Secession has been a hot topic as of late. Ron Paul's secession talk generated the most discussion among the mainstream media. On Fox News radio, host Alan Colmes asked Paul about his comments on secession. Paul reaffirmed his position by saying, "secession is generating interest as a reflection of the failure of the state." I found the Sunday, September 28, 2014 talk by Paul to be the most important secession speech by a leading politician since the Declaration of Independence. I believe my favorite portion of Paul's talk was the following, "Americans who embrace secession are acting in a grand American tradition. The Declaration of Independence was written to justify secession from Britain. Supporters of liberty should cheer the growth in support for secession, as it is the ultimate rejection of centralized government and the ideologies of Keynesianism, welfarism, and militarism."
Scotland of course received the majority of the press attention recently. While the supporters of Union were victorious this time around, think about the precedent this sets. Almost 9 out of 10 Scots voted, a percentage unheard of in modern democracies. Catalonia is a region in northeastern Spain that would like to vote on a referendum to leave Spain and form an independent nation. I entered "secession" in a Google search and I found ABC news reporting "Catalans Seek Legal Case For Secession Vote." Next I found Fox Business News reporting, "Catalonia says plan still on, to hold secession vote, hopes court will lift suspension." In the United States California, Texas and Kansas have garnered the occasional news article, but did you know all 50 states have offered petitions to the central government to leave the union? Is it legal? Not if you ask the U.S. Supreme Court, Congress, or the President. But then when our founders sent the Declaration of Independence to the King, he said the same thing!
