Secession

For John, BLUF:  When I was growing up the concept of succession was one that was looked down on.  It is what Southern States did in 1860.  I was taught it was a bad thing.  Now I have to rethink my understanding of the dynamics.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Small Secessions of the New Civil War

Here is the sub-headline:

Neighborhoods secede from cities, cities from counties, and counties from states.

From Front Page Magazine, by Mr Daniel Greenfield, 21 June 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

That a battle over Atlanta would play nearly as pivotal a role in the country’s second civil war as it did in the first might have surprised few historians.  What might have surprised them is that the battle would involve civic meetings rather than bullets.  There are plenty of bullets in Buckhead, a part of Atlanta coping with runaway crime under the pro-crime rule of Mayor Keisha Bottoms, and those bullets have inspired local residents to secede and form their own police force.

Buckhead is not the first part of Atlanta to try and secede.  Sandy Springs had already successfully seceded from Atlanta and a number of cities in Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, have tried to break away to form Milton County.  These efforts to escape the blight and corruption of Atlanta aren’t new, but Buckhead’s fight to escape Atlanta’s pro-crime government has captured the imagination of millions of Americans from one coast of the country to the other.

The cold civil war is being shaped not by national, but local secessions like the one in Buckhead as neighborhoods try to secede from cities, cities from counties, and counties from states in a powerful struggle by conservative and centrist communities to define their own way of life.

The issue of big cities, or big governments, exerting their will on the smaller governmental entities has a long history.  The idea of groups of people breaking away from the larger group, to strike out on their own also has a long history.  Groups breaking away is an opportunity for new ideas and new growth.  While it shouldn't be too easy, it should not be forbidden.  Those breaking away should have to do some work, but should be allowed room to succeed.

The City of Lowell is one that was created by a series of secessions, from Dracut, Chelmsford and Tewksbury.  I subsequently learned that once upon a time the City of Cambridge had extended up to my neighborhood, including a small cemetary. This I learned thanks to Intrepid Reporter Jennifer Myers.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff