Nation of Texas?

Dear Victorious,

I understand you live in Texas, and have been reading this week about Texans wanting to secede from the United States. What do you think of that?

Yankee

Dear Yankee,

I think it's just a bunch of noise. For starters, the U.S. Civil War resolved once and for all the right of states to break away from the federation. Though we are in the federation voluntarily (the U.S. didn't conquer us), no state has the right to just opt out whenever they want to. So no one should seriously expect Texas to secede from the union.

That said, my understanding is that the sovereignty of the states is supposed to be protected by the federal constitution (and its amendments). While Texas may be getting the notoriety from what our governor did this week, about two dozen states have passed or are considering passing resolutions affirming their sovereignty separate from the U.S. It would seem that they are doing it to make a point with Obama and his administration. Texans, and many other Americans are not happy with the federal government imposing so much of its ways on the states. That was never its purpose, and many feel that the federal government is over stepping its authority.

All this being said, many of us Texas believe that our current governor, Rick Perry, is probably headed for a new career. He is not led by the God most of us worship and few of us could point to any tangible things he's done or not done that would make him a great governor. The irony is that he's the longest serving governor Texas has ever had - and is seeking re-election at the end of this term. The real question is whether or not Texans will give him another chance.

Nobody should be worried about Texas breaking away from the U.S. The majority of Texans would never stand for such a thing. And quite honestly, Rick Perry isn't a strong enough leader to move us in such a direction either!