With the reelection of President Barack Obama, America faces a split population. Regardless of Obama’s win over the popular vote and the Electoral College, 48 percent of Americans remain unsupportive of the president. The unrest has translated into imaginings of change, with active petitions for secessions in 40 states, including Texas. While Louisiana was the first state to petition, Texans have been considering secession for years, in the form on the Texas Nationalist Movement.
Texas has every right to secede. There is nothing legally limiting secession, so long as the majority of the state is in agreement. However, that is where the problem lies; the majority of the state does not support secession. Since the petition’s start , over 90,000 people have signed their support. While that may be enough names to get a response from the Obama administration, it does not even represent five percent of the population of Houston.
Even if the petition were to reach over 50 percent of Texas’s population, seceding from the United States presents itself as a recipe for social disaster. Texas is the land of extremes. From the liberals in Austin and the conservatives of east Texas, to white supremacists and Mexican immigrants, secession would lead to another definitive two-party system, the same conflict would remain. Paired with the radical nature of secession, such contrasting political views and social classes would surely clash, at worst resulting in an all-out civil war in the newly-established republic.
The idea of secession in response to election results disrespects democracy. As defined in the Constitution, the president is selected by the votes of the states. State decisions are reflected in the Electoral College, thus deciding the president. Obama was elected through both the popular vote and the Electoral College. He won the majority. Regardless of the three percent difference, constitutionally he won, and that decision must be respected. This is America, the country valued for freedom of expression through voting. As much as we take it for granted, a democracy such as ours does not exist in every country. Come election day, Facebook and Twitter explode with posts celebrating the right to vote. How can we say that we value and respect that right, if the second our candidate loses we are demanding the right to secede? It is unacceptable.
Economically, Texas could get by as its own country, but as for the social aspect, it would never work. The Obama administration has received the petition for secession, but no official response has been released yet. Gov. Perry , despite his pro-secession comments in the past, statedafter the election that in his opinion, Texas belongs in the United States. All in all, is secession possible? Yes. Likely? No. Wise? Absolutely not.
