Are We on the Brink of a National Divorce? Let's Talk About Federalism Instead.

For a long time it didn't seem possible or even imaginable that civil war or secession would enter the vocabulary and serious conversations of sane Americans, but no one could have predicted how quickly our unifying morality and values could be eroded. But is national divorce really the answer? Probably not. We need to discuss that old brilliant idea in our Constitution called federalism.

I (John Lovell) think the last decade has surprised us all with the atomic speed with which bad ideas have become mainstream.

Ideas that were basically just academic thought experiments (at least that's what we thought) perpetuated by university professors have now infected the younger generations.

Then social media happened.

That useful bit of technology has now basically guaranteed that the virus spreads to epidemic proportions, replicating itself in the most simplified form so that sound bytes and slogans have replaced actual thinking.

Yay for that.

Just as quickly, conservative values and clear, critical thinking are being demonized and categorized alongside some of the most evil proclivities ever conceived in the human heart.

For example:

Is it really genocidal to assert that there are two genders and that those genders are inescapably identifiable by biological sex?

Are well-engineered black rifles, like AR-15s, actually sentient violent beings that roam our streets and schools to cause mayhem and death?

But I digress.

Is a National Divorce Really the Answer?

I realize that social media is not really the problem, just like I realize that AR-15s aren't the cause of acts of violence.

The problem is when you place these powerful tools in the hands of crazy people.

The real problem, of course, is the human heart.

If it's left unchecked and unbridled, without a moral code and the virtues and clear thinking taught and modeled in the context of family and community, it can create some very dark moments.

And it has.

And it's looking like America, and much of the rest of the world, is on the brink of some very dark moments.

But as lovers of freedom and protectors of goodness, as Warrior Poets, how should we respond?

Some politicians are suggesting a national divorce. This concerns me.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congresswoman from my state, is already boldly declaring the need for a national divorce:

"We need to separate red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrats' traitorous America last policies."

She ran an informal poll that came back with 43 percent in favor of a national divorce.

I realize this poll might reveal more of an emotional response to the current state of things, but I'd still say it's eerily revealing of where we could be headed.

It's true that we already live in an increasingly divided nation that seems to be rapidly losing a common core of beliefs and convictions.

There seems already to be a stark division between red states and blue states.

One side would say one nation under God, and the other would say one nation under government.

One side says freedom of speech is a God-given right, and the other seems to believe that rights are human constructs provided through government.

And now we seem to not agree on what a human is, on whether killing a baby is actually murder, and we can't even come to an agreement about how to define the word "woman."

And of course there are those who seem to think the Second Amendment is antiquated and dangerous. Good ole Gavin Newsom calls it a suicide pact.

Is it even possible to have a real conversation anymore? It seems that conversations themselves are considered violence, can lead to censorship or cancellation, and those fascists from ANTIFA smashing your windows.

That's how we got to this great rift that is growing more and we don't have a mechanism that can even bring us back together. The divide is bad and it is getting worse.

And maybe you're reading all this negativity and nodding along but then wondering what in the world we can do about it?

A House Divided Cannot Stand

I don't think we want to experience another civil war.

When I consider the implications of a national divorce (which sounds a lot like secession), I think of the last time such a conversation was followed to its conclusion.

Back in those days, the 1860s, Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. government did exactly as one would expect them to do.

They said "no," and that "no" came with rifles, calvary and cannon to back it up.

"A house divided cannot stand." Jesus is recorded saying this in the Gospel accounts, and Abraham Lincoln is reported to have said this many centuries later in reference to our nation on the brink of civil war. It isn't just a slogan.

It's a universal truth.

"If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand."Mark 3:24-25

The result of pursuing an undivided America back then was the end of slavery in the United States, among other things.

But it also resulted in massive bloodshed.

Do we really think our 21st century U.S. government will suddenly adopt a live-and-let-live approach to a national divorce?

One Solution? The Old Idea of Federalism

This is where I arrive at a solution. It's not a new idea. It's an old idea that was cast aside for some reason. It's called federalism, and it's detailed clearly by the 10th Amendment of the Constitution:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

In other words, any power and authority that's not specifically given to the federal government by the Constitution and its Bill of Rights, that power and authority goes to the states and the citizens. Each state should be able to be self-governed in keeping with the Constitution. 

Instead, we've had the opposite, with state power shrinking for generations and federal government growing into a monstrous bureaucracy. The federalism detailed by our Constitution would give power back to individual states but would provide for what it was originally intended by the people and for the people–protecting inalienable rights and providing for the national defense. 

So we'd avoid tyrannical rule and if somebody tries to attack our country, we hit them with the hammer of the American military. Win-Win. I realize a so-called national divorce seems like it would solve a bunch of problems. I'm sure that in Lincoln's day they thought the same thing. I think it would be an absolute bloody disaster. PLEASE NOTE: I'm not aligning conservatives with the Confederacy or the Union. That's a dangerous path and I won't tread it.

We Need to Build, Not Break

I think the real feasible option here is this. We have to shrink the size of the federal government. We have to drain the swamp. 

Here are some first steps toward creating the world we want our kids and grandkids to enjoy. Understand and get involved to influence who's running your state, your county, your city or town, your school board, your sheriff's office. 

Gone are the days where any of us can afford political apathy. Get to know their names and how your representatives vote. Find out what they really believe. And if they suck, hold them accountable by voting them out of office. 

We need a new wave of politician who doesn't really like politics, but has a moral fiber and the courage to actually vote their conscience and the will of the people instead of for the big suitcase of money.

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That's what we want to support at the Warrior Poet Society. We want to steward this platform and say what needs to be said without feeling beholden to anybody.

So far, I get to say what I want and I get to say what I think and what I really feel.

God, I pray, will give me the courage to keep speaking until they finally shut us down. And when/if they do, we want to be ready. That's why we need your support.

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