Prattville Dragoons Commander's Column for July 2016

Brexit was huge in the recent news, the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union following a referendum in which 72 per cent of the country’s registered voters cast ballots and a narrow majority declared their independence from the EU in which Great Britain had been a member for the past forty years. Interesting statistics showed that younger voters more acclimated to recent progressive policies voted to remain as did, regionally, the London metropolitan, Scotland and Northern Ireland areas. Interestingly, generally more rural areas and older generations voted for Britain’s independence, to leave the EU.  Donald Trump coincidentally was touring Scotland for the opening of his latest Trump golf resort in Turnberry and took the opportunity to comment that this EU departure vote had obvious parallels to the sentiment in the United States where voters are rejecting the status quo for their political representation and the centralized autocracy and placing priority in nationalism and strengthening border protection. 

Trending on Twitter soon thereafter was #Texit where secessionists in Texas seized on the popular sentiment to renew their calls for their state to secede from the U.S. and proclaim their independence. But, Donald Trump responded, “Texas will never do that, because Texas loves me.” (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/06/25/no-texit-trump-says-texas-will-never-secede-amid-renewed-calls.htm_l) “Trump’s comments mark a rebuke from the candidate who has drawn explicit parallels between the anti-establishment sentiments that fueled the Brexit decision and those fueling his campaign on this side of the pond.  The secessionists have long faced setbacks at every level of government.  (Obama’s) White House, in response to a petition, said three years ago that Texas simply cannot leave the union.  The (Texas) state Republican Party took up this same issue at their convention just last month – and defeated a bid to get a Texas independence measure in the party platform.  The Texas Tribune, in an analysis Friday, also said that while Texas could potentially split into separate states it could not legally secede. The Tribune quoted the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who once wrote in a letter, “If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede.”” (foxews.com)  Secession advocates nevertheless maintain it is possible to have a “conversation on independence and let the people have the final say.” (foxnews.com)  “After winning independence from Mexico in 1836, Texas was its own republic until 1845, when it joined the U.S. Secession advocates argue the second-most populous state in the country is burdened by the federal government and has a large-enough economy to survive on its own.” (foxnews.com) 

One might view Obama’s and Trump’s flip dismissal of the idea of secession to be humorously arrogant had Lincoln’s similar arrogance not cost the lives of 600,000 men in the War for Southern Independence 150 years ago.   If anyone ever believed that “state’s rights” was strictly a code-word for preserving the institution of slavery and that the Confederate states were unjustified in seceding from the burdensome overreaching strong arm of Lincoln’s federal government need only look at this recent Brexit initiative and persistent secessionist movements in Texas, Vermont and elsewhere and the outrageous oppressive federal actions over the last 7+ years to grasp and appreciate the understandable sentiment which drove our Confederate ancestors to declare their independence and seek to return to a Constitutional limited central government. We talk of Southern values including hard work, self-sufficient, God-fearing people and certainly the massive federal Wall Street bailouts, federal socialist programs, federal attacks on entire economic sectors and entrepreneurs, federal policy espousing Biblical abominations and weakening our nation’s defense would and should cause concern tantamount to that our forebears felt causing their secession movement culminating in the Confederate States of America.  But, according to Obama, Trump and Scalia, secession is a settled issue and we should just like them and our predicament. Always and in this July 4^th period of celebration, we need to appreciate our great country and the liberty and opportunity for which we are blessed but we need to remember that our Confederate ancestors were right and justified and honor their struggle and sacrifice in their quest for a more perfect constitutional representative republic.