Before I saw Ron Paul speak at Wake Forest University Monday night, I had not heard more about the Rick Perry secession story other than coming across a few stray headlines.
Congressman Paul mentioned that news outlets had been eager to talk to him about the story, because he is from Texas and because he’s probably known for supporting ideas that are considered out of the norm. While he doesn’t think that Texas should secede, he supports Texas’ right to secede. Time discusses why this is such a problem for most people: Abraham Lincoln made such a case against secession, and the cost of the Civil War was so great, that to even consider a state seceding at this point seems like an affront to not just Lincoln but to liberty and freedom and America itself.
Ron Paul presents good arguments why secession shouldn’t be entirely left off the table: it’s how America came into being, after all. New England once wanted to secede because it was upset with the South, and no one at that time made an argument that secession was unconstitutional. We’re delighted to arm and train secessionists in various hotspots around the world, including the many countries that left the Soviet Union.
As for Texas, it wouldn’t fare too badly as its own country. According to Time:
NCAA offcials would have to grant an exception for foreign participation in college bowl games, but I’m betting they’d agree. American Airlines might decide to move out of Dallas, but I’d be O.K. with leaving NASA behind and letting Texans decide if they could afford to return to the moon. Border-patrol costs would be steep, but I’m sure Texas’ application to join NAFTA would be favorably received. And it would get a vote at the U.N. and the right for its diplomats to park wherever they wanted on the streets of Manhattan. Texas would saunter into the global community bigger than Australia, Greece or Bolivia.
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