The big idea: small communities, small churches, small governments

I am not an anarchist. But I'm convinced that only one thing can save our way of life as Americans: the dissolution of the United States as a federal entity.

It is becoming clear to me that government must be held closely accountable, as cumbersome as that can be, and that only local government can be truly accountable. National government—at least, in a nation this large—merely ensures that government is removed from the governed, and between the governed and the government, much mischief is made: Lobbyists, lawyers, influence peddlers, all of it. All represent some corner of our society, typically an industry, a labor union, a nonprofit or group of nonprofits—all with money to be made from "representing" their constituents' interests. No matter which major party dominates at any given point, the result is the same. What we now have is a de facto empire based on a fascist model of government-industrial relations, with a democratic vote that amounts to little, if anything at all. What will change this? Nothing in our current system can.

This is not new. Anyone with even a vague grasp of U.S. history knows our own government has lied, stolen land, killed citizens without cause, approved the enslavement of human beings, engaged in the unprovoked invasion of other countries, etc. For all the darkness the Confederate battle flag represents, the Stars and Stripes has presided over far more brutality and inhumane conduct than the CSA standard did, and that's saying quite a bit.

The brutal fact is that governments lie, cheat, steal, plunder, enslave, murder their own citizens, murder the citizens of other nations, and enrich themselves. Washington's blog has a nice roundup of some recent examples of governments admitting they've engaged in false flag terrorism against their own citizens. He writes:

Forget the claims and allegations that false flag terror - governments attacking people and then blaming others in order to create animosity towards those blamed - has been used throughout history.

This essay will solely discuss government admissions to the use of the false flag terror.

It's worth reading the entire (and brief) roundup of examples, all linked to source material. If you have been living in denial about the nature of government—no shame in that, we all have at some point—I hope this will help remove those blinders.

The only hope, I truly believe, is decentralization. This boils down to one thing: secession. It makes sense. What has the Northeast, with its distinctive culture and way of life, to do with the Southwest? A shared language (to some extent), and little more. The Pacific Northwest has its own unique culture; it has little in common with that of the eastern Midwest states. And so on. Such movements are already established, and they are not exclusively of the Left or Right. Vermont's is perhaps as active as any. One of the most vocal advocates of Vermont's secession (and decentralization in general) is Kirkpatrick Sale, a historian I greatly admire. A speech he gave not so long ago on this very subject:

Also prominent in Vermont's movement: Dr. Thomas H. Naylor, a professor emeritus of economics at Duke University.

Secession can, and should, be peaceful. It should preserve the good relations that already exist between states and regions, while completely pulling the plug on the swamp of corruption that is Washington, D.C. Secession has an ugly reputation, thanks to the barbarism of slavery, but it needn't revisit that ugly past. To the contrary, African Americans would be better represented in a seceded South than they are at the federal level now. There is exactly one African American U.S. senator, and he was appointed. Only 9 percent of members of the U.S. Congress are African American. Meanwhile, African Americans represent significant numbers of state houses, city mayoral offices, etc. throughout the South. Those numbers represent power, and that power ensures that no retreat to the evil of the past can take place—not that any sane person would want such a thing.

So what form would a collection of smaller governments take in relation to one another? Perhaps a confederation, with defense responsibilities shared by the various states. Or not. The floor is open. The ideas can be debated, and a compromise struck, by appointed or elected (another issue to be debated) representatives to a confederated convention.

This is no panacea. It is, rather, a suggestion for a peaceful course for positive change for all of us.