Here’s your geography lesson for the day: Scotland has been a part of the United Kingdom, along with England, Wales and Northern Ireland, since 1707. About 300 years later, Scotland voted whether to remain in the UK and finally decided last week that they would stay.
But what if this historic Scotish movement was replayed somewhere else? Somewhere like Texas?
It’s not hard to imagine. What Texan hasn’t secretly dreamed of seceding from the United States and the pride, power and freedom that would finally be ours? With “Texas Secede” flags flapping in the wind, tasteful bumper stickers convincingly being stuck on the back of trucks and informative websites petitioning secession, it’s difficult not to get caught up in the excitement.
In 2010, 32 percent of the state’s eligible adults voted in the general election – the second worst voter turn-out in the nation. In Scotland, 85 percent of eligible voters showed up at the polls. Maybe a vote on secession would inspire political involvement and shake up a state of apathetic constituents.
Scottish patriotism was tangible as people wore kilts to the poll booths and bagpipes were played in the streets. Texas pride would no doubt be as visible, but there would probably be an abundance of guns and Texas flags instead of bagpipes and kilts.
Although there is the small problem that succession was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1869, Texas Nationalist Movement president Daniel Miller has called to put the question on a statewide ballot. An online petition received 125,746 signatures in favor of independence. Unfortunately, the White House rejected the petition because the U.S. is a “perpetual union.”
The Texas Nationalist party was not pleased with this response, however, and cited a section of the Texas Constitution that says Texans have the right “to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.” The group said they won’t give up.
The Scottish vote was a close one – 44.7 percent voted for independence and 55.3 percent voted to remain a part of the U.K. A 2013 poll found that 20 percent of Texans would support secession because of Obama’s reelection, so maybe the Texas vote for independence won’t be as much of a nail biter as Scotland’s, but who knows? Things could change if another democrat is elected president.
So, until then, we’ll have to be satisfied with flying the Texas flag as high as the American flag.
