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The Vermont Manifesto: The Second Vermont Republic

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The US federal government is failing to serve the people, and according to the precepts of the American Republic, that gives the people the right to abolish the government. In the case of the Second Vermont Republic, the author and his very thoughtful colleagues are proposing instead to succeed from the Federal Union that is not Federal anymore--the federal government is now a "hired hand" for Wall Street and a servant to dictators of Saudi Arabia as well as the Israeli lobby.

Professor Naylor, also a successful software businessman many years ago, is a citizen-philosopher and by no stretch of the imagination could he be labeled "fringe." In his case, radical is the opposite of reactionary, and exactly where we need to be.

The elements of the Vermont Manifesto are ten in total: political independence; grass roots democracy; nonviolence; environmental integrity; sustainable development; regional trade; sustainable agriculture; rail revitalization; quality education; and wellness.

The premises of the Vermont Manifesto, apart from recognition of the corruption and immorality that prevail on Wall Street and the energy industry and their servants in Congress and the White House, is that big is bad and small is good. This is totally consistent with the end of Peak Oil and the need to get back to localized sustainable energy and food production that does not need to be transported great distances. The Vermont Manifesto also recognizes that evil done by the American Empire "in our name" ultimately comes back to pillage and loot the state-level commonwealths.

Lest anyone think this book is "fringe" I would point to my many other reviews (I am the #1 Amazon reviewer for non-fiction about foreign policy--I would not be reviewing this book if it were not fundamental), but especially to my review of, and the book itself, Joel Garreau, The Nine Nations of North America and more recently, a swath of books on the Iraq blunders and the immorality of George Bush and Dick Cheney, such as:
Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq
The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project)
Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy
Why the Rest Hates the West: Understanding the Roots of Global Rage

It is clear to me that sanity is re-asserting itself in the Pacific Northwest and the far Northeast. This specific book would be useful to every single state in America, and I have a specific question that every single state should put on its 2008 ballot:

"Should we join a Constitutional Convention to discuss the abolishment of the present government and the reconstitution of the Americas as a new Republic that restores representative democracy and moral capitalism?"

There are 27 secessionist movements in the USA, among which Vermont and the Pacific Northwest are the strongest and most reasoned. No President can take office in 2009 without fully understanding the legitimate grievances represented by this book and the varied secessionist movements.

There is another angle from which to appreciate this book as well. The federal government has failed to adapt, as Katrina and other disasters have shown us. The some of the following books on how a combination of Ron Paul's restoration of Jeffersonian diplomacy and a regionalization of America might increase our resilience, especially if combined with an end to absentee landlords and a greening of America.

The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology)
Catastrophe & Culture: The Anthropology of Disaster (School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series)

Mr. Naylor, Professor emeritus of Duke University, presents an articulate and effective argument for native Vermonters and flatlanders alike. Its points are simple and clear, making for an enjoyable, informative read.

The courageously named The Vermont Manifesto is a brilliant piece of persuasion that makes a very strong argument for the failure of The United States as a country. Of course people with a blind sense of patriotism (is there really any other kind?) will view this book as blasphemy, but the historical truth is no empire in the history of the human race has or ever will last. America has become an empire just as much as The Roman Empire was, and sane solutions to this problem are very rare indeed. This book provides a very sane answer, although it will take a very long time for it to be accepted by the mainstream. I love that this book doesn't pull any punches. It's both well researched, and a pleasure to read. Even if you aren't in favor of succession, it's good to know that the argument is there, and isn't nearly as crazy as most probably assume it is.

In the Vermont Manifesto, Prof. Naylor gives us ample reasons why the US is no longer a sustainable entity. As with all Empires before it, it is being brought down by the dissolution of its original people and culture through massive immigration from third world countries just like Rome before it. Compounding the situation is the control of the mass media by a minority whereby the US government has been rendered nothing more than a colony of Israel. US politicians never ask what is good for Americans, only, what is good for Israel. How long should real Americans tolerate this train of abuses? The government has taken away our most basic freedoms, such as the freedom of association. Now we can no longer guarantee the safety of our surroundings. Prof. Naylor helps the reader to pose the question to himself, "Why be a slave, when you can be free"? What does the US government do FOR you as opposed to what it does TO you? Do you get to enjoy the fruits of your labors or is it stolen from you by the I.R.S. or any other of their acronym agencies? What do Vermonters have in common with the hispanic gangbangers of L.A. or the crack smoking ghetto dwellers of Detroit? Absolutely nothing. Then why should we be forced against our will to live in the same country with them? And furthermore, forced to support them with the tax dollars stolen from us by the central government. Why should the citizens of Vermont subsidize the ongoing wars for Israel in Palestine, Iraq and soon Iran? The Vermont Manifesto will make you think. And once you start thinking, you will find the current situation to be intolerable. Secession - the answer to tyranny.