Agreed. A return to federalism, to shared powers between the states and Feds, would go a long way to solving our current problems.
Fixing the 17th would work. So would, I think, enabling some sort of state veto authority over Federal legislation. Constitutional limits on the extent of taxation (and borrowing, which is merely deferred taxation) permissible by the Feds would also help.
We can solve our problems without resorting to secession, revolution, and so forth. We should solve our problems without resorting to those measures.
I don't have any particular grievance with you but since you've opened up the door
We are too far down the slippery slope of collectivism, liberal indoctrination, and federal overreach to reverse the slide. Liberty as we used to know it will never be restored, encouraged, or voted for in the halls of Congress.
Secession is not something that I enjoy talking about, but a somewhat organized and polite separation is far preferable to a messy guerilla war which will certainly erupt as the more onerous provisions of the Health Care Bill are enacted--for instance, forcing citizens to buy health care against their will.
At this point the question you have to ask yourself about secession is not "why" but "why not?" We are rapidly approaching the time when any benefits to staying in the Union as it now exists will cease to outweigh the potential prosperity of some other sort of federation. I don't pretend to be an expert on what sort of cultural, economic, and governmental trauma would both result from and cause such a move. But I can tell you right now, more and more people in independently minded states are doing the math--and coming up short in the Fed.gov column.
I'm not delusional. South Carolina, for instance, will never secede. We are too dependent on Federal welfare assistance and road money, plus the lower half of the state is fairly liberal. States like Utah, Wyoming, and Montana I can see seceding because of their low population density and relative level of energy independence would embolden them in the face of any sort of confusion in the halls of state or federal government.
The bottom line, of course, is that secession or no, the Federal crazy train is about to come off the rails. The crash will be spectacular. Who survives, who runs the various governments, and whether or not we are able to withstand the assaults on liberty on the national, state, and local level--these questions are being decided now. Sun Tzu spoke wisely when he said that the battle is decided before the armies ever meet in the field (paraphrase).
Buy food. Buy guns. Talk to your neighbors. You may not be able to motivate your local boys to get in the woods once a month but maybe you can get a loose "neighborhood watch" program started with an emphasis on preparedness and communication.
And for the love of God, buy ammunition. Ammunition will
never again be as cheap as it is now. Always have enough ammunition to start or finish a small war. God help you if you have to do both.
