This is the con argument on secession from the United States.  To view the pro argument click here.

I think the South missed the memo that the Civil War didn’t work out the first time.

After the recent presidential election, all 50 states have started petitions to secede from the United States of America. The number of people signing these petitions is low in comparison to the nation at large but high enough to be taken into consideration by the government.

These people are acting like children who did not get their way, except instead of their mom not buying them the toy they wanted, the candidate they wanted to win the election didn’t win. Our country is in a serious economic crisis, but instead of hunkering down to fix the problem, they’d rather leave the problem all together.

Where is that pride in America that is always associated with southerners? If you love your country, you don’t form a petition to secede. It is true that the individual state governments aren’t the ones making the petitions and these petitions don’t have a ton of signatures, but they’re gaining press. The United States federal government is required to look at and consider any petition once it has gained 25,000 signatures or more within 30 days of being started, which 7 states have, all of which are Southern states.

If these people are willing to secede from the nation, don’t they think the federal government has more important problems than looking at petitions that shouldn’t be taken seriously? We are $16 trillion in debt and I’m sure that’s a major reason why these states are petitioning to secede, but there are better options.

The petition for Texas’ secession claims the state has the 15th largest economy in the world. If their economy is that prosperous then Texans should be prompting their members of Congress to help make legislation that would help fix the nation’s economy. This does not just go for Texans. These petitions span the nation and include Maryland. These citizens should not be running away from their country but asking their representatives to improve it.

The governors of South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Alabama have all made statements that reiterate the fact that the country is “one nation under God.” Signers of these petitions can’t even get representatives from their own states to support the idea of seceding.

People signing these petitions are trying to make a statement that they don’t agree with the direction the country is taking, but why don’t they spend their time on something more productive? The people making these extreme statements should work on getting their state representatives to come up with feasible solutions in Congress. Right now, their statements are far out and unrealistic. Try getting representatives to enact legislation that will actually help.

Sure, it is a first amendment right to petition the government, but that shouldn’t overpower dedication to one’s own country.

Emily Clarke is the Print Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com