I have no idea how serious it is, but apparently, there's a movment afoot in Vermont to peacefully secede from the United States and resume the status it had as an independent republic from 1777 to 1791. It sounded just a little like one of those cranky website things (a la "the South is riz agin"), till I went to the Second Vermont Republic site and read the following... which, if it's true, is really jaw-dropping...
THE VERMONT INDEPENDENCE CONVENTION
An Impossible Dream or a Vision of the Future?
State House
Montpelier, Vermont
October 28, 2005
James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency, will be the keynote speaker at The Vermont Convention on Independence to be held in the House Chamber of the State House in Montpelier on Friday October 28th. Sponsored by the Second Vermont Republic, the convention, which will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 5:00 p.m., is open to the public and free of charge.
This historic event will be the first statewide convention on secession in the United States since North Carolina voted to secede from the Union on May 20, 1861.
Other speakers will include Professor Frank Bryan, UVM; Kirkpatrick Sale, author of Human Scale, J. Kevin Graffagnino, Executive Director, Vermont Historical Society; Professor Eric Davis, Middlebury College; Shay Totten, editor, Vermont Guardian; Antoine Robitaille, journalist Le Devoir (Quebec City); G. Roderick Lawrence, CEO, Stevenson Kellogg (Canada); (Rev.) Ben T. Matchstick; and General Ethan Allen (aka Jim Hogue). General Allen is expected to travel by horse to the State House.
The objectives of the convention are twofold. First, to raise the level of awareness of Vermonters of the feasibility of independence as a viable alternative to a nation which has lost its moral authority and is unsustainable. Second, to provide an example and a process for other states and nations which may be seriously considering separatism, secession, independence, and similar devolutionary strategies.
The Second Vermont Republic is a peaceful, democratic, grassroots, libertarian populist movement committed to the return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic as it once was between 1777 and 1791.
For additional information, contact Thomas H. Naylor at 802-425-4133 or Jane Dwinell at 802-229-4008, info@vermontrepublic.org.
...I'm not exactly sure what they're getting at with the Ethan Allen crack... he might be a little late... but otherwise, this looks kind of serious. The State House? This is actually going to take place in the legislature? They got permission to do that? That alone gives me pause.
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4 comments:
Interesting. And timely considering our conversation. Hmmm.
Anyway as I see it, if they accomplish this goal ... it could start a trend. Might not happen right away, but change is on the way. God, I hope it's on the way.
Thanks for this! Not knowing you had blogged about it, I replied to your comment on In Cold Blog.
This is fascinating and worth keeping an eye on. Stranger things have happened in the world.
Again, I don't want to give you folks the impression I'm cheering for the break-up of the United States here... I'm just buoyed by people wanting things to change so badly they're willing to entertain this idea. And for once, it's not the right-wing gun maniacs shooting at rev'nuers from Warshin'tin, but people like us. I don't think I would have commented on it at all except for the fact that this debate is supposed to take place in the state capital building. That just floors me.
Hey, Lone, I see you haven't posted anything to your blog in like 10 days. I hope everything's okay on your end!
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