacent Red America, any more than abolitionists could accept the continuation and expansion of the slavery they hated? Would it really be safe to live near a carbon-mad country in which the denial of climate change was an article of faith? And could I ever trust that a "neighbor" whose leadership and citizens believed their policies reflected the unchanging ancient will of the Almighty would leave our fences intact?
Kilgore can barely contain his contempt. He might as well be saying, "If those red state troglodytes are allowed freedom, they'll surely embrace a racist and misogynistic dystopia that fills the air with poisonous fumes. These are religious zealots, after all!"
Anyone who doesn't want to live out his or her life as subject to the whims of men like Kilgore should take his few moments of candor as an ominous warning. These people will never "happily accept" self-governance outside Washington's purview, because they quite literally equate it with slavery and the hatred of women.
In other words, the more the Left condemns secession in detail—as they must now do because dismissive scoffing no longer works—they only provide additional reasons for why secession is likely the only real solution to the national divide."
