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| The Betsy Ross Flag 1776 |
On this fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord, two-thousand and twelve, this call goes forward to reclaim the liberty that was lost to a once free people. We call upon the people of the United States to pressure their elected representatives, both at the federal and state level, to introduce for ratification by the states, a simple amendment to the United States constitution, either by an act of congress or by constitutional convention. The amendment shall read as follows: "The right of the people in a state, or group of states, to secede from the union of the United States, shall not be infringed, and secession shall be determined by popular vote of the people within said state, or group of states. The states shall retain exclusive power to enforce this article."
The right of secession is what the United States of America was founded upon two-hundred and thirty-six years ago today, when our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. It is a right still supported by the majority of Americans, and it is a right that should be recognised by the United States constitution. Ironically, the constitution currently makes no mention of this right, and that is an oversight we seek to correct. For free men are not truly free unless they have the right to leave. We believe when this right is duly recognised and protected by the constitution of the United States, then and only then, will the federal government truly respect Americans in their other rights, and once again, fiscal responsibility and political sanity may return to our people. Please join us in calling upon our elected representatives, both at the state and federal level, to protect the rights of Americans. May God bless the United States of America!
14 comments:
Greetings, Sir Knight! I've been following your blog for some time now, and I enjoy reading it. Yours along with The Mad Monarchist are two of my favorite blogs at the moment, and I've given you both some advertising on my own.
I feel compelled to speak about this one, though. I have to say I'm skeptical about the wording of that text, even though I agree in principle. In the short term it might help to have a secession Amendment, but in the long term...wouldn't that reinforce the idea that a right has to exist in the Constitution before it can be enforced? Isn't that kind of giving in to the idea of the federal government dominating? (I admit I have no better solution in mind.)
But I especially disagree with this: "We believe when this right is duly recognised and protected by the constitution of the United States, then and only then, will the federal government truly respect Americans in their other rights, and once again, fiscal responsibility and political sanity may return to our people." I cannot believe it would be "then and only then". Other rights are far more fundamental, as you well know--indeed, that's only a states' right, not even a human right. I'm wary of such extreme language that says "If only X happened, everything would be perfect." You and I both know that isn't true.
I have put the text on my blog, but I have also put my reservations on the same blog entry. Sorry, but that's how I honestly feel. But thank you so much for what you do, and please do keep it up!
I think it would be extremely dangerous to call a Constitutional convention. That would be opening Pandora's Box. And I see no necessity whatsoever in amending the Constitution regarding secession. Secession is being talked about everywhere. It is growing dramatically in acceptance. We are, in effect, withdrawing the consent of the governed from the federal government. That is all that is needed. If you did try to amend the Constitution, and it failed, then the states would lose all the momentum they are building right now for state's rights. I think it is far more important at this point that states assert their nullification rights and build relationships with the other states in their region.
It sounds like these businessmen are waking up - slowly but surely. Of course, the Feds would never approve of an amendment to allow for secession. So that's a non-starter, as they say in the business world. And I also can't help but notice that they say 'May God bless the United States of America!' despite the fact that the USA has spat upon their basic liberties and daily abuses them. I know many people have emotion ties to the red, white and blue and grew up thinking they lived in the greatest, freest and most awesome country of all time.... lol.. this is the kind of nonsense you get on GOP talk radio.... but it's not true. It was never true. And it is certainly not true now. It's long past time to break with the USA. I'm encouraged to see people moving in the right direction. Now we need to continue to urge them to come to terms with the reality of the situation we face.
With all due respect to the fine and upstanding gentlemen who gave this to me, I think you just hit the nail on the head Palmetto Patriot. I think we are approaching a time period wherein people are beginning to wake up as the federal government shows its true colours. Something it has managed to hide from the people for a long time. People still believe the propaganda, and they don't want to let it go, because in the end, it's all they have. It's all they know. The Ozarks are well known for their American patriotism. There are more Union flags flown here than anywhere Ive ever seen. Just visit Branson and you'll see what I mean. Nevertheless, the people of this area continually discover day after day, that the reality doesn't match the ideology they were sold on in their schools and churches. They look back to our problems beginning in the 1960s. Some know history well enough to see the problems beginning in the second decade of the 20th century, with the creation of the Federal Reserve, income tax and World War I. You and I know, however, our problems began much sooner than that, in 1861, when the voluntary Union created in 1776 died and was replaced by a compulsory Empire. Henceforth, any state foolish enough to join the Union automatically forfeits its right to ever leave and becomes a ward of the Union forevermore. I firmly believe independence will never come until the Federal government implodes under its own colossal weight, and that won't happen until states start nullifying Federal laws, refusing to enforce them, and ignoring the US Supreme Court. I think we are starting to see good signs of this in the US Catholic Church, wherein the bishops have indicated they will ignore federal law on the HHS mandate, regardless of what the Whitehouse or the Supreme Court says. This is true leadership, something I haven't seen in a while. When the bishops lead, the people will follow eventually, and in this case that means straight into personal rebellion against this wicked regimen in DC (I have decided to no more dishonour Washington's good name by including it in reference to the Fed) and ultimately nullification its laws.
Anyone who can't understand the implicit, if not explicit, Jeffersonian principle of secession in the Declaration, is not literate.
This group of well-known and influential businessmen are truly ignorant, to say the least, of the formation of the united States of American via the Constitution of 1789. To-wit: The Constitution is a ruling document. In 1789 the 13 sovereign colonial states delegated to a federal government which they were creating certain function that would best be handled centrally (Ref. Federalist Papers for the details). There is absolutely no need for a secession amendment to the Constitution - it would be redundant. Each of the individual 13 colonial sovereign states and those joining the 13 states since retained their right to secession without the permission of any other State, much less the federal government which is nothing more than a corporation or an association of today’s 50 states.
For example, if I delegated to the Catholic Knight my responsibility the task to select an insurance policy for my automobile and The Knight selected a policy that is not worth the paper it’s written on or is way out of my financial ability to pay I can immediately withdraw my delegated authority from the Knight for not providing the service I needed from him.
Such is the right of every individual State to withdraw from the union. For that is what the 50 states represent a “union” of 50 sovereign states. In the Preamble to the Constitution there is no reference to the Constitution being a “binding” agreement. Article VII only requires the “Ratification” that is, “giving sanction or validity” of only 9 states.
The definitions of “union” and “Ratification” are found in Webster’s dictionary of 1828.
Hank
Paul, sad as it is to say, I think that would include something like 95% of the American population. And that number may be on the low side.
Hank, I assure you these men are not ignorant of the founding of this country. I suspect however, their letter is designed to make a point, rather than actually accomplish anything. At least that's the impression I get the more I think about it. Why did they draft it in the first place? Why did they hand it to me? Why did they choose the 4th of July? Most of all, why be anonymous? I think they're trying to reach a certain group of people, and I don't think that group is us. Preaching to us would be like preaching to the choir. Why try to convince secessionists we need to secede? I get the impression, the more I think about it, we are not the intended audience. But I'm not entirely sure -- who is.
I agree. Not just the US, but every nation should be able to afford its citizens this right.Thank you Sir Knight for this post.
CK, i agree with your last comment simply because businessmen tend to be pragmatists. I run a small business of under 30 employees with three brothers and half the time we deal with people it is simply an attempt to get something done efficiently. Because we're Catholic, we also are guided by principles of justice and social responsibility. Part of the reason our business is quite successful is because a large number of people in Colorado Springs know we run an honest business and refer friends and family and Church associates to us. So i suspect those guys in Springfield are trying to make the point that they, decent businessmen, see dangerous problems with the government out of DC.
For anyone interested, there is a pretty flippin' good article on Wikipedia under the title "Right of Revolution" which is a more in depth explanation of some of the fundamental ideas behind our Declaration of 4 July.
CK, i just heard (and we have to be careful here, because of urban legends) that restaurants in town are beginning to serve chicken with pancakes and syrup -"it's a Southren thing".
I don't like the combination and am wondering if this is another dig against the South and its wonderful culture?
My family and i visited Springfield 2 months ago and we didn't see that on any menus
I've not seen it either, but Southern sweet tea is everywhere now.
I'll get some
I see nothing wrong with the amendment. The whole thing supports the idea of self-determination that the US has promoted since WWI, and if a number of states voted by referendum to secede from the Union it would be hypocritical of the federal government to force them to remain in it.
If this ever comes up for a vote I would surely support.
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