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VERMONT TALKS SECESSION
PATRIOTS PASS RESOLUTION TO LEAVE UNION
By Greg Szymanski
The neo-conservatives running Washington, trampling on civil rights at home and invading countries overseas, have left a group of Vermont freedom fighters with no choice but to secede from the United States.
On Oct. 28, at the state capitol building in Montpelier, a historic independence convention was held, the first of its kind in the United States since May 20, 1861, when North Carolina decided to leave the Union.
More than 400 people gathered in the Vermont statehouse to start the daylong secession convention with a speech by keynote James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency, and ended with a resolution passed to secede from the United States.
Most people think of secession as impossible if not treasonous, but the concept is deeply rooted in the Declaration of Independence, reminding us, “Whenever any form of government becomes destructive, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and to institute new government.”
With the neo-con takeover of Washington, transforming America into a one-party dictatorship, that’s what the resolution passed in Vermont seeks to do, according to members of the growing grassroots group, the Second Vermont Republic.
The measure is the first step in a long process that needs support from the state legislators, as well as an officially recognized convention.
The resolution states in part: “Be it resolved that the state of Vermont peacefully and democratically free itself from the United States of America and return to its natural status as an independent republic as it was between Jan. 15, 1777,and March 4, 1791.”
Critics give the secession group “a snowball’s chance in hell” of succeeding. But organizers say that, in today’s tyrannical political climate, secession will succeed and prosper.
‘This could only happen in Vermont where people are still fiercely independent and fed up with the course the American government is taking,” said Thomas Naylor, head of the group. “We have a lot going for us and if you think about it, we have a lot in common with Poland’s solidarity
movement, which many said would never succeed.”
He added: “Poland did get its freedom, mainly because it was a country liked around the world, sort of like how people in America feel about Vermont. When people think of Vermont, they have a warm and fuzzy feeling, an image of black and white Holstein cows and beautiful scenery. I
can also tell you there is now closet support in the legislature, and we are serious about getting the support needed to secede from the United States.”
Naylor, a former Duke University economics professor, said from his Vermont home that statewide independence is really a euphemism for secession, adding Vermont will also seek to join the group of Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, similar to the Lakota Indians.
“Secession is one of the most politically charged words in America, thanks to Abraham Lincoln,” said Naylor. He said he has been writing about secession for 10 years but the movement picked up tremendous steam after 9-11.
“Secession really combines a radical act of rebellion grounded in fear and anger with a positive vision for the future,” he added.
“[Secession] first involves denunciation that the United States has lost its moral authority and is unsustainable, ungovernable and unfixable,” he said.
“Second, there is disengagement or admitting ‘I don’t want to go down with the Titanic.’ Third, there is demystification that secession really is a viable option constitutionally, politically and economically. And finally, [there is] defiance, saying ‘I personally want to help take Vermont back from big business, big markets and big government, and I want to do so peacefully.’”
What started out as Naylor’s fantasy, to have an independent country made up of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, has already grown from a small group of 36 supporters several years ago to a packed House chamber in the state’s capitol. Claiming to have a membership of 160 as of last April, Naylor said the numbers have doubled or even tripled today.
“I’m getting calls from all over the country supporting our movement,” said Naylor. “Although there are more than 20 states with some kind of secession movement—Alaska and Hawaii being the best examples—I think Vermont really has the best chance at succeeding at seceding.”
The Vermont independence convention was held in Montpelier, the smallest state capital in the United States. But what this town lacks in size is more than made up for by its reputation as being one of the most fiercely independent and anti-big business towns in the country.
Montpelier is the only capital city to have prevented McDonald’s from building one of its fast food restaurants inside the city limits.
“First and foremost, we want out of the United States. It’s not just an anti-Bush statement. If [Sen. John] Kerry was elected, we still would have wanted out,” said Naylor. “The reality is that we have a one-party system in this country, called the Republican Party, that is owned and operated and controlled by corporate America. So it’s not just a Bush protest, but a protest against the empire.”
Most Vermont politicians, including the congressional delegation, have ignored the grassroots secession movement. However, Vermont Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie has weighed in on the issue, giving it a certain amount of merit but stopping short of outright support.
“I really salute their energy and passion,” he said in a local press interview. “We have an obligation to think of what is in our best interest as a state and for the people of our state, even as we approach federal and national issues.”
Others who spoke at the Oct. 28 independence convention included Professor Frank Bryan of the University of Vermont; author Kirkpatrick Sale; J. Kevin Graffagnino, executive director of the Vermont Historical Society; Professor Eric Davis of Middlebury College; Shay Totten, editor of The Vermont Guardian; and Dr. Rob Williams of Champlain College.
(Issue #46, November 14, 2005)
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