A life-changing journey for a former secessionist
For over a decade, I wasted countless hours dreaming of a new nation similar to one that lasted only 4 years in the 1860’s. There would be none of the bad, only the good, or so I thought. I dreamed that I would be in charge of a Christian utopia where everyone played fairly, there would be no war, & we could be self-sustaining. All these thoughts & ideas, combined with being stuck in a rut back home near Kansas City (Missouri side) led me to embark on a journey that I once thought was do-or-die.
Over the past 5 days, I took to Reddit & Facebook where I told my story of zealous indignation, enjoyment of the journey, & a snap-back to reality. Sadly, Reddit didn’t take Day 5 (the secession pitch) too kindly. So, someone from there recommended I share my story here instead. My hope is that anyone who feels the same way, whoever has a lofty political goal, can learn that maybe the best medicine is to get out of the cubbyhole called the Internet, take a journey, & discover that the world doesn’t quite work the way you think it does.
How it started: Back in middle school, I watched a YouTube video about the old state song of Florida. At the end, it shilled for the Confederacy, saying the South will rise again. I read the comments that also shilled for the CSA, & I thought “ok, this is a cause I can get behind”. That, combined with other factors from news to social media, I grew disdainful against the federal government & thought the only solution to relieve the South of its corruption was to secede, as fixing the system was impossible. As the years go by, I’d waste my hours dreaming of being the 2nd Confederate president, & what I’d do differently from Uncle Sam.
The intensification: In 2017, I went on a field trip with my college to beg AL for funding (as if colleges needed state funding, lol). Well, I went off to meet with the former state auditor Jim Ziegler, who voiced support for secession & told me to chat with the congressmen who will make that decision. Next, I had lunch with 3 representatives who all voiced support for secession & said it’s possible, I just had to create a petition, get enough signatures, & send it to the legislature who will get the ball rolling. The “maybe” had me even more obsessed with a dream I had since ~2010.
The audience: So, I picked Alabama for multiple reasons, including but not limited to: I used to live in Alabama so I had some relevance (as opposed to Texas, the most likely to secede), it was a keystone state that was central in both the original & dream CSA, it was where I wanted to place the national capitol (I thought I was going to have that much power…), & Alabama is a conservative state tired of federal overreach.
Preparation for the journey: I got fed up with just dreaming & tried to get a real answer. In 2022, I tried to access the Lt. Gov but failed. So, I went with what worked last time & finally accessed the new State Auditor Andrew Sorrell. In my mind, I believed a phone call wasn’t enough; I wanted to visit in person so I could stay & make secession happen if they said yes.
My belief: I was tired of DC & its schemes. The over taxation, the identity politics, the woke indoctrination, the corporations getting richer as the rest of us slave away, the cheap plastic garbage from China, & more. I also fell for conservative fearmongering from social media, clowns like Paul Joseph Watson (can’t stand him now), & some IRL “red-pilling”. I thought if we could secede & I be put in charge, things would be so much better. I thought we’d ban corporations, have unity, our own currency, & essentially have a Christian theocratic utopia.
The pitch: I arrived at my scheduled appointment. We sat down at a table & I pulled out my computer. I realized I put too much text in the PowerPoint I built in 2022 with various ideas, so I rushed through it, covering infrastructure (wanting more bike/pedestrian-friendly cities/towns), education reform (no more woke indoctrination), economics (inflation, corporate greed), the food/medical industries, & more. I then stick the secession pitch at the end, thinking that was the thing that tied all other topics together as I thought none of my ideas would come to fruition under the Federal government.
Andrew’s response: He said he agreed with things like education reform & inflation control but disagreed with secession. He said there are too many state/federal ties such as Social Security, FEMA, the military, & much more. If we were to try to secede, 1st of all good luck with not being executed for treason. 2nd, if we were successful, Uncle Sam would pull out, we’d be broke, & it would take just 1 hurricane to wipe us out. He appreciated my passion but said that I should direct that into my local community and make positive change there.
The change: With his advice & the response from the security team, I felt a burden was lifted off me. I no longer felt the need to waste my time dreaming my life away. I enjoyed the rest of my vacation, went back home, quit my dead-end job at a local restaurant, & found a career removing invasive species. A lot of the ideas I had that are controversial to say the least (like mass deportations) I let go of, as those were also pointless & toxic. I believe I’m a better, more mature person now that I’ve let go of a pipe dream that I put my life on hold for. I have finally moved on.
