Happy Secession Day!

On this day in 1860, South Carolina resumed the powers it had delegated to the Federal Union by its ratification of the U.S. Constitution and became a free and independent State:

AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the union between the State of South Carolina and other States united with her under the compact entitled "The Constitution of the United States of America."
We, the people of the State of South Carolina, in convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, That the ordinance adopted by us in convention on the twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified, and also all acts and parts of acts of the General Assembly of this State ratifying amendments of the said Constitution, are hereby repealed; and that the union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States, under the name of the "United States of America," is hereby dissolved.

Done at Charleston the twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty.

Because ordinance was never legally rescinded, South Carolina must of necessity be considered occupied territory-- subject to the will and whim of the United States government. One may consider this an obscure historical oddity, but it is a fact and this fact tells us all we need to know about the nature of the union.

While many of our citizens, like a battered wife, have accepted their second class status in the union, many of us find it odious, offensive, and unacceptable.

While I do not object to the union of the states in principle, I believe this union should be completely voluntary and that this union should be strictly governed by the terms mutually agreed to by the ALL of the states.

If I had but one wish for this country, it would be that a new constitutional convention be called to determine whether or not the current arrangement is acceptable to all parties comprising these united States of America. Such a convention would provide each State the opportunity to renegotiate the terms of this union, thus guaranteeing that one state or region does not arbitrarily dictate la règle du jeu to any other state or region.

Otherwise, we should peaceably go our separate ways.

Such a separation would not necessitate the inability of the citizens of the various polities to maintain friendship, trade, and travel. This does not mean that we would not come to one another's aid should a defense of the continent become a necessity. This does mean, however, that we would no longer be unequally yoked together in a political marriage held together by guns and bayonets.

The next best thing, of course, would be a return to the original agreement between the States, i.e., the U.S. Constitution, which is what Ron Paul is trying to achieve in his bid for President.

Our current elected politician, however, will never restrict themselves of their own free will and accord. It will have to be forced upon them by the governed. This is why the Ron Paul Revolution is so important. It is our chance, as the people of the several states, to serve notice to those in positions of power that we will no longer consent to arbitrary and unconstitutional rule.

Only by binding the government with the heavy chains of a lawful constitution can we be in a position to secure our freedom reclaim our liberty.

So, today as we reflect on this day in the history of South Carolina, we are reminded that there one existed a people who loved LIBERTY more than UNION and FREEDOM more than SAFETY.

So, to my fellow South Carolinians and lovers of liberty everywhere: Happy Secession Day!

May we one day reclaim our place among the nations of the earth and once again be truly free!