All this secessionist talk

It’s been on the news lately about how people from all 50 states have petitioned the White House to grant their states freedom from the United States. How do I feel about this? These petitions shouldn’t be taken too seriously, but the possibility of secession should be.

Let’s face it, the 25 million residents of Texas are not going to secede as a result of an online petition with 100 thousand signatures. I know it, the White House knows it, and the Texans signing the petition know it.

If a petition for secession doesn’t stand a chance of making a difference, why sign it? This isn’t about secession. This is about making frustrations with the federal government heard. When 25,000 people sign one of these petitions, the White House is supposed to respond. Texas and several other states have already reached that threshold. Additionally, it’s hard to ignore the fact that people from all 50 states have become involved. The White House can’t ignore that Americans are frustrated with how this country currently functions.

In the end, these petitions will be brushed aside. Like I said, these petitions can’t possibly result in secession. But at least these Americans will have a chance to be heard.

A lot of the current dialog is a result of a panic resulting from Obama winning the election. While I wasn’t expecting secession talk, it was obvious that some people wouldn’t take the news well. This means that the numbers on the petitions are higher than they would be without any form of trigger.

Did I sign a petition for the secession of Washington? Of course. But then again, it should already be known that I support secession. If I would have read about something like this under the Bush administration, I would have signed.

America has made some serious mistakes, and I’m not convinced that we can correct all of them. While current secession talks are due to panic in response to Obama’s victory, we should actually be taking the idea seriously. We have lost rights. The constitution has been misinterpreted by the Supreme Court to the extent that past ruling has more influence than the constitution itself. Media influence and partisan politics has ensured that the only people running for president are shady salesmen. We have the east bullying the West. And we have over 16 trillion other problems.

Slightly changing the topic, there is one thing about all of this that I have found shocking. There are multiple forms of secession. Here in Washington, we voted to legalize marijuana, we legalized gay marriage, and we elected a questionable democratic governor. Why have I heard nothing about the state of Lincoln? I know that I tend to poke fun of them, but it seems like this year’s election results should have been enough to justify some dialog.