The Switzerland of North America?

I mentioned I'm going to Vermont tomorrow. It's a ritual of sort for us. Vermont is a quirky, quaint place. Liberal and hick-ish at the same time but we love it.

Anyway, I was searching for something and came across this article. Did you know that Vermont has a secessionist movement? Great, I escape one place who wants to break away from Canada to one that one who wants to leave the Union.

One person who supports the notion of Vermont going at it alone thinks the Green Mountain state is the Switzerland of North America. Break open the book Audrey and locate Swisser-land! A mild and casual knowledge of Switzerland would dismiss this thinking outright. Besides, who puts all their money in Vermont? If you know someone who does please call an intervention. Financial center it ain't, eh?

Can't we all just get along?

What do I think about all of this? Very little. None are rooted in pragmatism. In a hazel nutshell, there is much more to lose than gain in such endeavours. Do some states and regions deserve "autonomy" to some degree? Perhaps. Some posit good arguments. Still, the 19th century is that-a way. Or are we converging with the 19th century as the "Coming Anarchy" waits around the corner?

www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/070604/K060421AU.html

Now all this talk of secession-ism led me to track down secessionist movements in North America. Here's a link to wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_autonomist_and_secessionist_movements#Canada

In the "let's chuckle for a moment category": Saskatchewan has a movement. Home of the Roughriders football team. New York City has one also. One movement that is not listed but has been tabled is that in the event of Quebec ever pulling off the impossible, Montreal would seek to secede from the new republic of Quebec. The Cree have also threatened as much.

Now that I will go for. I have ZERO interest in supporting Quebec city in their quest. Of course, they dismiss all this "Montreal will leave" talk but I'm sure it's with a nervous smirk. Montreal is the engine of this province and something tells me we could pull it off. Ironically, if there is one region in the province that is capable of leaving (and let's get one thing straight Quebec is not ready for any of this) its Montreal - not that I would ever advocate it.

Anyway, seems like there are many places to pacify on our big continent. Either we devolve and whither or maintain the nation-state - whose existence has been called into question in recent years. Which, in turn, make me think about British historian Niall Ferguson and his assertion that empires are not necessarily a bad thing.