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THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF VERMONT
IAN BALDWIN AND FRANK BRYAN, WASHINGTON POST - The winds of secession
are blowing in the Green Mountain State. Vermont was once an independent
republic, and it can be one again. We think the time to make that happen
is now. Over the past 50 years, the U.S. government has grown too big,
too corrupt and too aggressive toward the world, toward its own citizens
and toward local democratic institutions. It has abandoned the
democratic vision of its founders and eroded Americans' fundamental
freedoms.
Vermont did not join the Union to become part of an empire. Some of us
therefore seek permission to leave.
A decade before the War of Independence, Vermont became New England's
first frontier, settled by pioneers escaping colonial bondage who hewed
settlements across a lush region whose spine is the Green Mountains.
These independent folk brought with them what Henry David Thoreau called
the "true American Congress" -- the New England town meeting, which is
still the legislature for nearly all of Vermont's 237 towns. Here every
citizen is a legislator who helps fashion the rules that govern the
locality.
Today, however, Vermont no longer controls even its own National Guard,
a domestic emergency force that is now employed in an imperial war 6,000
miles away. The 9/11 commission report says that "the American homeland
is the planet." To defend this "homeland," the United States spends six
times as much on its military as China, the next highest-spending
nation, funding more than 730 military bases in more than 130 countries,
abetted by more than 100 military space satellites and more than 100,000
seaborne battle-ready forces. This is the greatest military colossus
ever forged. . .
The two of us are typical of the diversity of Vermont's secessionist
movement: one descended from old Vermonter stock, the other a more
recent arrival -- a "flatlander" from down country. Our Vermont homeland
remains economically conservative and socially liberal. And the love of
freedom runs deep in its psyche.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/30/AR2007033002076.html
SECOND VERMONT REPUBLIC - The Second Vermont Republic is a peaceful,
decentralist voluntary association and think tank opposed to the tyranny
of multinational corporations and the U.S. government, and committed to
the return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic, and more
broadly, to the peaceful dissolution of the United States as an
empireSupporters of the Second Vermont Republic subscribe to the
following set of principles:
1. Political Independence. Our primary objectives are political
independence for Vermont and the peaceful dissolution of the Union.
2. Human Scale. We believe life should be lived on a human scale. Small
is still beautiful.
3. Sustainability. We celebrate and support Vermont's small, clean,
green, sustainable, socially responsible towns, farms, businesses,
schools, and churches. We encourage family-owned farms and businesses to
produce innovative, premium-quality, healthy products. We also believe
that energy independence is an essential goal towards which to strive.
4. Economic Solidarity. We encourage Vermonters to buy locally produced
products from small local merchants rather than purchase from giant,
out-of-state megastores. We support trade with nearby states and
provinces.
5. Power Sharing. Vermont's strong democratic tradition is grounded in
its town meetings . We favor devolution of political power from the
state back to local communities, making the governing structure for
towns, schools, hospitals, and social services much like that of
Switzerland. Shared power also underlies our approach to international
relations.
6. Equal Access. We support equal access for all Vermont citizens to
quality education, health care, housing, and employment.
7. Tension Reduction. Consistent with Vermont's long tradition of "live
and let live" and nonviolence, we do not condone state-sponsored
violence inflicted either by the military or law enforcement officials.
We support a voluntary citizens' brigade to reduce tension and restore
order in the event of political unrest and to provide assistance when
natural disasters occur. We are opposed to any form of military
conscription. Tension reduction is the bedrock principle on which all
international conflicts are to be resolved.
8. Mutuality. Both our citizens and our neighbors should be treated with
mutual respect.
http://www.vermontrepublic.org/
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THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF VERMONT
IAN BALDWIN AND FRANK BRYAN, WASHINGTON POST - The winds of secession
are blowing in the Green Mountain State. Vermont was once an independent
republic, and it can be one again. We think the time to make that happen
is now. Over the past 50 years, the U.S. government has grown too big,
too corrupt and too aggressive toward the world, toward its own citizens
and toward local democratic institutions. It has abandoned the
democratic vision of its founders and eroded Americans' fundamental
freedoms.
Vermont did not join the Union to become part of an empire. Some of us
therefore seek permission to leave.
A decade before the War of Independence, Vermont became New England's
first frontier, settled by pioneers escaping colonial bondage who hewed
settlements across a lush region whose spine is the Green Mountains.
These independent folk brought with them what Henry David Thoreau called
the "true American Congress" -- the New England town meeting, which is
still the legislature for nearly all of Vermont's 237 towns. Here every
citizen is a legislator who helps fashion the rules that govern the
locality.
Today, however, Vermont no longer controls even its own National Guard,
a domestic emergency force that is now employed in an imperial war 6,000
miles away. The 9/11 commission report says that "the American homeland
is the planet." To defend this "homeland," the United States spends six
times as much on its military as China, the next highest-spending
nation, funding more than 730 military bases in more than 130 countries,
abetted by more than 100 military space satellites and more than 100,000
seaborne battle-ready forces. This is the greatest military colossus
ever forged. . .
The two of us are typical of the diversity of Vermont's secessionist
movement: one descended from old Vermonter stock, the other a more
recent arrival -- a "flatlander" from down country. Our Vermont homeland
remains economically conservative and socially liberal. And the love of
freedom runs deep in its psyche.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/30/AR2007033002076.html
SECOND VERMONT REPUBLIC - The Second Vermont Republic is a peaceful,
decentralist voluntary association and think tank opposed to the tyranny
of multinational corporations and the U.S. government, and committed to
the return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic, and more
broadly, to the peaceful dissolution of the United States as an
empireSupporters of the Second Vermont Republic subscribe to the
following set of principles:
1. Political Independence. Our primary objectives are political
independence for Vermont and the peaceful dissolution of the Union.
2. Human Scale. We believe life should be lived on a human scale. Small
is still beautiful.
3. Sustainability. We celebrate and support Vermont's small, clean,
green, sustainable, socially responsible towns, farms, businesses,
schools, and churches. We encourage family-owned farms and businesses to
produce innovative, premium-quality, healthy products. We also believe
that energy independence is an essential goal towards which to strive.
4. Economic Solidarity. We encourage Vermonters to buy locally produced
products from small local merchants rather than purchase from giant,
out-of-state megastores. We support trade with nearby states and
provinces.
5. Power Sharing. Vermont's strong democratic tradition is grounded in
its town meetings . We favor devolution of political power from the
state back to local communities, making the governing structure for
towns, schools, hospitals, and social services much like that of
Switzerland. Shared power also underlies our approach to international
relations.
6. Equal Access. We support equal access for all Vermont citizens to
quality education, health care, housing, and employment.
7. Tension Reduction. Consistent with Vermont's long tradition of "live
and let live" and nonviolence, we do not condone state-sponsored
violence inflicted either by the military or law enforcement officials.
We support a voluntary citizens' brigade to reduce tension and restore
order in the event of political unrest and to provide assistance when
natural disasters occur. We are opposed to any form of military
conscription. Tension reduction is the bedrock principle on which all
international conflicts are to be resolved.
8. Mutuality. Both our citizens and our neighbors should be treated with
mutual respect.
http://www.vermontrepublic.org/
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