Secession and the State of Jefferson

Recently, Nathan-Fox Helser, a blogger at the Wake Forest University student newspaper, wrote about the right of secession in America and a current movement in California and Oregon to create a new state, called Jefferson.  Fox-Helser first sums up the right of secession as a truly liberal idea:

While I’m pretty aware that most of these so-called “Liberals” that claim to understand their political philosophy would disagree with what I’m about to say, the right of secession is one of the greatest ideals to emerge from the wealth of great liberal minds.  A long list of liberal political philosophers have touted this idea as something that is essential to the fight for better enforcement of human rights.  Sometimes termed as self-determination (especially in the international sphere), secession is predicated on the idea that all unique cultures have a right to cultural autonomy, and by allowing these groups to secede they are better able to address their specific cultural needs while preserving the unique qualities of their culture.

Fox-Helser commented on a group of individuals in northern California and southern Oregon who are attempting to found a new state, which they wish to name after one of the greatest proponents of secession, Thomas Jefferson.

Secession -- An idea whose time has come?

Bonnie, there's a reason that the media and mainstream politicos react only with personal attacks ("crazy," "racist," etc.) to the All-American idea of secession: because there are no logical arguments against the prospect.

Secession would make the US and the world a much better place. This libertarian principle would mean decentralization, far less crazed nationalism, an end to the empire, and (even if a welfare state persists) a MUCH SMALLER overall government with less bureaucrats.

The only way secession could possibly be a long-run negative is if the national state declared war or banned the right of its citizens to engage in free trade and travel with the people of seceding states. Since these are plausible (and horrific) possibilities, they need to be heavily prioritized by any secessionist movement. That said, I do believe secession is an idea whose time will come within our lifetimes.

Abbeville Institute Presents "State Nullification, Secession, and the Human Scale of Political Order"

The Abbeville Institute is an organization that studies "what is true and valuable in the Southern tradition," which often means a study of secession and its indispensability as an option for a free society.

Now, as issues like secession slowly make their way into the mainstream, the Abbeville Institute is holding a winter conference, "State Nullification, Secession, and the Human Scale of Political Order" in Charleston, SC. Abbeville President Donald Livingston says this is probably the first such conference since the Civil War! Its coming up in a few months, and any YAL supporters in the area should not miss a chance to go. The modern statists knew they had to end secession as a principle to cement their power. So if we want to roll back the advances of modern statists, its time to rethink secession.

An ad for the conference is after the jump.

Baseball Tournament Cancelled in Protest of S.C. Confederate Flag

The South Carolina Capitol with Conferederate Flag.	The Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Washingto D.C

The Atlantic Coast Conference of Baseball, yesterday, stated it wanted to move three of its future baseball tournaments out of South Carolina in protest of the Confederate Flag which has stood at the State Capitol for ten years.

According to First Coast News, opponents of the flag say it's a symbol of racism and hatred, while flag supporters say it honors heritage through traditional American principles of State Sovereignty.

The belief that the Confederacy stands for hate comes from the lessons of the Civil War, with Abraham Lincoln leading the way to end slavery. In fact, the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. pays tribute to the former President by stating "For whom he saved the Union" during the Civil War when the southern states refused to unionize.

Read the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference article here.