Secession...

Know Your Meme

noun

the action of withdrawing formally from membership of a federation or body, especially a political state.

"the republics want secession from the union"

historical

the withdrawal of eleven southern states from the Union in 1860, leading to the Civil War.

singular proper noun: Secession; noun: the Secession

Scotland almost seceded from the UK. 1 in 4 Americans want to, or are at least open to seceding from the US. Kind of goes hand-in-hand with the paint job of the current Chief Executive in the "White House."

Huffington Post

In Europe, particularly Scotland and Barcelona, the secession desire is born primarily from the recent economics of the Great Recession. There is a romanticism about secession without a clear appreciation of its history - at least in the US - and the logistics required to pull it off is daunting, if not quite simply impossible:

- The South developed their own currency;

- They had products to trade - agriculture, cotton, import/export, shipbuilding;

- They had slavery, i.e. free labor to leverage based on inhumane, brutish psychopathy longed for as "southern tradition."

Quick Meme

Since the election and reelection of the country's 1st black president, I've heard wild Utopian fantasies about southern states forming "independent nations," yet asking them what their main product to trade on the global market, the answer amounts to...crickets. Scotland wanted "out" of the UK, yet wanted the luxury of continued usage of the British pound - see "bullet one" above.

"Some of the secessionists in these movements are charmingly idealistic do-it-yourselfers in a long American Utopian tradition. Others are disturbing-sounding provincials hostile to the diversity of large societies. Some are community-minded folks who think smaller polities do better at serving their own needs. Others are ornery individualists who don't want the community butting into their affairs at all. Under normal circumstances, these interesting assortments of free-thinkers don't attract much support." The Economist

Politicians have fostered a tribalism and partisanship that only functions to ensure they keep their seats. The British Prime Minister David Cameron is relieved he still has a job. Rick Perry really was pandering to his crowd as he suggested secession, coincided with running for president in a red state. It helps to dumb down the population - eliminating AP history; fostering creationism in science classes - so constituents are so confused, so bewildered they can't question what you're doing. Any real technological advances are funded - endowments and think tanks to make the rich richer still.

For the rest: scraps from the opulent table...for Lazarus.

Tomorrow: Farpoint