LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

U.S. was founded on secession

11/29/2012

Your Nov. 22 editorial “False allegiance”quotes from the Pledge of Allegiance and points to the Civil War to make your case against the right of secession.

I will not say the Pledge of Allegiance. Allegiance has to be earned. Blind allegiance gave us Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

"Civil War" is a misnomer. A civil war would have meant that the North and South were fighting for control of the country. They weren’t. It was a war for southern independence.

Had President Lincoln allowed secession, slavery still would have been abolished in the North, hundreds of thousands of lives would have been saved, and Americans today might have a place to secede to.

This country was founded on secession. The Blade needs to do its homework.

JIM BOEHM

Drummond Road

U.S. today differs from its founding

Contrary to your editorial, secession is not “crackpot stuff.” The Founders put nothing in the Constitution that would preclude a state from leaving the Union. Had this issue been settled in court instead of on the battlefield, it’s probable there would be multiple countries in the area that makes up the United States today.

The United States of today bears faint resemblance to the United States of 1776. There are deep divisions among us. The West and East coasts see things differently. Conservatives and liberals are at odds. The South and North look askew at one another.

Unless we find common ground, the breakup of the United States is a matter of time. Whether it’s peaceful remains to be seen.

JOSEPH PFLAGER

Maumee

Resurrecting secession is sad

I am saddened by stories of people collecting signatures to secede from our country because of their unhappiness over the election results. This issue was sadly and bloodily tested in the horrific Civil War.

Many presidential elections have been close. The 2000 election was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Yet our nation perseveres.

We must abide by the results of the Electoral College. If that is unsatisfactory, then perhaps that whole procedure should be addressed.

Those who favor secession should see the new movie Lincoln. It is a reminder that the secession question had been settled at great cost.

People should remember why this nation is called the United States of America.

BRENDA SWEENEY

Ariel Avenue

Levies deserved to be denied

I am tired of all the levies (“Imagination Station levy wins; Lucas County provisional ballots change outcome,” Nov. 27). Imagination Station should be self-supporting by now. If not, it is managed poorly.

I voted no on most levies. My taxes are too high and I don’t need them to go higher.

Those who asked for levies need to tighten their budgets and quit asking for money.

DOLORES GORSUCH

Grantley Road