My name is Mark and I am considering moving to Virginia because, although I was born in Minnesota, (out for 21 years in the Air Force) I now find it far too liberal, socialist, lazy and lawless for my family and myself. Can you tell me if Virginia is a conservative state and a little about life in Virginia?

Thank you for a great post – clearly you put in much research. Your conclusions in the last paragraph are poignant and really the best argument for various liberties we historically have enjoyed but are now in jeopardy of losing.

The argument against succession by most rational mainstream citizens would be that they love their country and could not image life without it. What that notion fails to acknowledge is the difference between government and nation.

The American Nation is the people that make up our country. The government is merely a mechanism that provides for an orderly existence in our nation. And as you pointed out, Jefferson made it clear in the Declaration of Independence that government validity comes from the governed — “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” In essence, when government becomes an obstacle to liberty instead of the protector of liberty, action is justified. And the American Nation will not only survive, but thrive.

I do not see that we are at that point now, but when that times comes (and I feel that the loss of liberties we now suffer is an irreversible tide), having a sound view of our options is essential. Thank you again for a great post.

paul

I remind you that 57 million citizens of the United States, did not vote for Barack Obama, do not believe that the federal government is, or should be, the answer to everything. If the south should ever secede again, it could very well set off a migration of labor, brain power and wealth, that would cripple the North.

It is a shame that you are not a dictator for the federal government. I can tell by your attitude that if you were, maybe you would UN-OCCUPY our southern states and we could have our southern country back. If I am not mistaken we tried to leave and you yankees shed much innocent blood ,so much so that we could’nt leave. You should watch what you say because some people are still angry about that !!!!! Part of my family is buried in a grave yard nearby that has many good men in it that fought for the southern cause. As it stands today the federal government does not represent me or my beleifs of what a government should be. And no I’m not racist. There are some black people I like …Some I don’t. The same with white people. Some I like, some I don’t. Some of them are in government, And one is wherever you are !!!!!
I do hope that things get better for all people everywhere, but I wiil never accept all of the BS coming out of washington dc. As far as bible thumping goes….I have a few of those too! Although I don’t attend church, I do think you need to go!!!! I have tried to be nice but because of your remarks, I must tell YOU that I AM….
OFFENDED IN TEXAS

There are too many northern liberals who have no idea what the rest of the country is like. I am also from the North, but I now live in Richmond. I have lived all over this country and abroad in Africa and Asia. Let me set you straight on the demographics of our country:

The most racist people in our country are Northeastern Liberal Democrat voters from the cities and suburbs. They view minorities as cute and quaint, but unequal, and they view blacks as too inept to live without the government’s help. This is a wide-spread feeling in the North. Southern people, in general, look at minorities as equals, and judge them so. The racism in the South is not nearly as widespread.

The creepiest “bubba” like people live in the upper northeast, like near Hartford, Connecticut. They are dirty, crude, and they don’t give a damn. They have no manners, and cussing at 2 year old children is the norm. I have not encountered anyone like this in the South. Southern people are the most generous and gracious people I have met. They are full of dignity, no matter how little income they have.

The dumbest people live around our Northern Cities. They make decisions based on emotions, not logic or reason. They fill their heads with what they think passes for intelligence – socialism – but they for the most part are completely devoid of any moral intelligence. They don’t believe in moral intelligence or knowledge. In the South, you may find a person who is not very well “educated” in terms of book smarts, but that same person may possess a wealth of moral knowledge.

The Northerner is naive; they will follow any cool fad and get sucked in by almost every piece of emotional propaganda, call it intelligence, and then have the nerve to label someone else as stupid. The Southerner is skeptical by nature and is humble about what they possess as knowledge – and mindful about what they don’t know.

The best schools in our country are in the South – especially Texas. The worst, bombed out, stinky, poorly planned, poorly maintained, cruddy, and violent schools are in the North. The best infrastructure in our country is in the South. The North is a mess.

Southern people work for a living. Welfare is a Northern thing.

I could go on and on, but my anger at reading your comment to this article is waning.

Julie, I would love to secede and leave snotty morons at the mercy of San Francisco communists.

Julie

Second, as people begin to expect food, money, and housing from government, they become dependent very much like a drug. In order to break this cycle, we must wean them off aid and re-instill the spirit of self-reliance. I know that this is not an easy task, but it is critical if we are to survive as a free nation.

Lastly, the South certainly does have its share of flaws that are in need of correction. But on the other hand, certain other segments of the population annoy me greatly (the Yankee superiority complex, liberals, overbearing atheists, to name just a few). However, I do not wish death or plague upon them. They have as much right to their thoughts as I. After all, is that not the true spirit of America?

Thank you for your comment. Hopefully in your search you will find an intelligent Southerner one day.

I find it ironic that you mention that southerners traditionally distrust the government since, 1) they never distrusted Bush/Cheney(which even the dumbest of people did), and 2) these same southerners are disproportionately dependent on government aid like Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare disability and food stamps. Talk about biting the hand that feeds them.

Lastly, I WISH the bubba’s of the south would secede!! These people contribute absolutely nothing positive to the American experience, in fact they drag us down. You have the highest obesity rates, highest teen pregnancy, highest poverty rates, lowest high school graduation rates, highest health costs, you eat road kill, etc. The south is nothing but leaches on the american system. Couple that with all the idiot bible thumpers who want to take this country backwards, I think most intelligent people would agree that the south should be given their own island, far from the US, preferrably over an earthquake fault line or next to an active volcano.