I of course was raised like every other northern child to believe that the Civil War was a necessary scourge that "refined" America, rather than "the war of northern aggression" taught in the south. As time has gone by and I have studied more, I increasingly realize that the Civil War mortally wounded the America that our Founders created, and that America has been in the process of finally passing away now for 150 years.
The magic that was America was LIMITED GOVERNMENT, and at the Federal level, VERY limited government.
James Madison, the acknowledged father of the Constitution, explained in Federalist Paper No. 45: delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. … The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives and liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State.”
"States Rights" were not some evil thing, they were the "numerous and indefinite" rights, ESPECIALLY the kinds of rights that no doubt other states disagree with! We were intended to be more like Europe is now from a FEDERAL perspective ... a bunch of "separate countries" (states here), with a common currency, defense treaty, language and a FEW laws for interstate commerce.
The idea that Colorado allows legal pot is more to what the founders had in mind. Abortion being completely legal and liberal in some states, and not at all in others would be similar if we continued to follow the Constitution.
Gun laws would be a bit different, since the 2nd Amendment actually defines them as NOT a States Right. There would be good reasons to negotiate on issues like guns because secession would be a very real possibility, since everyone would be in agreement that a war to "preserve the union" was an extreme and very much NOT in keeping with the core idea of LIMITED GOVERNMENT!
This is way too long a topic to cover in a blog post, but I tend to agree with the linked article. It is time for essentially the center of the country to strongly consider going our own way. Leave the coasts and a few states like MN and IL tied to the massive debt and old school entitlements and form a new energy rich, growth oriented vibrant nation, unabashedly Christian (but still not having a state religion).
Let the NY, CA, IL centered "Socialist States" see how well their way goes. Perhaps in a few decades they will be bankrupt enough to seek reconciliation.
'via Blog this'
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