Would Secession be Successful?

 Back in November when Obama won his re-election, several nutjobs, upset over the outcome of the election, announced they no longer wanted to be a part of this country.  But rather than go through all the effort of moving to another country, and assuming many more people felt the same way they did, they decided to petition for their state to secede from the nation.  Sure enough, every state in the country had citizens filing petitions for their state to secede from the U.S.  Because there is a lull in news after an election, the news media picked up the stories and ran with it, making a bigger deal of this secession movement than was necessary.  Eventually most people realized this was silly and more importantly infeasible (not to mention illegal) and the whole notion of seceding from the country nestled back to be the hare-brained idea of a few lone eccentrics.

                However, while reading the news today, it is apparent that secession-phobia is still going strong.  Governor Rick Perry has been working towards creating a “Fort Knox of Texas” to bring gold bullion owned by Texas back into the state, rather than being held by the Federal Reserve.  Many are speculating that this could be one of the first of many steps towards establishing Texas as an independent nation.  Granted, the Governor most likely does not have an ulterior motive in bringing Texas’ gold back into the state, but this is a move that could easily be perceived as suspicious by many who are already paranoid of a Texas secession.

                Nowhere else in the nation is the issue of secession as heated as in Texas.  Despite already having been an independent nation during the 1830s, Texas has been a prime candidate for secession due to its location, its financial stability, and abundance of resources.  However, the independent mentality of most of its citizens is what really causes many to consider the possibility of secession a possibility.

                So if Texas is capable of successfully seceding (it has its own power grid, sustainable resources, and strong economy) why hasn’t this been more of an issue?  The main obstacle against Texas’ secession is that most people in Texas don’t want to break away from the union.  And despite all the flak they give us, most of the other citizens in the US don’t want us to leave either.  While Texas secession seems to be something the people don’t want, the strongest case against it is the fact that it’s illegal.  The Supreme Court ruled in 1869 that states do not have a right to secede from the nation, making the entire issue moot.  While the idea of Texas as an independent country seems like a fun fantasy to some, it is something that will most likely never happen.

Rick Perry Slows Down Progress. Again.

            While Democrat and Republican legislators cannot seem to agree on any of the pressing issues facing them recently, one law seems to have gained almost complete bipartisan accord in the Texas House lately: a ban on texting while driving.  Texting while driving has been shown to affect a driver’s ability to safely control a vehicle, and has been responsible for numerous accidents, even deaths.  It is a risky, unnecessary act that many feel should be penalized in order to deter drivers from doing it.  As such, a law has been proposed to enforce a fine of up to $100 for any driver caught texting while driving.  A similar measure has been put into action in 39 other states, as well as 25 Texas cities (Austin being the first).  The statewide ban has received support from both political parties, and has been popular among a majority of legislators.  Nonetheless, the bill is expected to be vetoed by Governor Rick Perry.

                According to this editorial, Rick Perry is expected to veto this bill, much like he vetoed a similar bill two years ago.  While Perry does agree that texting while driving is dangerous and irresponsible, he does not feel it is the government’s duty to regulate what people do.  True to his small-government platform, Perry does not want the government to have the right to tell people what is and is not safe, calling the bill “a government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults”. 

                This editorial, written by the Editorial Board of the Austin Statesman, does a great job of not letting such a foolish comment and flimsy argument by Mr. Perry go unridiculed.  They point out that by encouraging or discouraging certain actions, managing behavior is exactly what laws are designed to do.  They also question his logic by questioning how laws prohibiting drunk driving or requiring seatbelts are legitimate but a law barring texting while driving is somehow “micromanagement”.

                While this editorial is aimed at Governor Rick Perry, imploring him to sign the texting ban bill when it makes it to his desk, the broader audience is readers who may still feel on the fence towards texting while driving.  Some readers may feel texting while driving is their right, and the government has no place in dictating their behavior; others may simply not be aware of how risky this behavior is.  The article presents hard facts and information from studies to provide indisputable proof that texting while driving causes accidents, and has been responsible for numerous deaths.  With such high credibility and impassioned plea in favor of a law that seemingly should pass through unquestioned, it is hard not to agree with the authors that the ban on texting while driving should be signed by Mr. Perry.