reNEW AMERICA: The Case for Secession (E PLURIBUS)

Mention the word “secession” to any American, and you risk bringing a flood of intense images to mind. No one is without a reaction to the American Civil War, to the events leading up to it and the extended history of the country which followed it. Few people, liberal, moderate, or conservative, would disagree that America today is one country, any thought of division having been settled forever by the Civil War. E pluribus unum…Out of many, one.

Yet today, there seems to be a lot more pluribus than unum, Quietly and largely unforeseen, the country finds itself more divided than at any time since the Civil War. This is a raw truth, but one that has been growing for a long time. In particular, 61% of Americans (in a 2013 study) say the country grew even more divided in the preceding ten years. This past presidential election and its wake have only strengthened that perception. Before the election, division threatened to shatter the country. Now, as an authoritarian regime entrenches itself, the American collapse is no longer a threat, but a reality.

The progressive left is mired in hopeless political solutions. The reality is that no number of phone calls, nor letters, nor petitions, will sway a single vote in Congress. As the country is divided, so is the governing structure. And on those rare occasions when  compromise prevails, principle gives way. Where compromise is impossible, authoritarianism rises. It sustains itself by the very same division and hatred it spawned.

It is time to truly reNEW America, with a new commitment to the values upon which the country was founded but never actually achieved. It is time to create a new America based on common humanitarian values and aspirations.

Naysayers will loudly object. Sadly, it is so-called liberals and progressives who will be the most vocal objectors, defending the “political correctness of their brand of patriotism.” And conservatives, now controlling the power structures of our society and able to force their different set of values upon us, will object because they are in control, probably for a very long time. There exists no reason at all for them to change their ways.

Sooner or later, and hopefully sooner, many Americans will realize that our governance is irreparably broken and will not be repaired. We will rediscover our own Declaration of Independence by which the colonies separated themselves from oppressive England. The Declaration speaks with great authority: “it is the right of the People to alter or abolish” such a broken government. All over the world, as authoritarianism raises once again its ugly head, people are realizing that abolition is not only a viable option, but a fundamental human right. It is now America’s time.

We need not change minds or hearts to win our freedom, but simply unite those with fresh vision and declare it. Separation is both doable and desirable. Both recent and ancient world history have shown not only the feasibility and viability of separating nations, but, as well, its ability to improve the lot of large numbers of people. The most spectacular and memorable recent example may be the breakup of the Soviet Union, but that example is far from alone. While it is also true that there have been a handful of reunifications, it must be noted that these, too, were undertaken to join common peoples back together following political, rather than cultural, separation; the reunification of Germany comes to mind. In the end, both the separations and the re-mergings have this same foundation, the flourishing of unique cultures.

In reality, there has never been “one America.” The Revolution was America’s first civil war, as there was no broad-based concensus (and, indeed, no plebiscite) on separating from England. In fact, from 1777 to 1791, Vermont was an independent nation unto itself, before joining the union. Today, the division, not very different from revolutionary times, is between authoritarian government enforcing repressive values, and true democracy, fulfilling humanitarian ones. The cultural lines are hardening. Those seeking democracy are entitled to do so, seeking “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and secession, now as then, seems the most likely path to success.

Division of Historical Proportions

Seventy-seven percent of Americans are willing to admit that the country is divided. While that is astounding enough, one wonders whether the other 23% are ignorant, hopeful, or whistling past the graveyard. Historians suggest that America has been this divided only twice before: before, during and after the Civil War, and during the confluence of the anti-Vietnam war and civil rights movements in the late 1960’s. But this ignores the momentous division brought about during our revolutionary period. Historians now believe that about 20% of Americans at that time were loyal to England, perhaps another 20% thought revolution was the only answer, and the remaining 60% were neutral, some possibly out of fear. Only one out of these three crises has been more fully resolved over time; the other two continue to fester in one form or another.

In a 2013 study by The Atlantic and the Aspen Institute, divisiveness in America was measured along twenty-five different dimensions. More than 60% say that we are increasingly divided and say the strength of our democracy is weak. An astonishing 20% doubt that we can remain a single country. Overall, America is polarized and we blame our political leaders and their unbridled ability to manipulate the country.

That was 2013, long before we had been exposed to Donald Trump as other than a shady real estate mogul. It would be laughable to suggest that we are more united now than then. Some of the factors people think unite Americans, such as equal opportunity, freedom of speech, shared values, and democracy, have been targeted for attack by the Trump administration. At the same time, factors which divide Americans have been promoted to new heights: money in politics, gridlock, wealth inequality, extremism, race, and corporate power are all hallmarks of the Trump era. The social issues which most divide America are having their fires stoked by those in power: gun control, homosexuality and gay marriage, immigration, abortion, climate change, and more. Trump is on a march of rabid hate, and it is unsurprising that, as a result, violence and neo-Fascism are in rapid ascendancy.

The Futility of Political Solution

The right-wing authoritarians have a unified agenda and the political ability to enact it. Unclothed, the agenda is easy to see: capitalist expansion, increased militarism, doctrinaire education, control of media, oppression of minorities and marginalized people, exploitation of the earth. No one, least of all on the right, argues with the fundamentals.

As at no time in history, conservatives have the ability to enact their agenda and run roughshod over the majority of Americans. They have worked for the better part of a decade to gradually seize control of Congress and state legislatures, and they have quietly succeeded, even beyond their wildest dreams. They now control both houses of Congress and both houses of 32 state legislatures. They control one legislative house in six more states. That ensures their control of at least the U.S. House of Representatives for the foreseeable future, having drawn congressional districts to favor themselves by “bunching” Democratic votes into a limited number of districts. They’ve done the same in the state houses. As if this weren’t bad enough, they are a mere six state legislative houses away from being able to AMEND THE U.S. CONSTITUTION any way they want! Let that sink in for a moment. If we already see fundamental rights being eroded, we haven’t seen anything yet.

Conservatives are doubling down on their legislative control by threatening and invoking primary challenges to any Republican who is not an extremist. In recent weeks, at least five Republican U.S. senators viewed as not conservative enough have been targeted for 2018. One, a sitting senator, has already been defeated by a right-wing extremist in an Alabama primary. Another has announced that he will retire rather than face an uncertain future in a bitter primary battle. These steps ensure that the Republican party will move further to the right, delighting conservatives.

A Broken System

The surest way to see whether a system is broken is to observe whether it works for the people, whether it is fair and just, how it treats the least among us, whether it is compassionate to the less fortunate, and whether it has been corrupted for the gain of the few.

Exhibit A is the patent illegality of the election of Donald Trump. Trump lost the popular vote by two percentage points, and won only in the Electoral College, an anachronism effectively rendered unconstitutional by the 14th Amendment’s “one person-one vote” rule. His election went unchallenged.

Exhibit B is the long-term growth in the nation’s disparity of wealth and income. The share of the nation’s total income going to the highest 1% has more than doubled since mid-20th century, from less than 9% to more than 22%. And the richest 10% own more than half of the nation’s family wealth, up from 20% in less than 30 years.

Exhibit C is the “destitution index.” Half of Americans are paid less than a living wage. Most Americans have fallen out of the middle class.America’s wealth has ballooned, yet the poverty rate has remained between 11% and 15% for the past 50 years. 43 million Americans live in poverty, and 19 million of those in deep poverty. Over 1.5 million Americans experience homelessness during a given year. How does America treat its poorest, those mired in chronic long-term hopelessness?

Exhibit D is the rollback of even modest improvements in American life which are being carried out by the Trump administration. In just the first eight months, immigration has been choked, Dreamers threatened with deportation despite DACA, even modest gains in healthcare are being dismantled, carbon emissions standards are being repealed, the U.S. has backed out of the Paris Climate Accord and is threatening to do so on NAFTA, the Iran nuclear treaty is in danger of being unilaterally cancelled, hard-won LGBT rights are being gutted, militarism is being ramped up both internationally and domestically; the list goes on and on.The common thread is fear and hatred, inflaming the worst nature in some people and triggering unprecedented violence.

Exhibit E is the future long-term dominance of conservatives in key offices. Conservatives have been busy engineering massive vote-robbing gerrymandering for a long time. The results are startling: while Republicans won only 46% of the general election popular presidential vote, they hold 56% of all state legislative seats and 68% of the state legislative chambers. Since state legislatures draw the maps for congressional districts, it is no surprise that Republicans hold a massive grip on the U.S. House of Representatives. Furthermore, as noted above, Republicans control both houses of 32 state legislatures, and one house in another six. If they are able to win those other six, they will be able, with the U.S. House and Senate in Republican hands, to AMEND THE CONSTITUTION in any way they so choose! Absent Supreme Court intervention, this will be true for the foreseeable future. And with the aging of three of the more moderate-to-liberal Supreme Court justices, and conservatives’ appointment power, the effects of conservative government could conceivably last 40 or 50 years, even if Trump is defeated in 2020!

The American system is broken beyond repair and needs to be replaced. Reform is inconceivable under conservative control. Americans will have to learn to live under increasingly Fascist control, with the consequent disappearance of anything resembling the America of our dreams. Time is running out and there is no consensus about what is to be done.

A New America

Most Americans are mortified by Trump’s behavior, knowing in their hearts that he whistles to the worst facets of human nature; in no way does he (or his adherents) represent the values most Americans hold dear. Values such as peace, justice, and compassion. America is in a battle for its soul. Yet most people make the mistake of relying on a broken electoral system, assuming that the next election(s) will put things right.

Not only is America in a battle for its soul, the enemy holds most of the cards. Are we really going to put all our eggs in this one basket when so much is at stake for our future, our childrens’ future, and the future of humankind? It borders on insanity (the expectation that continuously doing the same thing will yield a different result). What happens if conservatives hold both houses of Congress in 2018? If they continue to inch toward full control of 38 state legislatures what sort of amendments to the Constitution might we expect? What happens if, unexpectedly, as in 2016, Trump wins the presidency in 2020? Consider that, at last count, at least 40 Democrats are considering whether to run for President in 2020; there is no clear and obvious candidate able, at least on the surface, to defeat Trump. If someone emerges and does manage to defeat him, that person will be seen as a “moderate” or “centrist,” unlikely to undertake a reform agenda, and sure to be blocked by the Republican House of Representatives and, quite probably, Senate.

Some Americans have, consciously or not, rejected humanitarian values. Not coincidentally, these are the same values lifted up by all the world’s major religions. Those who wish to live under Trumpian-type rule can continue to live in what remains of the Un-United States of America. Meanwhile, those who want America to have a brighter future will unite and declare a new nation, founded on great humanitarian values, and with a scheme of governance that fits those values. For this reason, we ought to call such a movement, not “secession,” but American Renewal.

A Secessionist’s Primer

The reaction of most Americans to what they see in Washington is, at worst, despair, along with a hope that the next elections will put us back on the right track. Such apathy will ensure that we stay on the present road to dictatorship and vast loss of what we thought were our rights. Despondently, when confronted, people inevitably say “but what can we do….we’re helpless.” To those people, I say, “read on, think, and prepare to act.” We didn’t win our freedom by letting the King of England abuse us, but by getting up and out in the streets to fight for it. We are now called to do no less.

So, what CAN be done?

First, resistance groups must agree to unite in common cause. Join one or two or more and voice that need.

Second, resistance movements must enlarge their scale. Five or ten on a street corner on Saturday morning won’t change a thing. Join, join, join!

Third, organized labor must unite with the other movements; the future of working Americans is at stake. Call or write union leaders, volunteer to help, join picket lines when a union strikes. Invite unity.

Fourth, call for a national assembly. We need no rules; it will be a “Peoples Convention.” Find common values upon which a new nation can be built, a Declaration of Independence for today and tomorrow. Bring thousands of people together in one place, physically and virtually. There is nothing that scares the ruling elite like large numbers of opponents! Be a delegate!

Focus on secession, on forming a new nation of shared values, truth, and compassion. Don’t think of geographical secession, like the Confederacy. Think of people in every city and village, in every state, who share your desire for a new nation. Think personal and social secession.

Hold a plebiscite. Begin with the most gerrymandered congressional districts or state legislative districts in each state. Those will be the folks most robbed of their ballot rights. Those areas will form the basis for a new nation. Elect representatives to a Constitutional Convention. Offer yourself as a delegate!

Draft a new constitution for a New America. For the very first time, the American people will decide on their form of government, “of the people, by the people, and for the people” (Abraham Lincoln).

Lawful or Unlawful

Secession is completely lawful. America itself is the child of secession; if secession is illegitimate, then so is America. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, in Article 21, that “the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government.” Article 15 provides that everyone has the right to change his/her nationality, and also that nationality cannot be arbitrarily taken away. The American Declaration of Independence, as noted earlier, proclaims, “it is the right of the People to alter or abolish” an oppressive government.

Peoples around the world have been availing themselves of this right for thousands of years. Sometimes it has been successful, other times not so much; either way, it is always a struggle because it threatens the power of the establishment which fears diminution of its riches. In 796 BCE, northern and southern Israel split up. Austria Hungary divided as a result of WWI, Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971, Venezuela and Ecuador from Gran Colombia in the 1840’s, North and South Yemen in 1967 (later reunited), Turkey/Ottoman Empire in 1923, North Vietnam/South Vietnam in 1954, Southwest Africa/Namibia in 1990, Texas/Mexico in 1836 (became part of the US in 1845), Vermont from England in 1777 (became part of the US in 1791), North and South Korea in 1945.

Just in the past 30 years, the following splits have occurred: Sudan/South Sudan, Serbia/Kosovo, East Timor/Indonesia, Palau/Federated States of Micronesia, Eritrea/Ethiopia, Czech Republic/Slovakia, Namibia/South Africa, Croatia/Russia, Macedonia/Russia, Slovenia/Russia, Montenegro/Serbia, Lithuania/Russia, Latvia/Russia, Georgia/Russia, Estonia/Russia, Ukraine/Russia, Moldova/Russia, Azerbaijan/Russia, Kyrgyzstan/Russia, Uzbekistan/Russia, Tajikistan/Russia, Armenia/Russia, Turkmenistan/Russia, Belarus/Russia, Kazakhstan/Russia. Many, though not all, of these new countries resulted from the breakup of the USSR, but each was also a religious/cultural/social whole.

In just this brief survey, it is obvious that splitting (and even recombining) nations is nothing new in human history,  The drafters of the Declaration of Independence knew their history well; that is the clear basis for its opening phrase, “When in the course of human events.” It was nothing new. So, when people, even progressives, express shock even at the mention of “secession,” it’s fraught with pejoration.

Strangely enough, the U.S. Supreme Court had a lasting say on the subject. In its 1869 decision in Texas v. White, the Court held that the United States is an “indestructible union,” from which no state may secede. That has been the case law ever since. However, the most important phrase in the majority opinion of this 5-3 decision, was that, once a state was in the union, it could not reconsider or revoke its entry “except through revolution or through consent of the states,” (the latter being a route provided in the Constitution). This phrase clearly harkens back to the nation’s birth through revolution against England and thus establishes a legal and ethical path to independence.

The New American Dream

Today, Americans have the opportunity, perhaps the last, to revolt against a system which has long oppressed us: economically, socially, culturally, even spiritually. To “revolt,” according to the dictionary, is to break away from constituted authority, to cast off allegiance or subjection to those in authority. It does not require violence and violence should be a tactic of last resort, in defense against the powerful who wish us to remain peasants. It can be accomplished by a simple individual act such as obtaining citizenship in New America, or in group acts, such as strikes, petitions, declarations, and other expressions of the will of the people. People in geographic areas, such as gerrymandered congressional districts can conduct plebiscites. Revolutionary and resistance groups can band together and call peoples’ conventions; imagine thousands of delegates assembling in a football stadium or indoor arenas to declare and craft a New America!

This is an opportunity, perhaps the last, to declare and implement a manifesto of American values which match long-held dreams and which become the basis for a new form of governance. We will finally have the opportunity for grass-roots correction of all that does not work for everyday Americans. Corporations will be required to produce “social profits” as well as economic ones, to pay all workers a living wage, and be subject to criminal penalties for their egregious actions. Government officials will be held to high standards of truth-telling and for making no law which is contrary to our stated values. Free speech will no longer include the right to spew hate or incite destructive activity. Discrimination will be banned everywhere. Worker abuse anywhere will be subject to sanction. The poor will become our highest priority. Peace will be ranked higher than militarism. Hunger and thirst will end. Medical care will be a human right. Pharmaceutical companies will become houses of public service. Poisoning of the Earth will end. Gun possession will be a privilege, not a right. We will finally acknowledge that a woman is the best judge for matters of her own body. Addiction will come to an end compassionately.

Let’s begin to imagine what’s possible! Let’s begin to think about healing the world and sowing the seeds of justice, peace, and compassion in every place. Let’s think about the future and not the present. Let’s think about those who come after us. What is life about, if not to become the best that we can be. This is not too big a task and the rulers are not powerful enough to stand against this tide. Together we can, we must, we will “reNEW AMERICA!”

Rev. John Paul Ransom is a “radical Christian,” living and teaching the roots of not only the Christian faith, but those shared by all the world’s major religions. He holds degrees from George Washington University (Political Science), University of Connecticut (MBA and Law), and the Florida Center for Theological Studies (Master of Divinity). Following a 28-year career with a major health insurance company (which made him a vocal advocate of universal single payer medical care), he owned a B&B on Cape Cod, MA before entering seminary and being ordained. He has published two books: Rhythms of Our Lives: Approaching God in Prayer (2009)  and Emerging Revolution: Toward a Global Moral Ethic (2014).  He lives with his husband of 26 years and their three Maltese and has been active for many years in social justice in Vermont and Florida, where they now live.