By Victor Thorn
With dissent higher in this country than it has been in decades, a number of secessionist groups are asking the question: Would certain states or territories be better off if they seceded from the union?
On August 16, AMERICAN FREE PRESS interviewed Thomas Naylor, the founder of the Second Vermont Republic, which is at the forefront of America’s secessionist movement.
“There is no moral justification for this country to exist any longer,” said Naylor. “The United States has lost its moral authority. It’s corrupt to the core. Today, the U.S. is owned, operated and controlled by corporations, the military-industrial complex and the Israeli lobby. Ultimately, I’m calling for Vermont to become an independent entity and for the dissolution of this empire.”
Naylor’s views are radical and controversial, even to those who sympathize with his cause. He told this writer: “I lump Ron Paul, the tea party and Occupy Wall Street together because they all espouse variations of the same theme: that the system is fixable. I like a lot of what Paul says, but he thinks the system is fixable if we return to the Constitution. But it’s not. Gridlock in Congress epitomizes how ungovernable we’ve become. Right now, we can go down with the Titanic or seek other options.”
When broaching the subject of states’ rights, Naylor objected: “I don’t even accept the premise of that question because all of the entities I just mentioned will never let it happen. They all want a tightly controlled central structure. It’s in their vested interest to keep America together, especially Israel. If we’re not tightly bound together, U.S. support for them is lost. States’ rights are a fantasy.”
In terms of the upcoming election, Naylor didn’t lessen his tone:
“There’s no real difference between Obama and Romney,” he said. “When I think of our current president, the defining image of this so-called prince of peace is drone aircrafts, Navy SEALs, Delta Force death squads and a White House kill list. Who wants to be ruled by a maniac? Whether Obama or Romney wins in November, whenever Bibi [Netanyahu] says go to war, the U.S. will go for it.”
Although there exist hundreds of secessionist organizations, a few of the more prominent ones combine an anti-authoritarian streak, disgust with electoral politics, tinges of anarchy and libertarianism, plus a repudiation of corporatism and the permanent U.S. war economy.
Still, differences exist. The Texas Nationalist Movement primarily focuses on unbridled spending at the federal level and how, sometime in the future, their state’s prosperity will be plundered to bail out others like California.
Farther north, the Alaska Independence Party (AIP) boasts more than 15,000 registered members, at one time even including Sarah Palin’s husband, Todd. In 1990, Alaskans elected Walter Hickel, an AIP candidate, as governor, but only because he joined their ticket after getting bumped from the GOP primaries.
Nonetheless, AIP is recognized as Alaska’s 3rd-largest political party with 4% of total state voters.
If economic woes in America persist, this would provide a perfect launching pad for all these organizations to come together to support secession.
Victor Thorn is a hard-hitting researcher, journalist and author of over 50 books.
