Political Issues
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
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This letter will be the first in a series of future letters to the editor informing readers of the various positions or viewpoints that Americans can have on some of the hotly contested political issues of our time. This particular letter will deal with the idea of secession which is recently back in the national media spotlight with Kosovo declaring it's independence from Serbia. I will first give a definition of secession, some examples of secession and then the five positions of secession.
Secession is the act and/or process where a part (a group of or a singe nation(s), colony(ies), state(s), city(ies) or territory(ies) of a political union (league, federation or empire) formally withdraws from that union on it's own initiative by renouncing it's allegiance to the authority of the central government and/or the rest of the union, it's intention of becoming a free self-governing entity and begins the formation of an independent country.
Examples of Secession
1. American Colonies for the British Empire (1776).
2. Confederacy from the Union (1861).
3. West Virginia from Virginia (1861).
4. Singapore from Malaysia (1965).
5. Split up of Czechoslovakia (1993).
6. Norway from Sweden (1905).
7. Breakup of the Soviet Union (1991).
8. Eritrea from Ethiopia (1993).
9. Panama from Columbia (1903).
10. Breakup of Yugoslavia (1991-92).
11. Bangladesh from Indonesia (1971).
12. East Timor from Indonesia (2002).
13. Split-up of British-ruled India (1947).
Five Positions of Secession
1. Union Position - The union is indivisible now and forever, any and all necessary means including waging all-out war should be used to reserve the integrity of the union against any peaceful or violent secessionist movements that threaten to divide it.
2. Centrist Position - Secession should be permissible for any territory within the union with residents capable of forming at the very least a functioning city-sate or a larger political entity, but only under certain lawfully defined circumstances and procedures done in a peaceful and orderly fashion with both parties accepting the results of that process and refraining from violence.
3. Separatist Position - An independent homeland should be established for one's particular race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, language, political affiliation, socio-economic status, etc. by all necessary means including waging violence against the rest of the union if it refuses to grant independence through peaceful means to one's future homeland.
4. Anarchist Position - Individuals or groups of individuals have the right to absolve themselves of any allegiance to the authority (i.e. the laws, taxes, courts, police, etc.) of the central government of their country and become their own independent microrepublics by any and all necessary means including waging violence against the rest of the union.
5. Undecided/No Opinion Position - One either does not know what position to take or has no opinion on this issue.
Alexander Houze
Leesburg[[In-content Ad]]
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This letter will be the first in a series of future letters to the editor informing readers of the various positions or viewpoints that Americans can have on some of the hotly contested political issues of our time. This particular letter will deal with the idea of secession which is recently back in the national media spotlight with Kosovo declaring it's independence from Serbia. I will first give a definition of secession, some examples of secession and then the five positions of secession.
Secession is the act and/or process where a part (a group of or a singe nation(s), colony(ies), state(s), city(ies) or territory(ies) of a political union (league, federation or empire) formally withdraws from that union on it's own initiative by renouncing it's allegiance to the authority of the central government and/or the rest of the union, it's intention of becoming a free self-governing entity and begins the formation of an independent country.
Examples of Secession
1. American Colonies for the British Empire (1776).
2. Confederacy from the Union (1861).
3. West Virginia from Virginia (1861).
4. Singapore from Malaysia (1965).
5. Split up of Czechoslovakia (1993).
6. Norway from Sweden (1905).
7. Breakup of the Soviet Union (1991).
8. Eritrea from Ethiopia (1993).
9. Panama from Columbia (1903).
10. Breakup of Yugoslavia (1991-92).
11. Bangladesh from Indonesia (1971).
12. East Timor from Indonesia (2002).
13. Split-up of British-ruled India (1947).
Five Positions of Secession
1. Union Position - The union is indivisible now and forever, any and all necessary means including waging all-out war should be used to reserve the integrity of the union against any peaceful or violent secessionist movements that threaten to divide it.
2. Centrist Position - Secession should be permissible for any territory within the union with residents capable of forming at the very least a functioning city-sate or a larger political entity, but only under certain lawfully defined circumstances and procedures done in a peaceful and orderly fashion with both parties accepting the results of that process and refraining from violence.
3. Separatist Position - An independent homeland should be established for one's particular race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, language, political affiliation, socio-economic status, etc. by all necessary means including waging violence against the rest of the union if it refuses to grant independence through peaceful means to one's future homeland.
4. Anarchist Position - Individuals or groups of individuals have the right to absolve themselves of any allegiance to the authority (i.e. the laws, taxes, courts, police, etc.) of the central government of their country and become their own independent microrepublics by any and all necessary means including waging violence against the rest of the union.
5. Undecided/No Opinion Position - One either does not know what position to take or has no opinion on this issue.
Alexander Houze
Leesburg[[In-content Ad]]
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