Blog Archives

Secession Isn't An Option. Let's Change Direction Instead.

5/14/2016

I did something Thursday and Friday I'd never done before. I attended my state Republican convention as a delegate.

I readily admit to voting in GOP primaries and financially supporting GOP candidates. I've held fundraisers (some in my home) for GOP candidates in state and local races. I will say, however, I don't find myself feeling very Republican over the last 15 years or so. My feelings on that are irrelevant for this post, as are my reasons for wanting to attend this past convention as a delegate.

But I would like to discuss an initiative we voted on at the convention as it is a prime topic for Texas preppers: whether Texans should get to vote on whether to secede from the United States.

While it may sound funny, there are a number of Texans who would like the option to do just that. And there are a number of people outside of Texas that would be happy to see us go.

Delegates to this weekend's convention were asked to vote on amending the official party platform calling for a state referendum on whether Texas should secede from the Union. (I voted against the amendment, which failed to pass.)

Friends, secession is not a good idea. I think we need to be discussing why it isn't, among the preparedness community, so that we can channel our efforts into something that will actually work.

Setting aside the legality of secession for purposes of this discussion (and admittedly, this is a big set aside), we should look at the practical and logistical challenges that even a peaceful secession would create.

The unwinding of the federal/state relationship would be extremely difficult and time consuming. A number of programs from Medicaid to the National Guard would have to be unwound and then replicated at the state level. A clean break would be virtually impossible.
Speaking of replicating things, we'd be replicating EVERYTHING that the federal government currently does. From issuing a currency to providing for a Texas national defense, we'd be doing that on our own now. Neither of these things are easy or cheap to do. We currently don't need our own nuclear missiles or strategic bombers. We don't currently need an international intelligence gathering mechanism. If we were to secede, we'd need to provide those things on our own.
Don't assume Texans can do it better than politicians in Washington. The state pension system is underfunded. Lawsuits challenging the adequacy of state programs and tax systems could cost the state billions. Texas Child Protective Services is, to put it mildly, a mess. Here in Austin, we can't even have Uber and Lyft because of bureaucrats.

I've sat in enough meetings at the city, county and state level that I can attest with certitude: If you want secession, you'd better be able to show a track record of doing things better, consistently, than they are done in Washington. Don't assume we can do it better in Texas simply because we're Texans.

In short, those advocating secession will likely be unhappy with the resulting government.

I don't say that as a statist who believes Washington should be running our lives. I'm a strong proponent of federalism and the 10th Amendment. I suspect I can out libertarian most of you reading this. But I'm also a pragmatist, and I realize that even peaceful secession is not the panacea that liberty proponents think it is.

So how do we fix what ails us? How do we fix Washington?

The answers are simple, but the work is hard.

You fix things nationally by fixing them locally. If you want Washington to follow your lead, set a course it can follow with proven results. I shared this just yesterday with a Texas state senator: Utah has practically ended homelessness. We need to be creating workable solutions that are cost effective, demonstrating that they are scalable to a larger geographic area. Texas is a prime state to be a laboratory for such efforts, given its racial, cultural and geographic diversity. Make it work here, and it can work in a lot of places.
You fix things by getting involved - personally, frequently, and substantively. I must admit - I am amazed at the number of people who complain about government programs and tax dollars being spent for things they think can be better handled by charities and other community efforts, who then never bother to lift a finger to help those charities and community efforts.

If you aren't actively involved in fundraising, serving on a government board or council, or actively participating in a charitable organization that addresses societal or civic issues, you need to stop complaining and start volunteering. You will learn a lot (I have) and feel like you have a personal stake in fixing some of the issues affecting our communities (I do). Stop complaining. Start volunteering.
You fix things by stressing preparedness and resiliency. This is where our group can really shine. The collective knowledge and wisdom in the preparedness movement can be put to use in any number of local efforts. I'm personally helping my high school alma mater become better prepared, my kid's high school classmates who are taking for-credit classes on preparedness, and the local animal rescue shelter's preparedness planning. Your community needs you to get involved to help not only with the core missions of various civic groups, but also with the need to make those groups better able to carry out those efforts during and after an emergency.

Secession will not fix what ails us. Finding solutions and personally getting involved in the process will.

0 Comments

And Then There Were Two

5/4/2016

0 Comments

I shy away from politics (more or less) in this blog. It's not because I don't follow it (it's part of my day job) or don't have political opinions (I do). I generally don't discuss it here because I want this blog to be about creating the culture of preparedness our nation needs. Commending Candidate A or criticizing Candidate B does little to entice readers to put aside whatever political differences they might have with me and consider the larger public policy and cultural issues surrounding a prepared nation.

I'll venture into those waters a bit this morning, as it's become clear to most Americans that we now know who the presumptive nominees for president will be.

Since we're still six months away from the general election, it's much too early to speculate who will win the election. Polling data will change. Debates may help sway undecided voters. A recession or another terrorist attack may also help swing voters to one candidate or the other. That's not just me saying that: consider this piece in, of all places, Emergency Management magazine.

Nonetheless, we know enough about both candidates that we can start making some plans in our own preparedness efforts at home and in our houses of worship, community groups, and workplaces in anticipation that one of them will become president. The (sort of) good news is that for our planning purposes, the two front runners align similarly on key issues.

Many will challenge me on that last point. Those who do, I would submit, are only looking at the hot button issues of the day: transgender bathrooms, immigration, free college tuition, and tax plans. While some of these issues are quite pressing for our nation, I think it's fair to say both candidates would seek to utilize more government involvement - bailouts, cash and credit controls, restrictions on liberty, increased gun control - in times of crisis and its aftermath.

Note I am not predicting Armageddon if either of these candidates becomes president. I am concerned, however, at the response these candidates might have - given their stated positions and philosophies - in a time of national crisis. I am also concerned that their respective policies will not do anything to improve our readiness as a nation.

To be fair, I believe that the most beneficial public policies that could be implemented to improve readiness would be done at the state and local level - meaning that there's not much the federal government can or should be doing, aside from creating disaster savings accounts and offering additional disaster dollars to those states who implement a statewide building code. At the same time, I don't see resiliency and readiness being policy priorities for either Sec. Clinton or Mr. Trump.

Last fall, Americans were polled as to their greatest fears. What do you think topped terrorism and economic collapse to take the number one fear of Americans? Corruption of government officials.

And not only did corruption of government officials win top honors, it crushed the second biggest fear by over 13 points.

Of course, most of us who feel that way would be quick to claim that it's the other political party to blame and not the one to which we belong.

Given that we now know that we're down to Sec. Clinton and Mr. Trump as our presumptive nominees, what should we be doing from a preparedness standpoint?

If you're a supporter of either of these candidates, support their campaign. I'm quite serious about this. Candidates need to know that there are people in the preparedness movement supporting them, so that preparedness and resiliency will not be a back burner issue for the next four years. Donate to their campaign. Volunteer. Get to know the professional campaign staff. Let them know preparedness is an important issue to you.
Start building bridges locally. I'm not a big fan of David Brooks' work, but there's some wisdom in this piece he wrote last week for the New York Times. Get out into your communities and meet people....including people who don't look like you, worship like you, or think like you. Because the reality is that our communities are the first line of response in times of emergencies. They need to see preppers not as crazy heads but as good people who want to help the community.
Help others get prepared. This goes hand in hand with the suggestion above. I've blogged about this before: be a resource to friends, neighbors, and organizations who want or need to get better prepared. You sitting around with tons of knowledge and experience doesn't improve the readiness of others. Your willingness to share what you know does.
Redouble your own preparedness efforts. Again, I'm not predicting anything. But I know there are many concerns out there right now - economic troubles, an approaching hurricane season, worries over geopolitical issues. Make sure your own preparedness efforts are up to par.
Learn a new skill. In a few weeks, I hope to share with you my own plans in this area. There's always something you can learn that can be useful both to yourself and others. First aid, ham radio, off grid cooking, camping/hiking, gardening, using solar power, public speaking, writing, sewing, handy man skills - there are a lot of things you could learn rather than watching TV or surfing the internet (or even reading this blog.)

I know the popular thing to say in this situation is "it's getting bad out there - buy more guns, ammo and MREs. Hunker down and get ready for martial law." Yes, we need to be getting ready....but we also need to be strengthening our communities. It's time those of us in the preparedness movement quit abdicating that responsibility to others and do it ourselves.

0 Comments

Secession Isn't An Option. Let's Change Direction Instead.

And Then There Were Two

Paul's Blog

Archives

Categories