Once again, Texas has decided to invoke it's own version of sabre-rattling by threatening to secede from the United States of America. The elected officials cannot abide the federal government setting laws for it's people, they would rather have the freedom to set their own standards and laws as Texans see fit.
Fine. Let them. Enough is enough, we've all heard this rhetoric for (literally) centuries.
Mr. Obama, agree to this secession, and set a time line for it. Two months before the date set, halt all federal aid to Texas. One month before, pull out all Border Agents and FBI, as well as all FDIC banking guarantees. Sell off all FHA-backed mortgages to private companies. Stop all and every form of financial aid the federal government aimed at Texas. To be fair, allow free citizenship rites to any who move from Texas to the United States of America for a full six months.
But that's it. Call them on their bluff. To be a free-standing country, you need financial and military power - of which they have neither. The UN will not recognize such a new government for quite some time, so the ensuing fits of duly elected officials will be entertainment for a time. And when Texas comes crawing back to the US after dealing individually with the rest of the world, please ensure the language of the rejoining doesn't include such provisions as it does now.
Texas is very much like the spoiled child of our republic. Some in that state believe they are entitled to everything the government provides, while refusing to contribute anything but vitriol into our national dialog. Like a spoiled child, a dose of reality will do wonders for the ability of reasoning, and we should not deny them this rite of passage. If they happen to flourish, so be it; in all likelyhood they will find the world a much more vast landscape of ideas and tolerances than ever expected.
Personally, I've had it with one state claiming they know better than all the rest. Let Texas go individually into the real, global world; just be ready to welcome them back (with conditions) when the big, bad globe thinks they're all nuts.
8:15 PM PT: aoeu asked
"if it was California?
If not, why not?"
I responded:
Should any state wish to withdraw from our union, I would say the same. The world is a big place, and one place's ideals will often not be viewed as favorable in another. Just because I personally agree with a liberal slant, doesn't mean others on the other side of the planet will.
I only single out Texas because the petition has now exceeded a level where the federal government must respond, and there has been a vocal effort on this matter for some time in the state. If California were to take the same route, I would remind it's citizens of the exact same problems with entering a world stage, and that China may well not accept the liberties California has embraced.
True North commented:
Some Texans say they want to secede, but who are they to speak for everybody in the state?
Maybe the people who are saying this really mean it or maybe they're just blowing off steam.
Look at Quebec for an example of what it looks like when a significant part of the population supports secession. People were seriously engaged in a reality-based discussion of what the consequences of separation would be. In the last referendum, the vote was close—it wasn't just a tiny fraction of the population favoring it.
My response:
I wasn't trying to bash on the residents of any one state. The realities of beoming a free-standing nation are nothing to sneeze at.
In the US, Texas has simply been the most vocal about seceding; I only brought them up (in the title especially) because of the current petition which, by outdated federal rules, must be regonized. Personally, I think it should be dependant upon a percentage of the population, and not a set number....but these are the rules we have.